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Moisture availability is a strong determinant of decomposition rates in forests worldwide. Climate models suggest that many terrestrial ecosystems are at risk from future droughts, suggesting moisture limiting conditions will develop across a range of forests worldwide. The impacts of increasing drought conditions on forest carbon (C) fluxes due to shifts in organic matter decay rates may be poorly characterised due to limited experimental research. To appraise this question, we conducted a meta-analysis of forest drought experiment studies worldwide, examining spatial limits, knowledge gaps and potential biases. To identify limits to experimental knowledge, we projected the global distribution of forest drought experiments against spatially modelled estimates of (i) future precipitation change, (ii) ecosystem total above-ground C and (iii) soil C storage. Our assessment, involving 115 individual experimental study locations, found a mismatch between the distribution of forest drought experiments and regions with higher levels of future drought risk and C storage, such as Central America, Amazonia, the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, equatorial Africa and Indonesia. Decomposition rate responses in litter and soil were also relatively under-studied, with only 30 experiments specifically examining the potential experimental impacts of drought on C fluxes from soil or litter. We propose new approaches for engaging experimentally with forest drought research, utilising standardised protocols to appraise the impacts of drought on the C cycle, while targeting the most vulnerable and relevant forests.

Abstract Urban transformation is vital to global sustainable development as humans increasingly come to dwell in cities. Within cities, the mobility sector promises the highest potential of carbon emission reduction. The disruptive business innovation brought about by the advent of app-based smart-sharing systems is emancipating collaborative consumption of mobility at larger and deeper scales, ranging from car-pooling, expanded electric vehicle (EV) use to bike-sharing. Synchronizing the existing yet under-realized low-carbon transport modes in cities, such as public transport, with emerging and diversifying app-based sharing mobility business models, offers huge potential to transform urban mobility toward sustainability. Yet, the rapid business expansion and innovation of the sharing mobility companies have profoundly challenged existing socio-economic relationships, knowledge systems and physical infrastructures in cities. This study explores the synergy between the social-ecological innovation in the sharing economy and the sustainable development of urban systems, using empirical data from three business cases in the emerging sharing mobility sector – in modes of ride-sharing, EV-sharing and bike-sharing - of Shanghai, China. It indicates that there is a strong co-evolution mechanism between the transformation towards more sustainable city at the macro-level and the business ecosystem innovation towards greener and smarter transport at the meso-level. We argue that the two level transformations, triggered by the disruptive innovation of the sharing economy and led by urban transformation towards sustainability, mutually influence each other and re-enforce sustainable values and practices in the fast changing urban context and business innovations in Shanghai.

Climate change has been widely recognised as one of the most urgent and growing threats to natural and cultural heritage in the twenty-first century, and the indelible impact of humanity has led to the definition of a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Indigenous peoples are disproportionately affected by natural and human-induced changes to the environment. Their vulnerability is exacerbated by centuries of cultural and territorial disenfranchisement within settler-colonial nations. This dissertation aims at understanding Indigenous perceptions of heritage in the face of climate change and its intersection with the impacts of settler- colonialism. It analyses how these on-the-ground perceptions can, in turn, inform heritage organisations and contribute to safeguarding the many facets of tangible and intangible Indigenous heritage for future generations in the Anthropocene. This is accomplished through a comparative, transnational case study of two communities each from the Dehcho First Nations in the Northwest Territories, Canada, and the Aymara and Quechua peoples in northern Chile. I use a multi-method approach consisting of semi-structured interviews, oral histories and participant observation. The data is complemented by environmental and heritage legislation and grey literature at multiple organisational scales for both case studies. Three lines of enquiry are explored through an applied comparative thematic analysis: i) the perceptions of climate change and associated land loss/change among Indigenous groups and how this impacts each group’s notions of challenges to its cultural identity; ii) the intersection of the effects of post- colonialism, ongoing industrial activities and climate change on the intergenerational transmission of ancestral knowledge and notions of place attachment; and iii) how international, national and regional political and sociocultural rhetoric on environmental and heritage conservation affect local, grassroots considerations for safeguarding heritage. The similarities and contrasts of the Dehcho First Nations, Aymara and Quechua experiences of climate change across the North-South divide are related from the grassroots to arrive at redefining heritage practices in the Anthropocene. The results demonstrate that decolonising heritage is not only necessary, but that this decolonisation depends on building and actively engaging in intercultural empathy through the global threat of climate change. In order to understand how Indigenous practices, places, and items are valorised—attributed value—as heritage in the face of climate change, one must empathise with the cultural loss that exists in the temporal and cognitive spaces between Indigenous individuals’ moments of nostalgic reference and today.

Abstract Scenario-based studies agree that the technical potential for CO2 emissions reduction from the housing stock is large. This paper explores how a market might be developed for the refurbishment activities assumed in these scenarios, taking the existing market for repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) as its starting point. Interviews with 16 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry reveal the interdependence of products, practices and processes in housing renovation activities. Conservative practice as well as innovation can be understood as the outcome of multi-lateral influences on firms from other firms, clients, the material buildings and products in their working lives, and from regulations and regulators. Contractors' openness to innovation is contingent on an informal approach to risk assessment, taking account of cost, time efficiency, client demands, and installer confidence in the reliability of the resulting work. The implications of the research are discussed in relation to the need for new practices and processes on refurbishment projects, raising questions for future research on key questions of quality assurance, performance over time, the application of standards, and vocational training.

Abstract Globally, renewable generation is growing rapidly, and the next few decades are likely to see many consumers adopting new grid-connected technologies such as electric vehicles, photovoltaics and energy management systems. However, these ‘greener’ and smarter’ changes could create significant challenges for power quality, safety and other aspects of grid management. We describe how New Zealand is an ideal research environment for combining smart grid capability with integration of high levels of renewables, as it already has around 80% renewable generation, and advanced metering infrastructure in over 62% of households. Challenges for achieving a greener, smarter grid identified in the GREEN Grid research programme include managing the increased variability in supply, especially from the growing use of wind and solar generation; the potential for power quality and congestion issues from high levels of small scale distributed generation; the need for increased frequency keeping and instantaneous reserves as variability increases; and the relatively low level of consumer engagement in demand response which could ideally assist with variability. In this paper we describe the methodology and approach used in the research programme, and note some initial findings that may help address these issues, including the benefits of geographically distributed wind farms to reduce overall wind variability; the development of a hosting capacity tool for small scale distributed generation; a proposal for new ancillary services to help manage (and cover the costs of) increased variability; and the increased use of hot water cylinders for demand response. As the research programme continues to move forward with developing mechanisms for managing a smart green grid, the findings are likely to have widespread relevance to other nations that are seeking high levels of renewable generation.

Achievement of sustainable development in light of ongoing climate change and biodiversity pressures benefits from the deployment of innovations that foster engagement and uptake across all levels, mobilises finance flows commencement to the scale of the challenge, and enables the dissemination of transition solutions that support the low carbon economy. This research investigates the relationship between the legal architecture of market mechanisms under international law and the role of private actors, and how this contributes to sustainable development. Through an exploration of how market mechanisms under the climate change and biodiversity regimes have achieved environmentally sound outcomes, been advanced in sectoral approaches, and facilitated via bilateral and multilateral trade and investment relationships, important insights are identified regarding the composition of effective law and governance architectural approaches. Leveraging experiences derived from treaty practice viewed through an interactional account of international law, this assessment elucidates the important role played by alignment of legal regimes, robust transparency measures, and complementary schemes such as stakeholder-endorsed certifications in buttressing the established measures to ensure sustainable development outcomes and contributes to understanding the role of private actors in the operationalisation of environmental agreements. Research findings suggest it is the interaction of norms across the international legal architecture, informed by relationships within and across relevant treaty systems and the general corpus of international law, and actualised through engagement with private actors as a component of market mechanisms that provides the opportunity for congruence of practice, forging of shared understandings, and normative internalisation and ownership among communities of practice that stimulates both innovative solutions and ambitious action.

Abstract Mountains are thought to be especially sensitive to climate change, but empirical evidence is scarce as there are few meteorological records from high elevations. As a result, predicting climatic patterns and trends in mountains is a challenge. We analysed available temperature and precipitation records to assess and understand local variation in the climate of the driest region of the Andes. Records from 28 stations, located above 2300 m in the Dry Puna in Bolivia and Chile, revealed no general statistical trends between 1980 and 2010, and high variability across localities. Warming was evident at 2300 m towards the Atacama Desert, and again in the high plateau above 4000 m. The precipitation revealed increasing trends only in the north-eastern portion of the study area, which is under the humid influence from the Amazon. The effect of ENSO was evident along the western slopes of the Andes, reflecting the influence of the Pacific. While meteorological data from high elevations is limited, they provide valuable empirical evidence of climatic variability in the Dry Puna, which can be contrasted against current gridded climate data. Such comparisons reveal that local-scale variations in mountain climates are not reflected in interpolated global data sets at coarser spatial scales.

AbstractMountain treelines are thought to be sensitive to climate change. However, how climate impacts mountain treelines is not yet fully understood as treelines may also be affected by other human activities. Here, we focus on “closed‐loop” mountain treelines (CLMT) that completely encircle a mountain and are less likely to have been influenced by human land‐use change. We detect a total length of ~916,425 km of CLMT across 243 mountain ranges globally and reveal a bimodal latitudinal distribution of treeline elevations with higher treeline elevations occurring at greater distances from the coast. Spatially, we find that temperature is the main climatic driver of treeline elevation in boreal and tropical regions, whereas precipitation drives CLMT position in temperate zones. Temporally, we show that 70% of CLMT have moved upward, with a mean shift rate of 1.2 m/year over the first decade of the 21st century. CLMT are shifting fastest in the tropics (mean of 3.1 m/year), but with greater variability. Our work provides a new mountain treeline database that isolates climate impacts from other anthropogenic pressures, and has important implications for biodiversity, natural resources, and ecosystem adaptation in a changing climate.