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KOF Working Papers, 327

Data on rainfall patterns only weakly corroborate the claim that climate change explains the Darfur conflict that began in 2003 and has claimed more than 200,000 lives and displaced more than two million persons. Rainfall in Darfur did not decline significantly in the years prior to the eruption of major conflict in 2003; rainfall exhibited a flat trend in the thirty-years preceding the conflict (1972-2002). The rainfall evidence suggests instead a break around 1971. Rainfall is basically stationary over the pre- and post-1971 sub-periods. The break is larger for the more northerly rainfall stations, and is less noticeable for En Nahud. Rainfall in Darfur did indeed decline, but the decline happened over 30 years before the conflict erupted. Preliminary analysis suggests little merit to the proposition that a structural break several decades earlier is a reasonable predictor of the outbreak of large-scale civil conflict in Africa.

"The International Year of Microcredit 2005 underscores the importance of microfinance as an integral part of our collective effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Sustainable access to microfinance helps to alleviate poverty by generating income…" (Kofi Anan). One of the important factors which influence disbursement of public debts in the LDCs are Microfinancing institutions. The article characterizes the progress of discharge of bankrupt from the macroeconomic point of view, and in the situation for microfinancing industry. One of the main question is when and under what conditions it is the suitable to accelerate the transformation of informal MFIs to formal institutions. In the conclusion, the basic conditions and hypothesis, which are necessary for functioning of formal MFIs, are mentioned.

Abstract In this study, the authors analyze how students from the University of Oulu (N=1585) reflect on their possibilities to affect climate matters through social activity. The data was collected with an online survey in the autumn of 2019 and was analyzed with quantitative and qualitative methods. Readiness for climate actions in social activity was moderately low and lower than in other climate actions considered in the survey. The following categories were identified to explain readiness for social activity: Emotional Expressions, Trustworthy Information, Individual Freedom, Societal Responsibility, and Us Against the World-mindset. Some of the possibilities for climate actions suggested by students include developing and exporting Finnish innovations and expertise, leading by example, receiving and distributing reliable information, making decisions and regulations on a societal level, providing economical support for environmental organizations, and affecting personal actions.

This editorial of the special issue on ‘Export Product quality, Renewable Energy, and Sustainable Production’ presents the bibliometric analysis of the 44 studies published in Frontiers in Environmental Sciecne. This special issue addresses the theoretical and empirical concerns in this fundamental research area and identifies key areas in governance, labour, digitalisation and other aspects to help sustainable development, economic growth and lower carbon emissions.

Urban freight transportation is considered one of the activities that has the greatest impact on urban areas in terms of sustainability and livability, therefore, new trends are emerging to reduce its impacts. However, there is a lack of methodologies to evaluate and validate the implementation of these trends. In this context, the proposed methodology presents the implementation of three KPIs attending the triple bottom line approach, which look at impacts from the social, environmental, and economic perspectives. This methodology is tested on a case study and the results conclude that the implementation of new trends in UFT can reduce its impact in urban areas.

Ocho de cada diez españoles creen que el agujero en la capa de ozono, provocado por la acción humana, es la clave física causal que explica el cambio climático. Esta creencia, construida con mimbres científicos (conceptos, imágenes, íconos, discursos), es producto de la cultura común. Nunca la ciencia ha establecido tal conexión. Es la capacidad de la cultura común para integrar, según su propia epistemología, los «objetos» científicos quien la ha establecido y difundido hasta convertirla en una creencia cultural a escala global. La divergencia entre representación social y científica invita a reflexionar sobre cómo las sociedades contemporáneas interiorizan y remodelan la cultura científica para construir representaciones que permitan interpretar la realidad y guiar la acción (o inhibición) ante aquellas amenazas que la misma ciencia es capaz de identificar.