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Fulltext An Evidence-Based Review of Impacts, Strategies and Tools to Mitigate Urban Heat Islands

Leal Filho W, Echevarria Icaza L, Emanche VO, Quasem Al-Amin A

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2017 12 19;14(12).
PMID: 29257100 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14121600

The impacts of climate changes on cities, which are home to over half of the world's population, are already being felt. In many cases, the intensive speed with which urban centres have been growing means that little attention has been paid to the role played by climatic factors in maintaining quality of life. Among the negative consequences of rapid city growth is the expansion of the problems posed by urban heat islands (UHIs), defined as areas in a city that are much warmer than other sites, especially in comparison with rural areas. This paper analyses the consistency of the UHI-related literature in three stages: first it outlines its characteristics and impacts in a wide variety of cities around the world, which poses pressures to public health in many different countries. Then it introduces strategies which may be employed in order to reduce its effects, and finally it analyses available tools to systematize the initial high level assessment of the phenomenon for multidisciplinary teams involved in the urban planning process. The analysis of literature on the characteristics, impacts, strategies and digital tools to assess on the UHI, reveals the wide variety of parameters, methods, tools and strategies analysed and suggested in the different studies, which does not always allow to compare or standardize the diagnosis or solutions.
Climate change: Why higher education matters?

Leal Filho W, Aina YA, Dinis MAP, Purcell W, Nagy GJ

Sci Total Environ, 2023 Sep 20;892:164819.
PMID: 37315612 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164819

Higher education (HE) matters to the global struggle to combat climate change. Research builds knowledge and informs climate solutions. Educational programmes and courses upskill current and future leaders and professionals to tackle the systems change and the transformation needed to improve society. Through their outreach and civic engagement work, HE helps people understand and address the climate change impacts, notably on under-resourced or marginalised people. By raising awareness of the problem and supporting capacity and capability building, HE encourages changes in attitudes and behaviours, focusing on adaptive change in preparing people to face the challenges of a changing climate. However, HE has yet to fully articulate its contribution towards climate change challenges, which means that organisational structures, curricula and research programmes do not reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the climate crisis. This paper describes the role of HE in supporting education and research efforts on climate change and outlines areas where further action is urgently needed. The study adds to the empirical research on HE's role in combating climate change and the role of cooperation in maximising the global effort to cope with a changing climate.
Fulltext Impacts of COVID-19 and social isolation on academic staff and students at universities: a cross-sectional study

Leal Filho W, Wall T, Rayman-Bacchus L, Mifsud M, Pritchard DJ, Lovren VO, et al.

BMC Public Health, 2021 06 24;21(1):1213.
PMID: 34167494 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-11040-z

BACKGROUND: "The impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the shutdown it triggered at universities across the world, led to a great degree of social isolation among university staff and students. The aim of this study was to identify the perceived consequences of this on staff and their work and on students and their studies at universities.
METHOD: The study used a variety of methods, which involved an on-line survey on the influences of social isolation using a non-probability sampling. More specifically, two techniques were used, namely a convenience sampling (i.e. involving members of the academic community, which are easy to reach by the study team), supported by a snow ball sampling (recruiting respondents among acquaintances of the participants). A total of 711 questionnaires from 41 countries were received. Descriptive statistics were deployed to analyse trends and to identify socio-demographic differences. Inferential statistics were used to assess significant differences among the geographical regions, work areas and other socio-demographic factors related to impacts of social isolation of university staff and students.
RESULTS: The study reveals that 90% of the respondents have been affected by the shutdown and unable to perform normal work or studies at their institution for between 1 week to 2 months. While 70% of the respondents perceive negative impacts of COVID 19 on their work or studies, more than 60% of them value the additional time that they have had indoors with families and others. .
CONCLUSIONS: While the majority of the respondents agree that they suffered from the lack of social interaction and communication during the social distancing/isolation, there were significant differences in the reactions to the lockdowns between academic staff and students. There are also differences in the degree of influence of some of the problems, when compared across geographical regions. In addition to policy actions that may be deployed, further research on innovative methods of teaching and communication with students is needed in order to allow staff and students to better cope with social isolation in cases of new or recurring pandemics.
The influence of ecosystems services depletion to climate change adaptation efforts in Africa

Leal Filho W, Azeiteiro UM, Balogun AL, Setti AFF, Mucova SAR, Ayal D, et al.

Sci Total Environ, 2021 Jul 20;779:146414.
PMID: 33735656 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146414

Climate change is one of the major challenges societies round the world face at present. Apart from efforts to achieve a reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases so as to mitigate the problem, there is a perceived need for adaptation initiatives urgently. Ecosystems are known to play an important role in climate change adaptation processes, since some of the services they provide, may reduce the impacts of extreme events and disturbance, such as wildfires, floods, and droughts. This role is especially important in regions vulnerable to climate change such as the African continent, whose adaptation capacity is limited by many geographic and socio-economic constraints. In Africa, interventions aimed at enhancing ecosystem services may play a key role in supporting climate change adaptation efforts. In order to shed some light on this aspect, this paper reviews the role of ecosystems services and investigates how they are being influenced by climate change in Africa. It contains a set of case studies from a sample of African countries, which serve the purpose to demonstrate the damages incurred, and how such damages disrupt ecosystem services. Based on the data gathered, some measures which may assist in fostering the cause of ecosystems services are listed, so as to cater for a better protection of some of the endangered Africa ecosystems, and the services they provide.
Fulltext Understanding human vulnerability to climate change: A global perspective on index validation for adaptation planning

Birkmann J, Jamshed A, McMillan JM, Feldmeyer D, Totin E, Solecki W, et al.

Sci Total Environ, 2022 Jan 10;803:150065.
PMID: 34525713 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150065

Climate change is a severe global threat. Research on climate change and vulnerability to natural hazards has made significant progress over the last decades. Most of the research has been devoted to improving the quality of climate information and hazard data, including exposure to specific phenomena, such as flooding or sea-level rise. Less attention has been given to the assessment of vulnerability and embedded social, economic and historical conditions that foster vulnerability of societies. A number of global vulnerability assessments based on indicators have been developed over the past years. Yet an essential question remains how to validate those assessments at the global scale. This paper examines different options to validate global vulnerability assessments in terms of their internal and external validity, focusing on two global vulnerability indicator systems used in the WorldRiskIndex and the INFORM index. The paper reviews these global index systems as best practices and at the same time presents new analysis and global results that show linkages between the level of vulnerability and disaster outcomes. Both the review and new analysis support each other and help to communicate the validity and the uncertainty of vulnerability assessments. Next to statistical validation methods, we discuss the importance of the appropriate link between indicators, data and the indicandum. We found that mortality per hazard event from floods, drought and storms is 15 times higher for countries ranked as highly vulnerable compared to those classified as low vulnerable. These findings highlight the different starting points of countries in their move towards climate resilient development. Priority should be given not just to those regions that are likely to face more severe climate hazards in the future but also to those confronted with high vulnerability already.
Fulltext Barriers to institutional social sustainability

Leal Filho W, Salvia AL, Vasconcelos CRP, Anholon R, Rampasso IS, Eustachio JHPP, et al.

Sustain Sci, 2022;17(6):2615-2630.
PMID: 36032314 DOI: 10.1007/s11625-022-01204-0

Social sustainability is a work field characterised by an emphasis on social aspects, e.g. equity, ethics, health, gender balance, or empowerment, within a broader sustainability context. Although the concept seems to be reasonably well established and deemed worthy of pursuing, some obstacles prevent its wide dissemination. Through a bibliometric analysis focusing on the literature on social sustainability at institutions, with a focus on companies, this paper aims to investigate and describe some of the barriers associated with social sustainability implementation. Apart from identifying that sustainability reporting, environmental disclosure and financial performance play a central role in successfully achieving social sustainability, in the context of which gender-related issues seem more tangential, the results indicated some solutions commonly reported for overcoming barriers and obstacles to a company's social sustainability implementation within different sectors. These solutions have to do, among many other factors addressed in this study, with strengthening communication transparency and trust, contributing to awareness, using technology to document and promote social sustainability. Thus, empowering organizations and citizens, recognized as essential factors to social development, and addressing the challenges in a multi-dimensional way.