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Agricultural adaptation to climate change is critical for ensuring future food security. Social capital is important for climate change adaptation, but institutions and social networks at multiple scales (e.g., household, community, and institution) have been overlooked in studying agricultural climate change adaptation. We combine data from 13 sites in 11 low-income countries in East Africa, West Africa, and South Asia to explore how multiple scales of social capital relate to household food security outcomes among smallholder farmers. Using social network theory, we define three community organizational social network types (fragmented defined by lack of coordination, brokered defined as having a strong central actor, or shared defined by high coordination) and examine household social capital through group memberships. We find community and household social capital are positively related, with higher household group membership more likely in brokered and shared networks. Household group membership is associated with more than a 10% reduction in average months of food insecurity, an effect moderated by community social network type. In communities with fragmented and shared organizational networks, additional household group memberships is associated with consistent decreases in food insecurity, in some cases up to two months; whereas in brokered networks, reductions in food insecurity are only associated with membership in credit groups. These effects are confirmed by hierarchical random effects models, which control for demographic factors. This suggests that multiple scales of social capital—both within and outside the household—are correlated with household food security. This social capital may both be bridging (across groups) and bonding (within groups) with different implications for how social capital structure affects food security. Efforts to improve food security could recognize the potential for both household and community level social networks and collaboration, which further research can capture by analyzing multiple scales of social capital data.

As the world searches for renewable energy in the face of climate change and China attempts to expand its power supply to further its economic development, hydroelectricity has moved to the top of the country’s energy agenda. This has given rise to a new form of “hydropower discourse” in China. The discourse is underpinned by the ideas of environmental protection and sustainable development, which are widely perceived as unobjectionable in view of the current availability of resources. This article argues that the apparent ethical pursuit of renewable energy by building dams to generate electricity masks relations of dominance and helps to enable large energy companies, political leaders, and regional decision makers to pursue their interests against those who have limited or no access to the knowledge and capital employed in the development process. It will examine the ideological assumptions and institutional rootedness of hydropower discourse, and the power relations embedded in it.

E RNEST O RLANDO L AWRENCE B ERKELEY N ATIONAL L ABORATORY Status of China’s Energy Efficiency Standards and Labels for Appliances and International Collaboration Nan Zhou Environmental Energy Technologies Division March 2008 This work described in this report was funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. This work was supported by the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Atmospheric Programs through the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 i

Abstract The reduction in energy-related manufacturing carbon dioxide emissions for nine OECD countries for 1973–87 is analysed. Carbon dioxide emissions are estimated from energy use data. The emphasis is on carbon dioxide intensities, defined as emissions divided by value added. The overall manufacturing carbon dioxide intensity was reduced by 42% in the period. Four fuels are specified together with six subsectors of manufacturing. A Divisia index approach is used to evaluate the contribution to reduced carbon dioxide intensity from different components. The main contribution to reduced carbon dioxide intensity is from the general reduction in manufacturing energy intensity, most likely driven by economic growth and increased energy prices, giving incentives to invest in new technology and industrial processes. There is also a significant contribution from reduced production in the most carbon dioxide intensive subsectors, and a contribution from higher efficiency in electricity generation together with a larger nuclear power share at the expense of oil.

“Modern energy for all,” an internationally supported initiative to connect populations to electricity services, is expected to help reduce poverty-induced vulnerabilities. It has become a primary strategy for meeting sustainable development goals, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. However, when electricity is supplied by a capacity-constrained grid to a resource-constrained population, the service quality can vary both spatially and temporally. This research explores the quality of electricity services based on a case study of Unguja, Tanzania. Using 1) open-ended interviews, 2) detailed electricity-systems monitoring, and 3) household surveys, we show how voltage quality varies significantly, even within highly localized settings. Fluctuations result in dim lights at best and power outages and broken appliances at worst, denying many Unguja residents the expected benefits of access to modern energy. By combining an extensive understanding of the physical system together with interviews and surveys, this work presents a unique mapping of voltage quality in a system that is financially and physically constrained and highlights the consequences of poor-quality service for poor users.

Abstract Based on information drawn primarily from official planning documents issued by national governments and/or utilities, this article examines the outlook for the power sector in the year 2000 in nine countries: China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Argentina and Mexico. This study found that the implicit rates of average annual growth of installed electric power capacity between 1991 and 2001 range from a low of 3.3% per year in Argentina to a high 13.2% per year in Indonesia. In absolute terms, China and India account for the vast majority of the growth. The plan calls for a shift in the generating mix towards coal in six of the countries, and continued strong reliance on coal in China and India. The use of natural gas is expected to increase substantially in a number of the countries. The historic movement away from oil continues, although some countries are maintaining dual fuel capabilities. Plans call for considerable growth of nuclear power in South Korea and China and modest increases in India and Taiwan. The feasibility of the official plans varies among the countries. Lack of public capital is leading towards greater reliance on private sector participation in power projects in many of the countries. Environmental issues are becoming a more significant constraint than in the past, particularly in the case of large-scale hydropower projects. The financial and environmental constraints are leading to a rising interest in methods of improving the efficiency of electricity supply and end use. The scale of such activities is growing in most of the study countries.

AbstractClimate change is one of the major global health threats to the world's population. It is brought on by global warming due in large part to increasing levels of greenhouse gases resulting from human activity, including burning fossil fuels (carbon dioxide), animal husbandry (methane from manure), industry emissions (ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide), vehicle/factory exhaust, and chlorofluorocarbon aerosols that trap extra heat in the earth's atmosphere. Resulting extremes of weather give rise to wildfires, air pollution, changes in ecology, and floods. These in turn result in displacement of populations, family disruption, violence, and major impacts on water quality and availability, food security, public health and economic infrastructures, and limited abilities for civil society to maintain citizen safety. Climate change also has direct impacts on human health and well‐being. Particularly vulnerable populations are affected, including women, pregnant women, children, the disabled, and the elderly, who comprise the majority of the poor globally. Additionally, the effects of climate change disproportionally affect disadvantaged communities, including low income and communities of color, and lower‐income countries that are at highest risk of adverse impacts when disasters occur due to inequitable distribution of resources and their socioeconomic status. The climate crisis is tilting the risk balance unfavorably for women's sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as newborn and child health. Obstetrician/gynecologists have the unique opportunity to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for mitigation strategies to reverse climate change affecting our patients and their families. This article puts climate change in the context of women's reproductive health as a public health issue, a social justice issue, a human rights issue, an economic issue, a political issue, and a gender issue that needs our attention now for the health and well‐being of this and future generations. FIGO joins a broad coalition of international researchers and the medical community in stating that the current climate crisis presents an imminent health risk to pregnant people, developing fetuses, and reproductive health, and recognizing that we need society‐wide solutions, government policies, and global cooperation to address and reduce contributors, including fossil fuel production, to climate change.

Cultivating a more dynamic relationship between science and policy is essential for responding to complex social challenges such as sustainability. One approach to doing so is to "span the boundaries" between science and decision making and create a more comprehensive and inclusive knowledge exchange process. The exact definition and role of boundary spanning, however, can be nebulous. Indeed, boundary spanning often gets conflated and confused with other approaches to connecting science and policy, such as science communication, applied science, and advocacy, which can hinder progress in the field of boundary spanning. To help overcome this, in this perspective, we present the outcomes from a recent workshop of boundary-spanning practitioners gathered to (1) articulate a definition of what it means to work at this interface ("boundary spanning") and the types of activities it encompasses; (2) present a value proposition of these efforts to build better relationships between science and policy; and (3) identify opportunities to more effectively mainstream boundary-spanning activities. Drawing on our collective experiences, we suggest that boundary spanning has the potential to increase the efficiency by which useful research is produced, foster the capacity to absorb new evidence and perspectives into sustainability decision-making, enhance research relevance for societal challenges, and open new policy windows. We provide examples from our work that illustrate this potential. By offering these propositions for the value of boundary spanning, we hope to encourage a more robust discussion of how to achieve evidence-informed decision-making for sustainability.