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Nearly three billion people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) rely on polluting fuels, resulting in millions of avoidable deaths annually. Polluting fuels also emit short-lived climate forcers and greenhouse gases (GHGs). Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and grid-based electricity are scalable alternatives to polluting fuels but have raised climate and health concerns. Here, we compare emissions and climate impacts of a business-as-usual household cooking fuel trajectory to four large-scale transitions to gas and/or grid electricity in 77 LMICs. We account for upstream and end-use emissions from gas and electric cooking, assuming electrical grids evolve according to the 2022 World Energy Outlook’s “Stated Policies” Scenario. We input the emissions into a reduced-complexity climate model to estimate radiative forcing and temperature changes associated with each scenario. We find full transitions to LPG and/or electricity decrease emissions from both well-mixed GHG and short-lived climate forcers, resulting in a roughly 5 millikelvin global temperature reduction by 2040. Transitions to LPG and/or electricity also reduce annual emissions of PM2.5 by over 6 Mt (99%) by 2040, which would substantially lower health risks from Household Air Pollution. Primary input data was collected from the following sources: Baseline household fuel choices - WHO household energy database (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26036-x) End-use emissions - US EPA lifecycle assessment of household fuels (https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?dirEntryId=339679&Lab=NRMRL&simplesearch=0&showcriteria=2&sortby=pubDate&timstype=Published+Report&datebeginpublishedpresented) Upstream emissions - Argonne National Labs GREET Model (https://greet.es.anl.gov/index.php) Current and future population estimates - UNECA (http://data.un.org/Explorer.aspx?d=EDATA) Input data was processed by defining household fuel choice scenarios, estimating national household fuel consumption based on these scenarios, and applying fuel-specific emission factors to create country-specific emission pathways. These emission pathways were input into the FaIR model (https://zenodo.org/record/5513022#.Yt_jfHbMLb0) which generated additional data for each scenario including time series of pollution concentrations, radiative forcing, and temperature changes. All data is provided in CSV format. Nothing proprietary is required. 

This dataset contains terrestrial fluxes of nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and ecosystem respiration (carbon dioxide (CO2)) calculated from static chamber measurements in riparian buffers of oil palm plantations on mineral soil, in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia. Measurements were made monthly, from January 2019 until September 2021, with a break from April 2019 to October 2019 to allow for felling and replanting, and another break from January 2021 to June 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions. To help to reduce the environmental impact of oil palm plantations, riparian buffers are now required by regulations in many Southeast Asian countries. The experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from the riparian buffers. Research was funded through NERC grant NE/R000131/1 Sustainable Use of Natural Resources to Improve Human Health and Support Economic Development (SUNRISE) Greenhouse gas concentrations were measured using static chambers, enclosed for 45 minutes. Multiple regressions (including linear and hierarchical multiple regression) were fitted to calculate the best fit flux, using the RCflux R package, written by Dr Peter Levy (UKCEH).

{"references": ["Liu, Z., Ciais, P., Deng, Z., Lei, R., Davis, S. J., Feng, S., Zheng, B., Cui, D., Dou, X., Zhu, B., Guo, R., Ke, P., Sun, T., Lu, C., He, P., Wang, Y., Yue, X., Wang, Y., Lei, Y., Zhou, H., Cai, Z., Wu, Y., Guo, R., Han, T., Xue, J., Boucher, O., Boucher, E., Chevallier, F., Tanaka, K., Wei, Y., Zhong, H., Kang, C., Zhang, N., Chen, B., Xi, F., Liu, M., Br\u00e9on, F.-M., Lu, Y., Zhang, Q., Guan, D., Gong, P., Kammen, D. M., He, K. & Schellnhuber, H. J. (2020). Near-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Communications 11, 5172 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18922-7", "Meinshausen, M., Smith, S. J., Calvin, K., Daniel, J. S., Kainuma, M. L. T., Lamarque, J. F., Matsumoto, K., Montzka, S. A., Raper, S. C. B., Riahi, K., Thomson, A., Velders, G. J. M., & van Vuuren, D. P. (2011). The RCP greenhouse gas concentrations and their extensions from 1765 to 2300. Climatic Change, 109(1\u20132), 213\u2013241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0156-z", "Moss, R. H., Edmonds, J. A., Hibbard, K. A., Manning, M. R., Rose, S. K., van Vuuren, D. P., Carter, T. R., Emori, S., Kainuma, M., Kram, T., Meehl, G. A., Mitchell, J. F. B., Nakicenovic, N., Riahi, K., Smith, S. J., Stouffer, R. J., Thomson, A. M., Weyant, J. P. & Wilbanks, T. J. (2010). The next generation of scenarios for climate change research and assessment. Nature, 463(7282), 747\u2013756. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08823", "Myhre, G., Highwood, E. J., Shine, K. P., & Stordal, F. (1998). New estimates of radiative forcing due to well mixed greenhouse gases. Geophysical Research Letters, 25(14), 2715\u20132718. https://doi.org/10.1029/98gl01908", "Strassmann, K. M. and Joos, F. (2018). The Bern Simple Climate Model (BernSCM) v1.0: an extensible and fully documented open-source re-implementation of the Bern reduced-form model for global carbon cycle\u2013climate simulations, Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 1887\u20131908, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1887-2018", "Thomas, M. A., and Lin, T. (2018). A dual model for emulation of thermosteric and dynamic sea-level change. Climatic Change, 148(1\u20132), 311\u2013324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2198-y"]} Supplementary materials for Gonzalez, A. R., & Lin, T. (2022). Translated Emission Pathways (TEPs): Long-Term Simulations of COVID-19 CO2 Emissions and Thermosteric Sea Level Rise Projections. Earth's Future. In Press. Summary: This study introduces climate science to a broader audience by presenting an accessible research framework and environmental data related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A series of translated emission pathways (TEPs) were constructed based on the CO2 emission patterns from the various phases of COVID-19 response. In addition to resembling the forcing scenarios used within climate research, a thermosteric sea level rise analysis was incorporated to further emphasize the environmental benefits that can be obtained from long-term sustainability. As a promising start for including the general public in climate change discussion, this research promotes collective environmental action that mirrors the recommendations of the scientific community. We acknowledge the Carbon Monitor initiative (Liu et al., 2020) for providing the COVID-19 CO2 sectoral emission data used to construct the proposed TEPs. In addition, we acknowledge the developers of the BernSCM (Strassmann and Joos, 2018) that was utilized in this study to relate TEP CO2 emissions to their respective CO2 atmospheric concentrations. Furthermore, we thank the Texas Tech University McNair Scholars Program and the Multi-Hazard Sustainability (HazSus) research group for guidance and support throughout the course of this study. Analyses presented herein were performed using the RedRaider computing cluster at Texas Tech University. We thank the team at the High Performance Computing Center (HPCC) for their generous support. In addition, the equipment support from the Vice President for Research & Innovation for T.L.'s HazSus Research Group is gratefully acknowledged.

In the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events, the need to manage climate risk becomes more urgent, especially for the most vulnerable countries and communities. With the aim of reducing vulnerability, climate risk transfer in the form of climate risk insurance (CRI) has been gaining attention in climate policy discussions. When properly designed, CRI acts as a safety net against climate change impacts by providing financial support after an extreme weather event. Two main types of insurance enable payouts: indemnity (traditional) insurance or predefined parameters (index-based) insurance. Individuals, groups, or even governments may take out policies with either type of insurance and receive payouts directly (insurer to beneficiary payout) or indirectly (insurer to aggregator to beneficiary payout). Direct insurance is usually implemented at the micro-level with individual policyholders. Indirect insurance is usually implemented through group contracts at the meso-level through risk aggregators and at the macro-level through the state. While promising, risk transfer in the form of CRI also has its share of challenges. Within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the lack of accessibility and affordability of CRI for poor and vulnerable groups have been identified as barriers to uptake. In light of climate justice, asking the poor and climate-vulnerable groups - most of whom do not contribute substantially to anthropogenic climate change - to solely carry the financial burden of risk transfer is anything but just. Employing a human rights-based approach to CRI may ensure that the resilience of poor and climate-vulnerable groups is enhanced in a climate-just manner. Indigenous peoples are some of the poorest and most climate vulnerable groups. Often marginalised, they rarely have access to social protection. The strong communal relationship of indigenous peoples facilitates their participation in community-based organisations (CBOs). CBOs are a suitable vehicle for meso-insurance, in which risk is aggregated and an insurance policy belongs to a group. In this way, CBOs can facilitate service provision that would otherwise be beyond the reach of individuals. Conclusions of this briefing paper draw on a conceptual analysis of meso-insurance and the results of field research conducted in March 2018 with indigenous Palaw’ans in the Philippines. We find that CRI needs to be attuned to the differential vulnerabilities and capacities of its beneficiaries. This is particularly true for poor and vulnerable people, for whom issues of accessibility and affordability need to be managed, and human rights and pro-poor approaches need to be ensured. In this context, meso-insurance is a promising approach when it provides accessibility and affordability and promotes a pro-poor and human rights-based approach of risk transfer by: Properly identifying and involving target beneficiaries and duty-bearers by employing pro-poor and human rights principles. Employing measures to improve the financial literacy of target beneficiaries. Designing insurance models from the bottom up. Briefing Paper

Endemic and imported vector- and rodent-borne infectious agents can be linked to high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, vector- and rodent-borne human diseases and the effects of climate change are important public health issues.For this review, the relevant literature was identified and evaluated according to the thematic aspects and supplemented with an analysis of surveillance data for Germany.Factors such as increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and human behaviour may influence the epidemiology of vector- and rodent-borne infectious diseases in Germany.The effects of climatic changes on the spread of vector- and rodent-borne infectious diseases need to be further studied in detail and considered in the context of climate adaptation measures.

Li-ion batteries (LIBs) have revolutionized the modern world, powering portable electronic devices and more recently realizing electrification of transportation. With more technological advancements that further improved the performance, LIBs also play an important role as one of the most promising energy storage systems in transforming into renewable energy sources and achieving net zero emissions. However, state-of-the-art intercalation-based LIBs are beginning to mature and reach their theoretical capacity limits. To further improve the electrochemical performance of batteries and meet growing demands of energy storage applications, there have been growing efforts to increase the energy density beyond the limits of conventional LIBs. In this thesis, we examine two examples of multi-electron systems–Mg electrolytes and Li-rich sulfide cathode materials–to gain insights and establish design principles. First, we explore the magnesium aluminum chloride complex (MACC) electrolyte to study the role of the electrode-electrolyte interface in Mg charge transfer. We demonstrate that MACC electrolyte which normally requires electrolytic conditioning can be chemically activated by the small addition of Mg(HMDS)₂. Solution-phase characterization reveals that Mg(HMDS)₂ helps prevent the formation of passivating film on the Mg surface by scavenging trace amounts of H₂O. Mg(HMDS)₂ also reacts with MACC to form free Cl⁻ which decorates the Mg surface which facilitates Mg electrodeposition and stripping. Next, we investigate three different alkali-rich sulfides-LiNaFeS₂, LiNaCoS₂, and Li1.33-1.33zTi0.67+0.33zVaczS₂ - to probe the role of electronic and physical structure in governing reversible anion redox. We demonstrate that cryomilling LiNaFeS₂ mitigates particle fracturing by increasing microstrain and reducing crystallite size. Isostructural LiNaCoS₂ exhibits more covalent interactions between the transition metal-d and S-p states compared to LiNaFeS₂, but undergoes an irreversible conversion reaction. Lastly, Li₂TiS₃ exhibits no electrochemical activity, but introducing cationic vacancies in Li1.33-1.33zTi0.67+0.33zVaczS₂ activates S oxidation. Li1.33-1.33zTi0.67+0.33zVaczS₂ is studied further to study first-cycle activation and voltage hysteresis in Li-rich sulfides.

Ni-rich layered oxide materials have gained significant attention due to the ongoing advances and demands in energy storage. The energy revolution continues to catapult the need for improved battery materials, especially for applications in portable electronic devices and electric vehicles. Lithium batteries are at the frontier of energy storage. Due to geopolitical concerns, there is a growing need to understand the chemistries of Co-free, Ni-rich layered oxide materials which are cost-efficient and possess increased practical capacity. The challenge to studying this class of materials is their inherent electronic and structural fragility. The fragility of these materials is facilitated by a cooperation of metal cation migration, lattice oxygen loss, and undesirable oxide cathode-electrolyte interfacial reactions. Each of these phenomena contribute to complex electrolyte decomposition pathways and oxide cathode structural distortions. Structural instability leads to poor battery performance metrics including specific capacity fading and decreased Coulombic efficiency. Electrolyte decomposition occurs at the oxide cathode surface, but it can lead to bulk electronic and structural changes, chemomechanical breakdown, and irreversible phase transformations in the material. The work in this dissertation focuses on understanding some of the chemistries associated with degradation of representative Ni-rich layered oxides, specifically LiNiO2 (LNO) and LiNixMnyCozO2 (NMC) (where x+y+z =1) materials. Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive review of the interfacial chemistries of fragile, Ni-rich layered oxide materials with carbonate-based liquid electrolytes. These reactions are key in deducing mechanistic pathways that promote thermal runaway. Uncontrollable oxygen loss and electrolyte oxidation leads to catastrophic battery fires and explosions. The chapter highlights the material properties that become perturbed during high states-of-charge which complicate the materials chemistry associated with Ni-rich layered oxides. Lastly, a few strategies to mitigate undesired, structurally detrimental reactions at the Ni-rich layered oxide cathode surface are provided in Chapter 1. To obtain the technical data detailed in this dissertation, a variety of analytical methods are employed. Chapter 2 introduces the working principles of the X-ray techniques, electron microscopy, and other quantification methods. X-ray techniques including synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and its components XANES and EXAFS are discussed. Other X-ray techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are additionally included. Electron microscopy techniques, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) are provided. Quantification methods, such as gas chromatography – flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and other electrochemical testing methods are also described. Detailed experimental information obtained using the analytical methods is provided in the technical chapters. In understanding the chemistry of Ni-rich layered oxides, exploring surface reconstruction is key. Surface reconstruction, a phenomenon caused by a collaboration between Li/Ni cation intermixing and lattice oxygen loss, is one of the major explanations for structural degradation in Ni-rich layered oxide materials. Chapter 3 explores surface reconstruction and deduces a mechanism by which lattice oxygen is loss in LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 (NMC622). By exploiting Li+ intercalation chemistry, the work emulates various states-of-charge to explore how delithiation impacts small, organic molecule oxidation. Benzyl alcohol serves as a good probing molecule. It is similar to an oxidizable, nonaqueous electrolytic species that undergoes oxidation at the oxide cathode surface. Structure-reactivity trends are defined to correlate electronic and structural changes, lattice oxygen loss, and small molecule oxidation. After studying a proxy molecule, a practical system is required to grasp the complexity of the cathode-electrolyte interfacial reactions that promote Ni-rich layered oxide degradation. In Chapter 4, an electrolyte stirring experiment is described. Stirring experiments provide an accelerated testing method which helps to deduce the influences of chemical electrolyte decomposition on structural degradation of LiNiO2 (LNO). X-ray techniques are used to illustrate electronic perturbations and structural distortions in the material after probing with EC/DMC w/w 3:7 LiPF6. Additionally, this dissertation chapter features a novel voltage oscillation experiment that is employed to quantify Ni-rich oxide cathode degradation at the phase transition regions. LNO has three charging plateaus – H1 ïƒ M, M ïƒ H2, and H2 ïƒ H3. The latter two plateaus have been largely associated with irreversible structural fragility in Ni-rich layered oxides. Cation intermixing and oxygen loss are two phenomena that are largely associated with decreased Li+ intercalation kinetics and increased undesired side reactions. Although researchers debate the chemical phenomenon that occur at each of the phase transitions, most agree that the H2 ïƒ H3 transition is highly influenced by irreversible lattice oxygen loss. This dissertation chapter describes the studies used to explore the electronic changes and structural distortions that accompany the voltage oscillation electrochemical testing. While Ni-rich layered oxides are largely employed as lithium battery cathodes, this class of material is unique in that it is a reducible and electronically tunable. Electronically modifiable metal oxide materials provide a unique platform to lend information to other applications, such as catalysis. There is much debate surrounding the role of metal oxides on metal nanocatalyst performance for catalytically reductive pathways. Chapter 5 discusses the method of employing LiNiO2 and other NMC materials as electronically tunable metal oxides to determine the role of the reducible metal oxide support on the gold (Au) nanocatalyst for p-nitrophenol reduction to p-aminophenol. By obtaining a continuum of nickel (Ni) oxidation states using delithiation strategies, structural-activity relationship trends are provided. Conversion rates for each of the delithiated materials was calculated using pseudo first-order kinetics. Lastly, a detailed discussion on metal oxide reducibility and its influences on key mechanistic factors, such as the induction period is included. Chapter 6 in this dissertation provides conclusions for the technical work provided. It bridges the works together and describes the overarching findings associated with the chemistries of Ni-rich layered oxide materials. This dissertation lays the foundation for future experimentation and innovation in understanding the surface chemistry of Ni-rich layered oxides. Chapter 7 provides future perspectives for each of the technical works included herein. Additionally, the final chapter includes insights toward the future of lithium batteries and other cathode chemistries. As the world navigates the energy revolution, it is important to provide global perspectives expected to catapult a sustainable future with batteries towards a greener world. Doctor of Philosophy Rechargeable lithium batteries have gained a significant surge of interest due to the ongoing demands for portable electronic devices, as well as the global trend towards electric vehicles to decrease the carbon footprint. Lithium batteries reside at the pinnacle of the energy transition. Layered oxide materials are typically employed as the cathode in Li-ion batteries. Ni-rich layered oxides have gained much interest due to their low cost and good charge/discharge capabilities. As consumers want increased charging rates and longer lifetimes, researchers struggle to optimize the balance between incorporating Ni-rich cathodes and increased safety concerns caused by cathode structural fragility. The lack of structural robustness is largely due to the surface reactivity of Ni-rich layered oxide materials. Bonding arrangements and electron transfer pathways intrinsic to this class of material increases the complexity in understanding the surface chemistry and the associated degradation pathways. Oxygen loss is the major cause of the safety issues in lithium batteries such as battery fires and explosions. To mitigate the safety concerns, it is imperative to understand the chemistries that promote organic, liquid electrolyte decomposition, electronic and structural changes, chemomechanical breakdown, and irreversible phase transformations. Each of these components leads to decreased battery performance. The work in this dissertation describes model and practical platforms to probe and understand the chemistries associated with battery performance degradation. A variety of analytical methods were utilized to determine overall structure-activity relationship trends and are highlighted in Chapter 2. Chapters 3-5 is technical research providing insight on Ni-rich layered oxide degradation pathways and behaviors. The work advances the understanding of battery surface chemistry which will lead to improved cathode design. As batteries continue to grow, it is important to know other applications that benefit from the unique chemistry of Ni-rich layered oxide materials. By exploiting the lithium battery cathode chemistry, this dissertation highlights a method to utilize these materials to understand the role of metal oxides on Au nanocatalysts. Conclusions to the findings in this dissertation are provided in Chapter 6. Future perspectives on the technical research provided herein this dissertation is included in Chapter 7. Additionally, Chapter 7 details future perspectives for lithium batteries and how they can facilitate the global transition toward a sustainable future.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is one of the top ten global public health threats facing humanity, alongside climate change. Here, we aim to summarise the effects of climate change (i.e. raise of temperature, change in humidity or precipitation) on spread of antibiotic resistance and on infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Germany.We conducted a literature search with articles published between January 2012 and July 2022. Two authors screened titles, abstracts and full texts and extracted the data systematically.From originally 2,389 titles, we identified six studies, which met our inclusion criteria. These studies show that an increase in temperature may lead to higher antibiotic resistance rates and an increased risk of colonisation as well as spread of pathogens. Furthermore, the number of healthcare-associated infections increases with increased temperature. Data indicate that higher antibiotic use is present in areas with warmer mean temperature.European data are scarce, but all studies identified point towards an increasing AMR burden due to climate change. However, further studies are needed to draw attention to the links between climatic factors and AMR and develop targeted preventive measures.

SARS-COV-2, the etiologic agent of COVID-19 is able to infect cells through its Spike protein (SPp) which must first bind to its receptor ACE2. Most currently developed vaccines target the SARS-COV-2 encoded Spike protein. Many SARS-COV-2 variants have been identified that exhibit several mutations in their Spike protein. SARS-COV-2 variant, B.1.526 was identified in New York, U.S.A. [Annavajhala, M.K. (2021) medRxiv, DOI: 10.1101/2020.02.23.21) and shown to contain the mutations, L5F, T95I, D253G, E484K, S477N, D614G and A701V. T95 and S477 of SPp are phosphorylation sites for a number of Protein kinases, including Cdk1 and GSK-3. Here, through Computerized Structure Model Analysis and Thermodynamic Calculations, it is shown that phosphorylations of T95 and S477 increases the stabilities of SARS-COV-2 encoded SPp-ACE2 and SPp-DC-SIGN complexes with very marginal effects on the binding efficiencies between the components of the complexes, and mutations T95I and S477N antagonize the effects of the phosphorylations of T95 and S477. Thus, it appears that SARS-COV-2 variant, B.1.526 has adapted to exploit the protein phosphorylation apparatus of its host cells to its advantage, and the effects of phosphorylation of of T95 and S477 are blunted through random mutation. Whether Neutralizing Antibodies that target SPp can recognize the phosphorylated forms of SPp is currently unknown.