New research shows how pollutants from aerosols and river run-off are changing the marine phosphorus cycle in coastal seas

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

New research into the marine phosphorus cycle is deepening our understanding of the impact of human activities on ecosystems in coastal seas.  

The research, co-led by the University of East Anglia, in partnership with the Sino-UK Joint Research Centre at the Ocean University of China, looked at the impact of aerosols and river run-off on microalgae in the coastal waters of China. 

It identified an ‘Anthropogenic Nitrogen Pump’ which changes the phosphorus cycle and therefore likely coastal biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. 

In a balanced ecosystem, microalgae, also known as phytoplankton, provide food for a wide range of sea creatures including fish, shrimp, and jellyfish. 

Lead researcher Haoyu Jin, a visiting PhD student at UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences from the Ocean University of China, said: “Our work provides the foundation for knowing the consequences of man-made eutrophication, whereby nutrients cause massive algal blooms and unbalance nitrogen-phosphorus nutrient structure. 

“Due to economic activity especially in coastal regions, which are the most productive world-wide, there is an increased production of waste that includes liquid substances and aerosols. The former end up in the rivers and the latter end up in the atmosphere. 

“What our study shows is that dissolved nitrogen is the prevalent nutrient in these waste products added to rivers and the atmosphere. However, life requires other nutrients too and one which is equally important is phosphorous.  

“What we found is that the addition of nitrate as waste products in rivers and the atmosphere reduces phosphate so much in coastal oceans, that the algae eventually become limited by this nutrient.  

“However, some of them are capable to access a pool of phosphorous that in the past played less of a role in coastal oceans known as dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP).”     

The researchers carried out a series of microcosm experiments in China’s coastal seas. 

Phytoplankton normally require dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) for growth, but as this is limited by increasing nitrogen levels, the microalgae have been able to enhance the activity of alkaline phosphatase to utilise dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP). 

Co-researcher Prof Thomas Mock, of UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences, said: “If we continue with business as usual in terms of polluting coastal oceans with mostly nitrate-rich waste products, coastal biological communities will change because only those primary producers will thrive which are able to use organic phosphorus instead.      

“It is basically a paradox: although we pollute the coastal oceans with nutrients, it is not done with the balanced set of nutrients that matches the requirements of the ocean organisms.     

“In terms of ocean microbiota, they likely change their diversity and metabolism to be able to cope with this poor diet. However, as they underpin coastal food webs as primary producers, there will be knock-on effects on ecosystem services provided by coastal oceans, such as fisheries.”    

Most previous studies into this issue have focused on open oceans which generally have low levels of plant nutrients and where the effect of river runoff is limited due to geographical reach. 

In contrast, this work has provided evidence that atmospheric deposition and river runoff can stimulate phytoplankton growth in the China Coastal Seas and likely other coastal seas with industrial activity on the adjacent land.  

The research introduces the driving mechanism for phytoplankton growth under the influence of human activities, termed the ‘Anthropogenic Nitrogen Pump’, where phytoplankton absorbs a large amount of nitrogen, exacerbates phosphorus deficiency, and enhances the bioavailability of DOP for phytoplankton growth.  

Furthermore, the study reveals that the hydrolysis and utilisation of DOP are jointly regulated by the concentration of dissolved inorganic phosphorus and phytoplankton biomass, indicating that the process driven by the ‘Anthropogenic Nitrogen Pump’ widely exists in coastal seas globally with different nutrient levels.  

Other Chinese partners in the research include the Laoshan Laboratory, Yantai University, The Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.  

The research was funded by NSFC-Shandong Joint Fund, National Key R&D Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of chine and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. 

‘Atmospheric deposition and river runoff stimulate the utilization of dissolved organic phosphorus in coastal seas’ is published today in Nature Communications. 

 

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Atmospheric deposition and river runoff stimulate the utilization of dissolved organic phosphorus in coastal seas

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

30-Jan-2024

 

Body positive images on social media improve how men view their bodies

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY

Exposure to body positive imagery on social media increase body satisfaction and reduces weight concerns in both men and women, a new study from the University of Surrey reports.

During this unique study, researchers examined body positive and idealised body images appearing on the Instagram app and the impact they have on both men and women. Previous research in this area has explored the impact such images have on women however little is known about the effect on men.

Dr Fabio Fasoli, Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology at the University of Surrey, said:

“Body image concerns are considered a public health problem. The rise of social media, in particular Instagram, means that young women and men are more exposed to images of the ‘perfect body’ making them highly critical of themselves.

“The body positivity movement aims to challenge unrealistic body portrayals and promote a diverse and inclusive body representation. The movement has become very popular but often seen as focusing on women only.  A significant number of men use Instagram, but little is known about the impact the images they see in their feed have on them.”

To investigate, 207 young men and women were recruited and measurements of positive and negative moods, body satisfaction, drive for thinness and drive for masculinity were firstly assessed. Participants were then exposed to idealized body (thin, fit women wearing a bikini or shirtless men flexing abs), body-positive (women/men of varying body shape, size, and features) or control imagery (landscapes and animals) and initial measurements again repeated.

Researchers found that exposure to idealized body imagery decreased positive mood and body satisfaction in both men and women. In contrast, body-positive imagery increased body satisfaction and decreased the drive for thinness in both men and women. Interestingly body-positive imagery did not decrease men’s concerns about their muscularity. Researchers suggest that body positivity is perceived as being about plus-size bodies more than any other body characteristics.

Dr Fasoli added:

“Exposure to body positive images on Instagram can be beneficial for both men and women. Such images are important in reminding people that all our bodies are different and not to compare themselves to unrealistic images posted on social media platforms.”  

This study was published in the journal Acta Psychologica

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JOURNAL

Acta Psychologica

DOI

10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104126 

 

Geoengineering may slow Greenland ice sheet loss

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

RESULTS OF THE SICOPOLIS SIMULATIONS COMPARING THE CHANGE OF THE GREENLAND ICE SHEET BETWEEN GEOMIP G4 AND RCP4.5: ICE THICKNESS (H). STRATOSPHERIC AEROSOL INJECTION OF SULFUR DIOXIDE WILL HAVE THE GREATEST PROTECTIVE EFFECT ON THE MARGINS (WHICH REMAIN THICKER; YELLOW AND RED) OF THE ICE SHEET. (JOHN C. MOORE, RALF GREVE ET AL. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH: EARTH SURFACE. NOVEMBER 27, 2023)

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CREDIT: JOHN C. MOORE, RALF GREVE ET AL. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH: EARTH SURFACE. NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Modeling shows that stratospheric aerosol injection has the potential to reduce ice sheet loss due to climate change.

One of the many effects of global warming is sea-level rise due to the melting and retreat of the Earth’s ice sheets and glaciers as well as other sources. As the sea level rises, large areas of densely populated coastal land could ultimately become uninhabitable without extensive coastal modification. In order to stave off this possibility, carbon emissions need to reach net negative, a state that is hard to achieve under current circumstances.

There are many proposals to drastically mitigate the effects of climate change, and the most expansive of these involve interventions that will alter aspects of the entire globe—the geoengineering techniques. While they have some promise, we do not understand enough about natural cycles to fully assess how beneficial such interventions will be.

An international team of researchers led by Professor John C. Moore, at the University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland, and Professor Ralf Greve, at the Institute of Low Temperature Sciences, Hokkaido University, has used simulations to examine the potential effects of a geoengineering technique called stratospheric aerosol injection on ice sheet melting. Their findings were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface.

“Stratospheric aerosol injection, or SAI, would artificially introduce aerosols into the stratosphere by aircraft or high-altitude balloons to create a cooling effect via global dimming and increased albedo—the degree to which Earth reflects sunlight,” Moore explains.

Moore, Greve and colleagues used the SICOPOLIS model to simulate the changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet for the period 1990–2090 under three different scenarios: RCP8.5 (worst-case scenario, unabated warming); RCP4.5 (intermediate scenario, possibly achievable under current conditions); and GeoMIP G4 (RCP4.5 plus the injection of 5 million metric tons of sulfur dioxide per year into the stratosphere during 2020–2070).

The simulations showed that SAI of sulfur dioxide would have a clear protective effect on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Under RCP8.5, there would be ice loss equivalent to approximately 90 mm sea-level rise; under RCP4.5, ice loss would be approximately 60.6 mm sea-level rise; but under GeoMIP G4, ice loss would be limited to approximately just 37.6 mm sea-level rise. When these scenarios were tested with a different model, Elmer/Ice, the results were similar. The margins of the ice sheet would benefit the most under GeoMIP G4.

“While this study shows that SAI could contribute to the protection of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and hence, potentially, all other ice cover on Earth, geoengineering is a highly contentious topic,” Greve concludes. “The biggest issue is that it addresses only the symptoms of global warming, not the root causes—and may even delay the changes required to address the causes. Furthermore, due to the immense complexity of the natural systems on Earth, it is impossible to predict exactly what positive and negative outcomes could result.”

 

Simulated mass loss of the Greenland ice sheet from 1990 until 2090, expressed as a sea-level contribution, under different conditions:RCP8.5 (red; worst-case scenario, unabated warming), RCP4.5 (green; intermediate scenario, possibly achievable under current conditions), and GeoMIP G4 (blue; RCP4.5 plus the injection of 5 million metric tons of sulfur dioxide per year into the stratosphere during 2020–2070). (Ralf Greve)

CREDIT

Ralf Greve

JOURNAL

Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface

DOI

10.1029/2023JF007112 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Reduced Ice Loss From Greenland Under Stratospheric Aerosol Injection

 

How did humans learn to walk? New evolutionary study offers an earful

The inner ear of a 6-million-year-old fossil ape reveals clues about the evolution of human movement

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

THREE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE RECONSTRUCTED INNER EAR OF LUFENGPITHECUS.

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CREDIT: IMAGE COURTESY OF YINAN ZHANG, INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY AND PALEOANTHROPOLOGY, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.

Humans and our closest relatives, living apes, display a remarkable diversity of types of locomotion—from walking upright on two legs to climbing in trees and walking using all four limbs. 

While scientists have long been intrigued by the question of how humans’ bipedal stance and movement evolved from a quadrupedal ancestor, neither past studies nor fossil records have permitted the reconstruction of a clear and definitive history of the early evolutionary stages that led to human bipedalism.

However, a new study, which centers on recently discovered evidence from skulls of a 6-million-year-old fossil ape, Lufengpithecus, offers important clues about the origins of bipedal locomotion courtesy of a novel method: analyzing its bony inner ear region using three-dimensional CT-scanning.  

“The semicircular canals, located in the skull between our brains and the external ear, are critical to providing our sense of balance and position when we move, and they provide a fundamental component of our locomotion that most people are probably unaware of,” explains Yinan Zhang, a doctoral student at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IVPP) and the lead author of the paper, which appears in the journal the Innovation. “The size and shape of the semicircular canals correlate with how mammals, including apes and humans, move around their environment. Using modern imaging technologies, we were able to visualize the internal structure of fossil skulls and study the anatomical details of the semicircular canals to reveal how extinct mammals moved.”

“Our study points to a three-step evolution of human bipedalism,” adds Terry Harrison, a New York University anthropologist and one of the paper’s co-authors. “First, the earliest apes moved in the trees in a style that was most similar to aspects of the way that gibbons in Asia do today. Second, the last common ancestor of apes and humans was similar in its locomotor repertoire to Lufengpithecus, using a combination of climbing and clambering, forelimb suspension, arboreal bipedalism, and terrestrial quadrupedalism. It is from this broad ancestral locomotor repertoire that human bipedalism evolved.”

Most studies of the evolution of ape locomotion had focused on comparisons of the bones of the limbs, shoulders, pelvis, and spine and the way they are associated with the different types of locomotor behaviors seen in living apes and humans. However, the diversity of locomotor behaviors in living apes and the incompleteness of the fossil record have hampered the development of a clear picture of human bipedalism’s origins.

The skulls of Lufengpithecus—originally discovered in China’s Yunnan Province in the early 1980s—have given scientists the opportunity to address, in new ways, unanswered questions about the evolution of locomotion. However, the heavy compression and distortion of the skulls obscured the bony ear region and led previous researchers to believe that the delicate semicircular canals were not preserved.

To better explore this region, Zhang, Ni and Harrison, along with other researchers at IVPP and the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (YICRA), used three dimensional scanning technologies to illuminate these portions of the skulls to create a virtual reconstruction of the inner ear’s bony canals. They then compared these scans to those collected from other living and fossil apes and humans from Asia, Europe, and Africa. 

“Our analyses show that early apes shared a locomotor repertoire that was ancestral to human bipedalism,” explains IVPP Professor Xijun Ni, who led the project. “It appears that the inner ear provides a unique record of the evolutionary history of ape locomotion that offers an invaluable alternative to the study of the postcranial skeleton.”

“Most fossil apes and their inferred ancestors are intermediate in locomotor mode between gibbons and African apes,” adds Ni. “Later, the human lineage diverged from the great apes with the acquisition of bipedalism, as seen in Australopithecus, an early human relative from Africa.”

By studying the rate of evolutionary change in the bony labyrinth, the international team proposed that climate change may have been an important environmental catalyst in promoting the locomotor diversification of apes and humans. 

“Cooler global temperatures, associated with the build up of glacial ice sheets in the northern hemisphere approximately 3.2 million years ago, correspond with an uptick in the rate of change of the bony labyrinth and this may signal a rapid increase in the pace of ape and human locomotor evolution,” explains Harrison.

Images of the reconstruction of locomotor behavior and environment of Lufengpithecus and of reconstructed inner ear of Lufengpithecus are available upon request.

Reconstruction of the locomotor behavior and paleoenvironment of Lufengpithecus.

CREDIT

Illustration by Xiaocong Guo; image courtesy of Xijun Ni, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

JOURNAL

The Innovation

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Imaging analysis

ARTICLE TITLE

Lufengpithecus inner ear provides evidence of a common locomotor repertoire ancestral to human bipedalism

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

29-Jan-2024

 

Transforming food systems could create multi-trillion dollars of economic benefits every year

Transforming food systems around the world would lead to socio-economic benefits summing up to 5 to 10 trillion USD a year, shows a new global policy report produced by leading economists and scientists of the Food System Economics Commission (FSEC)

Reports and Proceedings

POTSDAM INSTITUTE FOR CLIMATE IMPACT RESEARCH (PIK)

Transforming food systems around the world would lead to socio-economic benefits summing up to 5 to 10 trillion USD a year, shows a new global policy report produced by leading economists and scientists of the Food System Economics Commission (FSEC). The most ambitious and comprehensive study of food system economics so far underlines that food systems are currently destroying more value than they create and that an overhaul of food system policies is urgently needed. On the other hand, the cost of transformation would be much lower than the potential benefits, offering a better life to hundreds of millions of people.

 

“The costs of inaction to transform the broken food system will probably exceed the estimates in this assessment, given that the world continues to rapidly move along an extremely dangerous path. It is likely that we will not only breach the 1.5°C limit, but also face decades of overshoot”, states Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and FSEC Principal. “The only way to return back to 1.5°C is to phase out fossil-fuels, keep nature intact and transform food systems from source to sink of greenhouse gases. The global food system thereby holds the future of humanity on Earth in its hand”, he adds.

Food systems powerful means to potentially save 174 million lives from premature death

In the report, the scientists provide the most comprehensive modelling of the impacts of two possible futures for the global food system to date: our `Current Trends’ pathway, and the `Food System Transformation’ pathway. In its `Current Trends´ pathway the report outlines what will happen by 2050, even if policymakers make good on all current commitments: food insecurity will still leave 640 million people (including 121 million children) underweight in some parts of the world, while obesity will increase by 70% globally. Food systems will continue to drive a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, which will contribute to 2.7 degrees of warming by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial periods. Food production will become increasingly vulnerable to climate change, with the likelihood of extreme events dramatically increasing.

FSEC also finds that the food system can instead be a significant contributor to economies, and drive solutions to health and climate challenges. In the `Food System Transformation` pathway, economists show that by 2050 better policies and practices could lead to undernutrition being eradicated, and cumulatively 174 million lives saved from premature death due to diet-related chronic disease. Food systems could become net carbon sinks by 2040, helping to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees by the end of the century, protecting an additional 1.4 billion hectares of land, almost halving nitrogen surplus from agriculture, and reversing biodiversity loss. Furthermore, 400 million farm workers across the globe could enjoy a sufficient income.

“The cost of achieving this transformation - estimated at the equivalent of 0.2-0.4 percent of global GDP per year - is small relative to the multi-trillion dollar benefits it could bring. Food systems are a uniquely powerful means of addressing global climate, nature and health emergencies at the same time - while offering a better life to hundreds of millions of people,” says Hermann Lotze-Campen, FSEC Commissioner and Head of Research Department "Climate Resilience" at PIK.

“Rather than mortgaging our future and building up mounting costs leading to high hidden health and environmental costs that we will have to pay down the line, policymakers need to face the food system challenge head-on and make the changes which will reap huge short- and long-term benefits globally,” says Ottmar Edenhofer, PIK Director and FSEC Co-Chair. “This report should open up a much-needed conversation among key stakeholders about how we can access those benefits whilst leaving no one behind,” he concludes.

The Food System Economics Commission (FSEC) is an independent academic commission, set up to equip political and economic decision-makers with tools and evidence to shift food and land-use systems.  It brings together leading experts across the economics of climate change, health, nutrition, agriculture and natural resources, representing organisations including the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the World Health Organisation, World Bank, London School of Economics, World Resources Institute Africa, and many more. The FSEC Global Policy Report builds on years of study (including the EAT Lancet report). It looks at food system transformation not only from the perspective of environmental sustainability, but also global health, nutrition, economic development, and social inclusion.

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SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The Economics of the Food System Transformation. Food System Economics Commission (FSEC), Global Policy Report.

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

29-Jan-2024

 

From Baby Boomers to Gen Alpha – Is it time to stop talking about generations?

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SAARLAND UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

PROF. DR. MARTIN SCHRÖDER

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CREDIT: STUDIO SCHLOEN

'Millennials don't really want to work. They're far too focused on avocado toast and chai lattes!' Just one of the many clichés expressed by workers over the age of fifty. And those being criticized? Well, they often reply with a bored 'OK, Boomer' followed by an eye roll and some ironic remark about the excessively performance-driven worldview of those born between the mid 1950s and the mid 1960s. Work, it seems, just isn't as important to the young as it is to older generations. But it's not just about baby boomers and millennials. Parked between them is Generation X, whose members were born between 1965 and 1980, and then there is Gen Z, which covers the age group born between the end of the 1990s and the early 2010s.

For those looking to make sense of the differences, there are shelfloads of books and guides available, all aiming to explain just what it is exactly that makes a particular generation tick. Martin Schröder, professor of sociology at Saarland University, was also asked whether he'd like to add to this ever-expanding collection. 'A publisher offered me a lucrative book deal if I was able to show that millennials tick differently than older generations,' he explained. So he set about analysing hundreds of thousands of datasets spanning four decades. Given just how much has been written about the subject and how regularly the topic crops up for discussion, the results were surprising: 'I wasn't able to find anything to suggest that attitudes towards work and career are actually related to the year in which someone was born.' The image of millennials with their 20-hour week sitting on the beach in Bali coding "stuff for the web" or doing "something with media" is at best simply a cliché. And then there's the one about boomers on the verge of burnout in their mid-fifties, who made the country (and them) rich thanks to working 70-hour weeks for decades, while their family life lies in ruins.

'Of course, as with all clichés there's a grain of truth in them, but when you take a closer look, the differences between the generations are not really that great at all. What turns out to be important is which stage of life people are in when they are asked about their work ethic or their attitude to work,' said Professor Schröder. The generational hypothesis states that attitudes expressed by individuals are strongly influenced by their birth year rather than by their age or by the year (or historical time period) in which they were surveyed. However, if one takes the latter two effects into account – known respectively as 'age effects' and 'period effects' – then 'generational effects' become almost negligible.

Here's an example: A sixty-year-old gripes about the 15-year-old apprentice who is not really interested in doing night shifts and working weekends to earn more and climb the career ladder. 'It turns out that this is not really a generational issue. What we found is that all of us think and act differently than we did thirty years ago,' said Martin Schröder. 'It's not our affiliation to a particular generation that explains our thinking, but rather which phase of our life we're in when asked about our attitude to work. Today, each of us thinks differently about the world than we did some years ago, and that's as true for the fifteen-year-old as it is for someone who's now sixty. If you ask different generations at the same time what they think about work, you'll find their answers are essentially the same.' Put another way, work is no longer quite as important to us today as it was to society fifty years ago – and that's true regardless of whether we are fifteen or fifty.

Schröder's conclusions have a solid empirical basis. He used data from almost 600,000 individuals from the Integrated Values Survey, which polled individuals in 113 countries between 1981 and 2022 to determine, amongst other things, their attitudes and values regarding work and career. In addition to examining work motivation, Martin Schröder also mined this huge mountain of data to get a better understanding of the subjective importance of other factors, such as leisure time, good work hours, opportunities to show initiative, generous holidays, the feeling of being able to achieve something, having a responsible job, having an interesting job, having a job that matches well with one's own abilities, having pleasant people to work with and having the opportunity to meet pleasant people in your work. The key finding: The generational cohort to which a respondent belonged has practically no effect on the answers given.

Martin Schröder sees three reasons why the generational myth is so persistent in the workplace. First, young people have always been less willing to work than middle-aged individuals – something clearly shown by the data – and all of us, regardless of age or year of birth, now see paid work as less important than was the case in the past. 'By confusing these age and period effects with generational effects, we're seeing generations where there are in fact none,' said Schröder.

'The second reason why we (want to) believe in generations seems to be "generationalism" – a new "-ism" that offers an overly simplified way of explaining the world. Our brain loves to put people into boxes because it allows us to see our social group as better than another, which makes us feel good about ourselves. But thinking in '-isms' is dangerous and, like sexism and racism, often illegal. If we're not careful, we end up using unsupported generalizations that have no foundation in reality",' explained Martin Schröder. It seems that the almost irresistible urge to categorize and, if we're not careful, to stereotype and discriminate on the basis of innate characteristics like skin colour or gender, also applies to another innate characteristic, namely, year of birth.

'The third reason why we tend to assume generational effects, where there really are none, is that for some people this claim is the basis for their livelihood,' said Martin Schröder. Put bluntly, 'youth researchers' and 'generational gurus' have to ignore scientific findings that contradict their business model because their income depends on continuing to sell 'generationally tailored' coaching sessions, books and lecture series – all of which provide advice and guidance on what is ultimately a myth masquerading as fact.

It's not a risk that Professor Schröder has to face. 'Anyone who shows that it makes no sense to distinguish between generations is obviously not going to profit from that financially. It's the sort of finding that requires a deep dive into the data, usually by a university professor,' said Martin Schröder with a wink.

 

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JOURNAL

Journal of Business and Psychology

DOI

10.1007/s10869-023-09921-8 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Work Motivation Is Not Generational but Depends on Age and Period.

 

Education and information can increase the acceptance of climate policies

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

An important question for policymakers worldwide is how to make climate and environmental policies acceptable among the populations. A new study sheds light on the preferences in five East African countries. The study shows, among others, that education and information about how revenues from carbon taxes are used are important factors.

Making climate policies acceptable to the public is crucial to make them effective and to avoid resistance and protests. Research has, until now, focused on high-income countries. This new study, however, is based on a survey with 4,766 respondents in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. It turns out that there are both similarities and differences compared to previous studies.

Important inform how revenues will be used
The researchers focused on educated individuals in urban areas since they are likely to influence policy processes. This also means that the sample does not fully represent the total East African population.

One conclusion, that aligns with previous studies, is that a higher level of education and climate change concern are linked to a higher acceptance of policies aimed at reducing fossil fuel consumption.

If you specify how the revenue from a climate tax or subsidy removal would be used, the support for these policy instruments almost doubled.

Social programs more important than environmental
In contrast to earlier studies, the researchers found that investments in social programs, not environmental programs, increased the acceptability the most.

“One possible explanation would be that in a country where poverty is prevalent, social issues are more urgent to people,” says Daniel Slunge, one of the study's authors.

Trust in government didn’t seem to play a big role for the acceptance. There were also significant differences between the countries.

The main conclusions from the study are:

• It’s important to specify how the revenue from a climate tax will be used – clear information more than doubles the acceptance.
• Investing the revenues in social programs leads to better acceptance of the policies than if they are invested in environmental programs.
• Investing in education and information can increase the acceptance of climate policies.
• Further studies are needed to tailor policies for each country.

About the study
The study was conducted in collaboration with the Inclusive Green Economy program by Niklas Harring and Daniel Slunge, University of Gothenburg,  Anna Nordén, Jönköping Business School, and Michael Ndwiga, University of Nairobi.

Read the full paper

Contact
Daniel Slunge, Daniel.slunge@efd.gu.se, +46 766 22 92 05

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JOURNAL

Climate Policy

DOI

10.1080/14693062.2024.2302319 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Public acceptability of policy instruments for reducing fossil fuel consumption in East Africa

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

29-Jan-2024

Global science and media organizations to sign pledge prioritizing science-based climate change communications

Meeting Announcement

AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY

[Boston, MA—January 29, 2024] U.S. and international scientific associations will join with high-profile media outlets to sign a pledge of cooperation aimed at ensuring climate change-related communications are scientifically accurate, accessible, and actionable. The signing will take place Tuesday, January 30, during a special Presidential Session (10:45 a.m. to noon Eastern) at the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) in Baltimore, Maryland.

The “Global Climate Science-Media Action Pledge” was developed by AMS and EarthX. It affirms that climate change is real, dangerous, and already causing damage, that climate change is a top priority for the signatory organizations, and that the signatories will work together to support, disseminate, and communicate science-based information and solutions to all stakeholders, including the general public.

“Tackling the challenges of climate change requires participation across all of society, yet in today’s information environment, it can be difficult to distinguish what claims are evidence-based,” says AMS President Brad Colman. “Scientific associations have the evidence and the ongoing research, but it’s not enough for us to know. We need to work more closely with the media so that people everywhere not only get access to the information we have, but understand its value and limitations. We are heartened to see that nearly 30 globally leading professional societies and media organizations from Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America have already committed to the pledge, and we expect to welcome additional signatories as this movement for science-based climate communications gains steam.”

“In the face of unprecedented environmental challenges, media plays a pivotal role in informing the public and encouraging a collective responsibility towards a sustainable future," said Dan Russell, CEO of EarthxTV. “We’re proud to join AMS and all the signatories on this pledge. When we talk about climate change, we've got to be spot-on with the science — it's how we help people understand what's at stake and what we can do about it."

Along with the signing of the pledge, the Presidential Session will feature speakers from the AMS, EarthX, NOAA, Accuweather, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), and the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) discussing solutions to address the gap between climate science and public knowledge (the AMS, EarthX, Accuweather, AGI, and RMetS are all among the signatories on the pledge). The AMS and EarthX will also sign a bilateral partnership agreement with the aim of working closely together on weather and climate communications.

About the AMS 104th Annual Meeting

The American Meteorological Society’s Annual Meeting brings together thousands of weather, water, and climate scientists, professionals, and students from across the United States and the world. Taking place 28 January to 1 February, 2024 at the Baltimore Convention Center, the AMS 104th Annual Meeting will explore the latest scientific and professional advances in areas from renewable energy to space weather, weather and climate extremes, environmental health, and more. In addition, cross-cutting interdisciplinary sessions will explore the theme of Living in a Changing Environment, especially the role of the weather, water, and climate enterprise in helping improve society’s response to climate and environmental change. The Annual Meeting will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center, with online/hybrid participation options. Free registration is available for certified members of the press. Learn more at annual.ametsoc.org.

About the American Meteorological Society

The American Meteorological Society advances the atmospheric and related sciences, technologies, applications, and services for the benefit of society. Founded in 1919, AMS has a membership of around 12,000 professionals, students, and weather enthusiasts. AMS publishes 12 atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic science journals—in print and online; sponsors more than 12 conferences annually; and offers numerous programs and services. Visit us at https://www.ametsoc.org/.

About EarthX

EarthX, a brand under the umbrella of Earth Day Texas Inc., was established in 2010 as a 501(c)(3) organization, initially focused on supporting Earth Day festivities in Dallas. Since its inception, EarthX has evolved into a prominent international nonprofit and a leading global environmental entity. Our overarching mission is to cultivate environmental awareness, promote education, and ignite a fervor for sustainable practices among individuals and organizations, propelling us collectively towards a more eco-conscious future.

At the forefront of our initiatives, EarthX spearheads EarthxTV, a groundbreaking 24/7 linear television network committed to captivating and enlightening audiences worldwide. Broadcasting in over 60 million homes internationally, our reach extends far and wide. Headquartered in the vibrant city of Dallas, Texas, EarthX Media Inc. is dedicated to weaving together the threads of environmental consciousness.

Explore the impactful work we do at EarthX by visiting EarthX.org, and join the conversation on Instagram and Facebook by following @earthxorg.