Abstract. To track progress towards keeping global warming well below 2 ∘C or even 1.5 ∘C, as agreed in the Paris Agreement, comprehensiveup-to-date and reliable information on anthropogenic emissions and removalsof greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is required. Here we compile a new synthetic dataset on anthropogenic GHG emissions for 1970–2018 with afast-track extension to 2019. Our dataset is global in coverage and includesCO2 emissions, CH4 emissions, N2O emissions, as well as those from fluorinated gases (F-gases: HFCs, PFCs, SF6, NF3) andprovides country and sector details. We build this dataset from the version 6 release of the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR v6) and three bookkeeping models for CO2 emissions from land use,land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF). We assess the uncertainties of global greenhouse gases at the 90 % confidence interval (5th–95thpercentile range) by combining statistical analysis and comparisons ofglobal emissions inventories and top-down atmospheric measurements with anexpert judgement informed by the relevant scientific literature. We identifyimportant data gaps for F-gas emissions. The agreement between our bottom-up inventory estimates and top-downatmospheric-based emissions estimates is relatively close for some F-gasspecies (∼ 10 % or less), but estimates can differ by an order of magnitude or more for others. Our aggregated F-gas estimate is about 10 % lower than top-down estimates in recent years. However, emissions from excluded F-gas species such aschlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) arecumulatively larger than the sum of the reported species. Using globalwarming potential values with a 100-year time horizon from the Sixth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),global GHG emissions in 2018 amounted to 58 ± 6.1 GtCO2 eq.consisting of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion and industry (FFI) 38 ± 3.0 GtCO2, CO2-LULUCF 5.7 ± 4.0 GtCO2, CH4 10 ± 3.1 GtCO2 eq., N2O2.6 ± 1.6 GtCO2 eq., and F-gases 1.3 ± 0.40 GtCO2 eq. Initial estimates suggest further growth of 1.3 GtCO2 eq. in GHG emissions to reach 59 ± 6.6 GtCO2 eq. by 2019. Our analysis ofglobal trends in anthropogenic GHG emissions over the past 5 decades (1970–2018) highlights a pattern of varied but sustained emissions growth. There is high confidence that global anthropogenic GHG emissions haveincreased every decade, and emissions growth has been persistent across the different (groups of) gases. There is also high confidence that globalanthropogenic GHG emissions levels were higher in 2009–2018 than in any previous decade and that GHG emissions levels grew throughout the most recent decade. While the average annual GHG emissions growth rate slowed between2009 and 2018 (1.2 % yr−1) compared to 2000–2009 (2.4 % yr−1), the absolute increase in average annual GHG emissions by decade was neverlarger than between 2000–2009 and 2009–2018. Our analysis further revealsthat there are no global sectors that show sustained reductions in GHGemissions. There are a number of countries that have reduced GHG emissionsover the past decade, but these reductions are comparatively modest andoutgrown by much larger emissions growth in some developing countries suchas China, India, and Indonesia. There is a need to further develop independent, robust, and timely emissions estimates across all gases. As such, tracking progress in climate policy requires substantial investmentsin independent GHG emissions accounting and monitoring as well as in national and international statistical infrastructures. The data associatedwith this article (Minx et al., 2021) can be found at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5566761.
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A Global Agenda for Household Water Security: Measurement, Monitoring, and Management
Water scholarship has advanced considerably in recent decades. Despite this remarkable progress, water challenges may be growing more quickly than our capacity to solve them. While much progress has been made toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 — water and sanitation for all — new stressors have emerged to threaten this progress. Far from being a problem of the Global South, recent research shows that water insecurity is very much a global phenomenon — and one that has been, until recently, seriously neglected in the Global North. This indicates a strong need for innovative measurement of who experiences water insecurity, new approaches for monitoring the efficacy of water interventions, and more effective management of complex, mobile, and multiple water infrastructures to achieve water security. In this paper, we introduce the Household Water Insecurity approach to addressing these concerns. First, we suggest ways to improve the measurement of water insecurity — pinpointing problems at the household and individual levels — in ways that can inform policymaking with improved precision. Second, we discuss ways that new information and communication technology can improve monitoring and indicate where water infrastructure repairs and investments are most needed. Third, we highlight the need for new approaches to managing complex water infrastructures in more inclusive and democratic ways.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10420943
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association
- Volume:
- 57
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 1093-474X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 530-538
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Household water insecurity is a complex socioecological challenge with a range of consequences for health and wellbeing. Understanding individual and household‐level coping strategies, i.e., responses or adaptations to manage water insecurity, can shape future research and development practice. We therefore (a) systematically describe the characteristics and contexts of 173 studies documenting coping strategies and (b) classify the types of strategies within four domains of water insecurity: access, use, quality, and reliability. Most studies were from Sub‐Saharan Africa or South Asia. In the domain of access, the most common coping strategies were building infrastructure, and storing, purchasing, and sharing water. For use, changing food consumption, agricultural practices, and hygiene were most frequently mentioned. For quality, water treatment was the most common strategy. To ensure water reliability, people most frequently reported changing routines or relocating their homes altogether. Our review provides a useful framework to understand coping strategies, but more research is needed to address three gaps in particular. First, we recommend more representative exploration of the range of coping strategies, particularly in middle‐ and high‐income countries. Second, the links between coping with water insecurity and a range of other nutritional, social, financial, and health outcomes need to be better understood to address overall household wellbeing. Third, we recommend the development of a metric to quantify individual and household‐level water insecurity‐related coping strategies. This line of inquiry can enable practitioners to design and implement context‐specific interventions that leverage preexisting strategies to improve experiences of water insecurity.
This article is categorized under:
Human Water > Water Governance
Engineering Water > Planning Water
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The measurement of household-level and individual-level water insecurity has accelerated over the past 5 years through innovation and dissemination of new survey-based experiential psychometric scales modelled after food insecurity scales. These measures offer needed insight into the relative frequency of various dimensions of water problems experienced by households or individuals. But they currently tell us nothing about the severity of these experiences, mitigating behaviours (ie, adaptation) or the effectiveness of water-related behaviours (ie, resilience). Given the magnitude of the global challenge to provide water security for all, we propose a low-cost, theoretically grounded modification to common water insecurity metrics in order to capture information about severity, adaptation and resilience. We also discuss ongoing challenges in cost-effective measurement related to multidimensionality, water affordability and perception of water quality for maximising the impact and sustainability of water supply interventions. The next generation of water insecurity metrics promises better monitoring and evaluation tools—particularly in the context of rapid global environmental change—once scale reliability across diverse contexts is better characterised.more » « less
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Abstract Water is imperative for nutrition and health, economic productivity, and political stability; it also holds cultural and symbolic meanings and functions. Household water insecurity is an emerging construct that captures lived experiences with water access, use, and acceptability. Although the plausibility of household water insecurity to “get under the skin” and shape human biology is high, these relationships have not been systematically investigated. Therefore, in this article, we set out to examine how household water insecurity and allied concepts affect health and human biology throughout the life course. We first lay out the various ways that water insecurity can act as a deleterious exposure, that is, through problematic quality, excess, and shortage. Next, we posit how water insecurity directly shapes human biology, as well as indirectly, via psychosocial stress precipitating cortisol exposure, with potential intergenerational effects. We highlight a range of established and plausible biological consequences using evidence from human and animal model studies. These include diarrheal prevalence, dehydration, stunting, food insecurity, gut microbiome alteration, malnutrition, psychosocial stress, adverse birth outcomes, lower cognitive function and performance, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. We also discuss the mechanisms by which household water insecurity may shape human biology across the life course; however, these pathways are just beginning to be understood. Longitudinal studies that simultaneously quantify household water insecurity and biological outcomes using comparable metrics in diverse environments and across generations will provide necessary evidence to establish causal relationships. Given the current global water crisis and its potential health consequences, such studies are urgently needed.
This article is categorized under:
Engineering Water > Water, Health, and Sanitation
Science of Water > Water Quality
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Although the Green Revolution dramatically increased food production, it led to non- sustainable conventional agricultural practices, with productivity in general declining over the last few decades. Maintaining food security with a world population exceeding 9 billion in 2050, a changing climate, and declining arable land will be exceptionally challenging. In fact, nothing short of a revolution in how we grow, distribute, store, and consume food is needed. In the last ten years, the field of nanotoxicology in plant systems has largely transitioned to one of sustainable nano-enabled applications, with recent discoveries on the use of this advanced technology in agriculture showing tremendous promise. The range of applications is quite extensive, including direct application of nanoscale nutrients for improved plant health, nutrient biofortification, increased photosynthetic output, and greater rates of nitrogen fixation. Other applications include nano-facilitated delivery of both fertilizers and pesticides; nano-enabled delivery of genetic material for gene silencing against viral pathogens and insect pests; and nanoscale sensors to support precision agriculture. Recent efforts have demonstrated that nanoscale strategies increase tolerance to both abiotic and biotic stressors, offering realistic potential to generate climate resilient crops. Considering the efficiency of nanoscale materials, there is a need to make their production more economical, alongside efficient use of incumbent resources such as water and energy. The hallmark of many of these approaches involves much greater impact with far less input of material. However, demonstrations of efficacy at field scale are still insufficient in the literature, and a thorough understanding of mechanisms of action is both necessary and often not evident. Although nanotechnology holds great promise for combating global food insecurity, there are far more ways to do this poorly than safely and effectively. This review summarizes recent work in this space, calling out existing knowledge gaps and suggesting strategies to alleviate those concerns to advance the field of sustainable nano-enabled agriculture.more » « less
