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The relationship between consumption and deprivation has been explored at various scales in the literature. It would be expected that increased deprivation leads to less consumption and vice versa. However, what is the form of that relationship? Evidence from international studies using the Human Development Index (HDI) and Ecological Footprint (EF) for nation states suggest that the relationship is curved such that an increase in HDI (decrease in deprivation) is linearly associated with an increase in EF (consumption and impact on the environment) up to a point but beyond that there can be widely different values for the EF for the same value of HDI. Given that deprivation and consumption within a single country can be expected to be more homogenous than that observed between countries does this result in a linear relationship between the two variables? We tested the relationship between the Townsend Index of Deprivation (TID) and EF for English regions, using fine scale data as derived from the UK Census and the Stockholm Environment Institute respectively. The results suggest that the relationship between the EF and deprivation for most English regions is markedly linear; with the level of deprivation declining with increasing EF. The picture is remarkably consistent across most of the regions and the only region where this simple picture becomes distorted is London. The paper discusses the relevance of this finding and implications for future research.

Abstract Volatility is a key determinant of derivative prices and optimal hedge ratios. This paper examines whether there are structural breaks in commodity spot return volatility using an iterative cumulative sum of squares procedure and then uses GARCH (1,1) to model volatility during each regime. The main empirical finding is the very limited evidence of commodity volatility breaks during the recent financial crisis. This suggests commodity return volatility was not exceptionally high during the recent financial crisis compared to the 1985–2010 sample period as a whole. For many commodities there are multiple idiosyncratic breaks in volatility; this suggests commodity specific supply or demand factors are important determinants of volatility. The empirical results overall are consistent with the view that commodities are too diverse to be considered as an asset class. Finally, we find commodity volatility persistence remains very high for many commodity returns even after structural breaks are accounted for.

Following the debate on the implications of international trade for global climate policy, this paper introduces the topic of the economic benefits from trade obtained by exporting countries in relation to the emissions generated in the production of exports. In 2008, 24% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 20% of the employment around the world were linked to international trade. China “exported” 30% of emissions and hosted 37.5% of the jobs generated by trade worldwide. The European Union and the United States of America were the destination of 25% and 18.4% of the GHG emissions embodied in trade. The imports of these two regions contributed to the creation of 45% of the employment generated by international trade. This paper proposes the idea of including trade issues in international climate negotiations, taking into account not only the environmental burden generated by developed countries when displacing emissions to developing countries through their imports, but also the economic benefits of developing countries producing the goods exported to developed countries.

While scientific research supporting mitigation of further global temperature rise remains a major priority, CoP26 and CoP27 saw increased recognition of the importance of research that informs adaptation to irreversible changes in climate and the increasing threats of extreme weather events. Such work is inevitably and appropriately contextual, but efforts to generalise principles that inform local strategies for adaptation and resilience are likely crucial. Systems approaches are particularly promising in this regard. This study adopted a system dynamics framing to consider linkages between climate change and population health across four low- and middle-income country settings with a view to identifying priority inter-sectoral adaptation measures in each. On the basis of a focused literature review in each setting, we developed preliminary causal loop diagrams (CLD) addressing dynamics operating in Mozambique, Lebanon, Costa Rica, and Georgia. Participatory workshops in each setting convened technical experts from different disciplines to review and refine this causal loop analysis, and identify key drivers and leverage points for adaptation strategy. While analyses reflected the unique dynamics of each setting, common leverage points were identified across sites. These comprised: i) early warning/preparedness regarding extreme events (thus mitigating risk exposure); ii) adapted agricultural practices (to sustain food security and community livelihoods in changing environmental conditions); iii) urban planning (to strengthen the quality of housing and infrastructure and thus reduce population exposure to risks); iv) health systems resilience (to maintain access to quality healthcare for treatment of disease associated with increased risk exposure and other conditions for which access may be disrupted by extreme events); and v) social security (supporting the livelihoods of vulnerable communities and enabling their access to public services, including healthcare). System dynamics modelling methods can provide a valuable mechanism for convening actors across multiple sectors to consider the development of adaptation strategies.

BECCS performance can be measured by a wide range of technical and sustainability indicators, which can be negatively correlated. An exclusive focus on BECCS technical performance – CO2 removal and electricity production, can result in negative consequences for the broader environment.

Abstract This paper explores the use of fuelwood in Third World cities. The importance of fuelwood and the factors which condition its use in cities are set out and three fuelwood problems are identified: the cost to urban consumers, fuel supply security and the impact of urban fuelwood markets on rural areas. Urban fuelwood interventions are evaluated, with four categories identified: interventions in marketing, conservation, increased, wood production and fuel-switching. Of these, fuel-switching by improved supply systems and increased production from smallholders and better management of natural woodlands appear to have the greatest potential. The need for flexibility/community participation in planning is stressed.

Recent literature on the effectiveness of donor programmes points to the importance of understanding the political context within which reforms are taking place. A body of evidence is now emerging suggesting that programmes that are more flexible and iterative are often more successful in achieving their objectives than programmes that adopt a more rigid, linear approach to reform and recent experiments with projects that “think and work politically” appear to show promising results.The characteristics of the power sector makes reform intensely political in almost all countries and donor projects have sometimes failed because of an inability to navigate the local politics of reform. This paper reviews what is known about how donors have taken politics into account in designing and implementing power sector reform programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It illustrates the challenges which donors have faced with reference to case studies of donor attempts to support power sector reform in Tanzania and in the Indian state of Orissa. The paper draws on documentary evidence from the major donors to the sector in each country as well as a set of qualitative interviews with experienced project supervisors. It concludes with a set of recommendations for further research designed to provide insights on how best to design and implement power sector reform programmes given the political context in which they are working.

Sustainability is the ability to use resources rationally, follow technological development, and show institutional change continuity. This research analyzes the researched companies' activities for sustainable human resources management through career web pages. In addition, it is aimed to analyze how they benefit from websites in electronic recruitment and innovation approaches in human resources management. The human resources and career websites analysis method developed by Cober, Brown, and Levy (2004) was used in the research. In the research, the companies' human resources and career websites included in the Borsa Istanbul (BIST) Sustainability Index for November 2019-October 2020 were analyzed and analyzed. It has been determined that sustainable companies use innovative tools in human resources management, benefit from digital systems in their recruitment methods, and share information that can affect potential applicants. Organizations within the scope of the research state that they evaluate the innovative ideas of their human resources by developing innovative projects. However, sustainability reports, where employees are seen as an essential capital, may not be fully known by job applicants. Online platforms should be established to access and communicate employee and potential employee candidates to Human Resources. The era we live in is called the information age and the most important concept defining this era is change and the increase in the speed of change. We think it is necessary, even mandatory, to update their employment policies according to information technologies and move some of their activities to virtual environments. Emphasizing the importance of organizations moving their human resources functions to virtual environments makes this research unique, essential, and functional.