World, Volume 1, Issue 2 (September 2020) – 8 articles

The world is currently experiencing a pandemic: a virus in the family Coronaviridae is causing serious respiratory infections in humans. The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020. The outbreak began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has since spread throughout the world. Despite measures taken by governments throughout the world to contain and control the spread, economic disruption at the global level is imminent and will affect all economic sectors, particularly the food sector. In a post-pandemic scenario, the use of new technologies will be decisive in a new model of food commercialization. The production and distribution of food will be configured to make supply chains optimal and safe systems. Against this background, the present study aims to explore and analyze the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for global food security. Full article

Understanding the complex dynamics of a household’s livelihood and potential vulnerabilities in the face of climate change is challenging. This research paper considers the Shyamnagar sub-district in the southern part of Bangladesh to analyze the complex issues of the vulnerability of livelihoods in the face of climate change. We conducted a questionnaire survey (n = 156) of approximately 15.6% of households in the study area. Consequently, we collected Geographical Information System (GIS) data and satellite imagery to demonstrate the land-use changes concerning vulnerabilities. A total of 54 indicators were selected to assess the livelihood vulnerability index, considering the demographic profiles, livelihood strategies, social networks, food security, water security, income, physical infrastructures, access to health services, and impacts of natural disasters. The results of the study demonstrate that only 21% of the people in the studied regions are less vulnerable to livelihood impacts in the face of climate change, while 23% of the households remain the most vulnerable. Moreover, inadequate social networks and inefficient livelihood strategies are contributing the most to the household vulnerability indices. Interestingly, the impacts of natural disasters remain the same for the whole study area and endure similarly when assessing household vulnerability. Finally, the study reveals that decision-makers may formulate effective adaptation policies to safeguard people and their livelihoods in the time of unprecedented climatic conditions in this unique area of Bangladesh. Full article

Economic growth has both benefits and detriments for the sustainability of human flourishing. Economic growth has resulted in increased natural resource utilisation and discharges of emissions and wastes, which is worrying from a sustainability perspective. However, economic growth is intrinsically not a bad thing. It has many beneficial aspects, in particular the increasing supply of necessary goods and services that are needed to facilitate the flourishing of a growing human population. Furthermore, all types of economic growth are not necessarily impacting negatively on the natural environment. The key point is that global policy should not simply target economic growth with the aim of constraining it and striving for negative growth as a means to solving environmental sustainability concerns. This paper outlines the concept of ecological limits associated with natural resource utilisation and discharge of harmful emissions and wastes. It suggests that, instead of targeting economic growth, policies should target specific natural resource utilisation and emission discharge rates that exceed their ecological limits. Action plans should be developed and implemented using socioeconomic and technological approaches that try to bring these specific utilisations or discharges back to within their ecological limits. This may impact negatively on economic growth in the short to medium term but it is targeting specific resources and emissions that are unsustainable and the economic growth associated with them only. In the longer term, these actions may facilitate economic growth, while remaining within ecological limits. Full article

This paper explores both the necessities and the options for an agricultural system in which no animals are killed by reviewing existing literature. It first identifies a causal chain which can be labelled as vegan wave and which might generate a consensus that animals should not be killed for human consumption. By raising issues of nutrient supply, grassland management and beekeeping, the paper shows that vegan-organic agriculture, vegan-conventional agriculture and post-lethal vegetarian agriculture are three options for such a pathway. Yet, many technical and socioeconomic questions still need to be resolved. Full article

This contribution demonstrates how more human-centered measurements for sustainable urban planning can be created by enlarging the traditional set of urban sustainability indicators. In many municipal reports, sustainable indicators concentrate on environmental issues, by collecting data at an aggregated spatial and temporal level using quantitative methods. Our approach aims to expand and improve the currently dominant quantitative–statistical methods by including perception geographical data (subjective indicators following the social indicator approach), namely additional indicators at spatial and temporal levels. Including small-scale city district levels and a temporal differentiation produces more process assessments and a better representation of everyday life. Based on a survey we conducted at district levels in the city of Karlsruhe, we cover three sustainability dimensions (ecological, social, economic) and analyze (1) how citizens are mobile in a sustainable way (bike use) and (2) how they perceive and react to heat events in the city. We argue for taking people’s perception and the spatiality and temporality of their daily activities better into account when further developing urban sustainability indicators and when aiming for a sustainable, human-centered urban development. Full article

To meet the larger demand for electricity supply, Malaysia needs to achieve two main psychosocial conditions, among others—having the awareness of renewable energy and demonstrating energy-conserving behavior. To examine whether Malaysia has met these two conditions, we recruited 225 participants (n = 109 women, n = 113 men, n = 3 did not indicate) to complete a series of questionnaires. The results showed that the public was aware of the option of solar energy but was not ready to install solar photovoltaic panels after being told the cost incurred. Furthermore, the public did not show satisfying energy-conserving behaviors. To boost the installation of solar power, increasing the public’s energy knowledge and implementing policies to reduce the installation cost might be helpful. These findings highlighted Malaysia’s low readiness for solar power and shed some light on what needs to be done to be better prepared for solar power. Full article

The building sector accounts for nearly 40% of total primary energy consumption in the U.S. and E.U. and 20% of worldwide delivered energy consumption. Climate projections predict an increase of average annual temperatures between 1.1–5.4 °C by 2100. As urbanization is expected to continue increasing at a rapid pace, the energy consumption of buildings is likely to play a pivotal role in the overall energy budget. In this study, we used EnergyPlus building energy models to estimate the future energy demands of commercial buildings in Salt Lake County, Utah, USA, using locally-derived climate projections. We found significant variability in the energy demand profiles when simulating the study buildings under different climate scenarios, based on the energy standard the building was designed to meet, with reductions ranging from 10% to 60% in natural gas consumption for heating and increases ranging from 10% to 30% in electricity consumption for cooling. A case study, using projected 2040 building stock, showed a weighted average decrease in heating energy of 25% and an increase of 15% in cooling energy. We also found that building standards between ASHRAE 90.1-2004 and 90.1-2016 play a comparatively smaller role than variation in climate scenarios on the energy demand variability within building types. Our findings underscore the large range of potential future building energy consumption which depends on climatic conditions, as well as building types and standards. Full article

This article presents a comparative study of the urban water and energy sectors in the coastal city of Walvis Bay in Namibia, where the rapid urbanization places pressure on public infrastructure development. A multidata approach is used to study the ability of the energy and water sectors to adapt to this pressure. Theoretically, the analysis is guided by the systems transition framework. A comparison between the two regimes is made on four dimensions: (1) regime dynamics, (2) level of complexity, (3) level of coordination, and (4) multiplicity of perceptions. The energy regime was found to be more capable of transitioning towards more sustainable practices due to better outcomes in multi-stakeholder engagement, a higher level of transparency, and differing landscape and niche development. The energy regime is also more open for new service providers. The water regime, on the other hand, suffers from overlapping roles and practices as well as non-existent monitoring authorities, which together negatively affect the regime’s transition potential. Both regimes suffer from lack of funding and weak institutional capacities. In conclusion, the transition potential of the studied regimes is found to increase when cross-sectoral governance is strengthened. Full article