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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 October 2021.
Special Issue Editors
Interests: climate change; sustainable development; disaster risk reduction and management
Interests: tourism geography; climate change; sustainable development
Interests: climate change; livelihoods; sustainable development; water resources management; earth observation
Interests: climate change; biodiversity; sustainable development; natural resources management
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The growing linkages between climate change and the global desire to be on a sustainable development trajectory has been elevated by the embedding of climate change action as one of the 17 intertwined Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs are a forward-looking global development agenda leading to 2030, as formalized by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 (United Nations, 2015). While SDGs currently have a timeline to 2030, as presented in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the climate change agenda, which harnesses several key action areas that include mitigation, adaptation, resilient, and capacity development, as well as technology, education, and awareness raising, remains a long-term challenge for the world. Although many other global challenges such as the Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID 19) can be destructive, climate change remains a huge challenge, particularly for countries in the Global South, whose climate change adaptation capacity is weak (Dube et al., 2021).
Given that the world gets affected by climate change differently, the mechanisms to address this crisis are presented in the Paris Agreement under the custodianship of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), and other United Nations agendas that include the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction (UNFCCC, 2015; UNDRR, 2014), Habitat III’s New Urban Agenda, and the Voluntary National Review mechanism under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN Habitat, 2015; United Nations, 2015). Central to the Sendai Framework is the fact that climate change is a natural hazard. The Sendai Framework further highlights the need to build back better (BBB) after disasters strike, and evidence shows that the negative impacts of climate change-induced weather extremes have been on the rise and have slowed sustainable development (Hay and Mimura, 2010; Beer, 2018; Saunders, Kelly, Paisley, and Clarke, 2020). The negative impacts of extreme weather events have come at a huge economic cost to both developed and developing countries. Given the disproportionate impact of extreme weather events, there has been increasing concern for the capacity of developing countries to respond, given the already deep-seated challenges such as poverty, inequality, and unemployment.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish academic papers that address the interface and nexus of climate change and sustainable development in the Global South. The work will supplement the bulk of the literature that mainly originates from the developed global north, thereby leaving out some of the details that stakeholders from developing countries experience. Furthermore, as the climate change agenda is set during the UNFCCC and other global negotiation platforms, the Special Issue will also entertain papers that give detailed accounts of the negotiation processes and how developing countries could benefit from understanding such processes and from positioning themselves as equal partners. The Special Issue welcomes manuscripts from the list (but not exclusive) of topics that authors may wish to address, as outlined herein:
- Climate change and the SDGs (including the domestication and localisation of the climate action, SDG 13)
- The climate negotiation processes and its implication on the sustainable development agenda in the Global South countries.
- Disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change and SDGs
- Renewable energy in the context of climate change and SDGs
- Increasing risk of tropical cyclones, droughts, heat waves, floods, tornadoes, and other associated climate induced hazards in the Global South
- Role of institutions in climate mitigation, adaptation, and building resilience
- Climate change and the blue/ocean economy (SDG 14)
- Climate change impacts on natural resources
- Climate change and small island developing states (SIDS)
- Climate change and livelihoods
- Climate change, pandemics, and sustainable development
- Any other relevant topics
References
Beer T. (2018). The Impact of Extreme Weather Events on Food Security. In: Mal S., Singh R., Huggel C. (eds) Climate Change, Extreme Events and Disaster Risk Reduction. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Cham: Springer.
Dube, K., Nhamo, G., & Chikodzi, D. (2021). Rising sea level and its implications on coastal tourism development in Cape Town, South Africa. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism 33, 100346.
Hay, J., & Mimura, N. (2010). The changing nature of extreme weather and climate events: risks to sustainable development. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk 1, 3–18.
Saunders, W. S., Kelly, S., Paisley, S., & Clarke, L. B. (2020). Progress toward implementing the Sendai framework, the Paris agreement, and the sustainable development goals: Policy from Aotearoa New Zealand. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 11, 190–205
United Nations Habitat. (2016). Habitat III: New Urban Agenda. New York: United Nations Habitat Secretariat.
UNDRR (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction). (2015). Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030). New York: UNDRR Secretariat.
UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). (2015). Paris Agreement. Bonn: UNFCCC Secretariat.
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: United Nations Secretariat.
Prof. Godwell Nhamo
Dr. Kaitano Dube
Dr. David Chikodzi
Dr. Lazarus Chapungu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- climate change
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Global South
- mitigation
- adaptation
- resilience
- politics
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: The Challenges of Climate Change and Sustainable Development in the Caribbean Community
Authors: Dennis C. Canterbury*; Garfield Barnwell**
Affiliation: (*) Professor of Sociology, Eastern Connecticut State University, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Criminology and Social Work
(**) former Director – Sustainable Development, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat , and Senior Economic Adviser 2020 G77 Chair, United Nations.
Abstract: It was highlighted at the Rio Summit in 1992 that small island and low lying coastal developing states shared structural characteristics that make them economically, environmentally and socially vulnerable to shocks over which they have little or no control, placing them at a distinct disadvantage in the global economic system. In the Caribbean fifteen small island and low-lying developing states have been pursuing a development strategy of regional integration to optimize the development possibilities of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). This arrangement is based on a pooling of resources and as a means of ensuring effective participation in the global economy. Periodic reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have emphasized however that small states, whether located in the tropics or higher latitudes, have characteristics such as limited size, proneness to natural hazards and external shocks which make them particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea level rise and extreme events. Sea-level rise will exacerbate inundation, erosion and other coastal hazards, threatening vital infrastructure, settlements and facilities that are predominantly situated along the coast. Sea-level rise will also impact negatively on coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangrove forests and commercial and artisanal fisheries which are based on those systems. This study highlights the risks the CARICOM states face and analyses some of the main actions taken by the CARICOM to address the challenges of climate change and sustainable development.