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The need and will to mitigate and adapt to climate change and its threats to biodiversity have risen. Nevertheless, the acting for the conservation of biodiversity remains hampered by knowledge gaps. E.g., for habitat types (in the sense of biotopes) the impact of climate change has been scarcely researched. There are many “species distribution models” (SDMs) that can project species distributions under climate change, but their application to contemporary habitat types poses considerable methodological problems. Here we show the viability of the uncommon method of “climate analogues” to provide data to assess the potential impact of future climate change on habitat types for chosen regions, and the usability of the method compared to SDMs. We assume climate analogues can reflect the potential future habitat data in the study regions when (1) plausibly located future climate analogues are found with relevant climate variables for the studied habitat types, and (2) habitat occurrences relate with their frequency and area to the climate reflected in the climate analogues. We tested the method for three landscapes in Germany using European Natura 2000 habitat data, analyzing five future climate conditions until 2100. Future climate analogues were found southwest of the study regions, primarily in France. They progressed further southwest and from higher to lower elevations with increasing climate change. Ecologically sound habitat types remained stable, increased, and decreased in frequency and area parallel to the magnitude of climate change in the climate analogues. Thus, we regard climate analogues as a viable method to estimate potential climate change induced changes of Natura 2000 habitat types at the regional scale. Nature conservation benefits from climate analogues as they are efficient, data-robust, and promote the implementation of actions, the exchange of conservation experiences, and international collaboration. They are an easy and powerful method to tackle the looming losses of habitat diversity from climate change.

Climate change is already reshaping when, where, and how sport is played in the United States. The Endangered Sports series, produced by the University of Michigan Center for Sport & Sustainability, examines five climate hazards: extreme cold, rising heat, declining snowfall, storms and flooding, and persistent drought. Across five independent reports, the series maps where each hazard is concentrated, identifies the most exposed sports, and evaluates 27 adaptation strategies, drawing on 681 cited sources. This executive summary introduces the series and distills six cross-cutting lessons: climate impacts are already present and unevenly distributed; no single intervention is sufficient; safety protocols deliver outsized value; every option carries trade-offs; proactive investment outperforms reactive response; and adaptation has limits that may require changes to sport formats, seasons, or venues.

In Canada, there are approximately 8,000 km of official winter roads. Unlike roads that can be used all year round, winter roads are seasonally constructed, over frozen terrain and water bodies, such as lakes and rivers. Winter roads are highly vulnerable to a warming climate, since a sufficient number of cold days are required for the ground and bodies of water to freeze to the required depth to create a strong foundation for the safe passage of traffic. A literature review of 131 documents has been completed to date to examine Canada’s winter road network, standards and guidelines on construction and maintenance, identify parameters that affect winter road safety, models that assess the impact of climate change on winter roads, and identify standards for climate risk assessment related to northern infrastructure. A framework to review and assess the climate risk and vulnerability of winter roads in Canada has been developed, as well as the structure of a Winter Roads Module for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s Climate Risk Index. Both are intended to evolve over time as more data and information becomes available, and both are based on published scientific methods, field data from winter road operations, as well as stakeholder observation, experience and concerns. A number of case studies have been completed using available data to validate and refine the framework and the Winter Roads Module. The standardization of winter road data has been completed for the province of Ontario. The development of a trial version of the Winter Roads module has been initiated to automate the data gathering and analysis.

This report highlights the impacts of research to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and build climate resilience.Agriculture’s role in climate change is a priority issue for Aotearoa New Zealand. Agriculture accounts for about half of our total greenhouse gas emissions, much more than the average contribution of around 10% in other developed countries. Climate change science is therefore a priority for the Bioeconomy Science Institute. Our science is focussed on the areas of most importance, and where we can make the most significant contribution, to our environment and the society and economy it supports.The Bioeconomy Science Institute leads science on climate change reduction, mitigation and adaptation for pastoral agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand. Its long-term investment in greenhouse gas emissions research creates practical solutions with substantial benefits, reducing methane and nitrous oxide emissions, building climate resilience, and delivering environmental benefits, without compromising productivity or profitability. The combined economic benefits of just three of its research programmes are estimated at $2.4 billion, demonstrating the significant return on investment from greenhouse gas emissions research that addresses environmental challenges and presents economic opportunities for Aotearoa New Zealand’s agricultural sector.

Although climate change is often associated with rising temperatures, it is also making extreme cold events more unpredictable and, in many cases, more disruptive. This report examines the effects of cold snaps, freeze-thaw cycles, and extended periods of low temperatures on the U.S. sports industry. It highlights the areas where vulnerability is highest, especially in regions like the Southeast, which do not have the necessary infrastructure, experience, or response procedures, and it points out which sports are most at risk, with outdoor field sports leading the way. The report then considers seven adaptation strategies: using indoor facilities, providing cold-weather clothing and equipment, heating the playing fields, winterizing facilities, using bubble chairlifts, installing windscreens, and establishing cold safety protocols. For each of these, it compares the benefits with their costs, maintenance requirements, and accessibility, referring to actual real-world examples. The results indicate that cold-weather risks vary and include impacts on athlete health, facility conditions, and organizations' financial position. Successful adaptation involves investing in infrastructure, taking individual protective actions, and implementing standardized, evidence-based protocols. The report concludes that organizations need to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach to planning and should view extreme cold as part of the broader pattern of climate variability rather than as separate, isolated events.

Commissioned research exploring the barriers to achieving Good Environmental Status in UK marine waters. This commissioned research reflects the views of the authors or contractors. It may be used to inform decisions and recommendations made by the Office for Environmental Protection, but does not reflect the official view of the Office for Environmental Protection. The Office for Environmental Protection issued a Call for Evidence in November 2023, which posed five questions to stakeholders to explore the drivers, pressures and data gaps affecting the achievement of Good Environmental Status in UK marine waters. A total of 24 responses were submitted by a wide range of stakeholders. Opergy Ltd were commissioned to undertake an independent review and analysis of the responses. The report summarises the responses and subsequent discussions in supplementary stakeholder workshops. Overall, commercial fishing, offshore energy production, climate change and pollution/release of contaminants were the most frequently cited stressors impacting the achievement of Good Environmental Status. Invasive species were also considered a key pressure.

Among the most widespread climate threats facing sports in America are increasing temperatures, longer heat waves, and worsening air quality. This report examines the effects of extreme heat on athlete health, performance, and participation, looking at the situation from youth leagues all the way through to professional competitions. It looks at regional differences caused by drought, wildfire smoke, humidity, and urbanization, and highlights the sports that are most vulnerable, such as outdoor field sports and endurance events. The report evaluates six adaptation strategies: reducing the urban heat island effect, heat training, adjusting schedules, making facility improvements, installing cooling systems, and establishing heat safety procedures. Case studies, such as the heat policy of the Georgia High School Association, demonstrate that clear guidelines, coordinated communication, and organized enforcement can greatly cut down on heat-related deaths. Although the report notes that adaptation presents logistical, financial, and operational difficulties, including the need for staff training and making real-time decisions, it stresses that such measures are essential for protecting athletes and for keeping sports going as conditions get worse. The report concludes that the future of sport in a warming climate will depend on combining scientific knowledge with adaptive infrastructure and organizational preparedness.

Northern Ireland’s regional seas cover an area of 7064 km2, equivalent to about 50 % of the region’s land area. There is growing interest in the potential for seabed carbon sequestration and burial to provide a nature-based climate change solution, as part of the UK’s efforts to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. There is also growing concern amongst environmental scientists and policy makers about the potential disturbance of seabed carbon stocks from bottom-contact fishing, aggregate extraction, and other anthropogenic activities. The disturbance of seabed carbon may result in remineralisation to carbon dioxide, which can re-enter the atmosphere and contribute to anthropogenic climate Change. Understanding the potential for carbon storage in Northern Ireland’s marine sediments and its sensitivity to disturbance will, thus, help inform future marine planning decisions, as recognised through the launch of a regional Blue Carbon Action Plan. This study was conducted to support the Northern Ireland Blue Carbon Action Plan, by providing empirical data on the spatial distribution of sediment carbon stocks in the region’s seas and its potential sensitivity to disturbance from fishing and other anthropogenic activities. Over a three-year period between 2021 and 2024, AFBI conducted field-based sampling to quantify seabed carbon stocks in Northern Ireland’s coastal seas and offshore component of the Western Irish Sea. This included sediment coring to quantify seabed carbon stocks, and deployments of a Unisense® Benthic Chamber Lander to measure Seabed Community Oxygen Consumption as a proxy for seabed carbon dioxide release. These data were combined with datasets on fishing pressure and population of scampi (Nephrops norvegicus) in the western Irish Sea to understand how factors such fishing intensity and the density of the main target species of the Northern Irish fishery correlate with seabed carbon stocks. More seabed carbon stock data from the currently sampling campaign were combined with historical data held by AFBI to generate a larger dataset to map the distribution of seabed carbon stocks in the region. Overall, the study identified increasing fishing pressure and scampi (Nephrops norvegicus) populations to correlate strongly with lower carbon stocks. However, this was driven primarily by the influence of these factors on sediment density. Likewise strong positive correlations between fishing pressure and Nephrops norvegicus density and, seabed community oxygen consumption suggest that these may mediate seabed carbon dioxide release. Within the western Irish Sea seabed community oxygen consumption was broadly similar to adjacent shelf seas such as the North Sea, and it is predicted that under future climate warming seabed carbon release will increase in the region. At present, maps of seabed carbon stocks have relatively low predictive power, but this will improve with iterative addition of new empirical data that improves the spatial resolution. Based on the current maps, we estimate that Northern Irish coastal seas hold approximately 192,402 metric tons of carbon in the upper 10 cm of the sediments. This represents the sedimentary carbon that will be most sensitive to potential disturbance from bottom-contact fishing and other extractive industries at the seabed. If this overall carbon stock 83 % is within 12 nautical miles of the Northern Irish coastline and 16.64 % in the deep offshore muds of the Western Irish Sea Mud Belt. Within the mud belt the South Rigg and Queenie Corner MCZs respectively hold 1.70 and 2.24 % of the regions total sediment carbon stock. Whilst these estimates will be improved through iterative addition of empirical data to the spatial models for seabed carbon stocks, they provide sufficient information to support and assessment of the relative importance of Northern Ireland’s inshore seas to a regional carbon budget.

This document contains the Consensus Conference (CC) Response Tracker for the environMENTAL project, an EU-funded research project investigating how environmental factors such as climate change, urbanisation, pollution, and socioeconomic conditions affect mental health. It serves as a transparent record of how the project acts upon recommendations from the Consensus Conference. It ensures that the views of people with lived experience and the public meaningfully shape the project's research, prevention, and early intervention strategies.

Excerpt: In this report, Chapter 2 reviews the scientific papers, technical reports, data sets, and other information that have become available since 2010 that relate to current emission levels in each emission category. It also develops a current GHG emission value for of the 11 each emission categories [Domestic Farm Inputs and Fertilizer N2O – Domestic Land-Use Change – Domestic Rice Methane – Domestic Livestock – International Livestock – International Land-Use Change – International Farm Inputs and Fertilizer N2O – International Rice Methane – Fuel and Feed Transport – Fuel Production – Tailpipe] based on the literature review. Each emission category is considered in a separate section of Chapter 2. Each section includes a summary of the methods, data sources, and emissions projection developed in the EPA RIA, describes the methods ICF used to quantify the contribution to corn ethanol’s current GHG profile attributable to that category, and quantifies that contribution. Based on the current GHG emissions profile of corn ethanol developed in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 develops two projected profiles for corn ethanol in 2022. The first projection considers a continuation through 2022 of observable trends in corn yields (per acre), process fuel switching toward natural gas, and fuel efficiency in trucking. The second projection adds a number of changes refineries could make in their value chain to further reduce the GHG intensity of corn ethanol. These changes include contracting with farmers to reduce tillage and manage nitrogen applications, switching to biomass as a process fuel, and locating confined livestock operations in close proximity to refineries.

This report outlines a study funded by Architecture Sans Frontières Québec (ASFQ) and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) as part of the “Building for the Future” initiative. Flooding remains the costliest natural hazard worldwide, with damage exceeding US$320 billion from 2018 to 2023. Increasing instances of flooding, fueled by climate change, aging infrastructure and extreme weather conditions, present serious risks, particularly in Canada, where 80% of cities are located in flood-prone areas. With a significant proportion of Canada's real estate stock located in flood-prone areas, cost-effective solutions are essential to protect these properties. This project aims to: • Evaluate the effectiveness of Canadian building standards against the effect of floods. • Evaluate various temporary residential flood barriers under different conditions. • Develop experimental protocols in line with existing international standards. Two phases of testing were carried out at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC): Phase 1: focused on assessing performance (leakage rates) through standard Canadian residential construction. Phase 2: evaluated the performance of various temporary opening flood barriers in two experimental setups. This study highlights the critical need for adaptable, standardized flood protection measures tailored to Canadian contexts. While many of the proprietary flood barriers tested showed promise, performance inconsistencies under real-world conditions underscore the need for rigorous, standardized testing. The knowledge gained here has laid the foundation for future research, policy development and public adoption of effective flood mitigation strategies. This study is one of the first in the world to comprehensively compare temporary opening barriers (traditional and proprietary) in a three-dimensional flood environment with waves and debris impacts. The knowledge gained from this study will assist the general public in barrier selection and serve as a benchmark for the development of improved testing standards in Canada. The results of this study will be forwarded to the CSA working group developing the standard for temporary flood barriers. The project also contributed to the training of four highly qualified people at INRS: two undergraduate research trainees and two doctoral students.

Drought is becoming a major concern with regard to the availability of water, the state of sports facilities, the safety of athletes, and the long-term sustainability of sport in the United States. The report looks at regional drought patterns, covering the ongoing dry conditions and the depletion of groundwater in the West as well as the occurrence of flash droughts in the Midwest and the Great Plains. It highlights the sports that are most vulnerable, such as golf, water-based recreation, and sports played on irrigated fields. It also discusses how water rights law, based on the Riparian and Prior Appropriation Doctrines, influences the choices that sports organizations can make when facing shortages. Four adaptation strategies are assessed: selecting different types of turf, planting drought-tolerant species and carrying out strategic tree planting, collecting and reusing water, and managing water conjunctively. Each of these strategies is evaluated in terms of its cost, environmental impact, regulatory limitations, and the specific requirements of the sport. The report finds that effective adaptation to drought must involve a diversified, site-specific strategy that integrates demand reduction with supply diversification and also calls for active cooperation with local municipalities and regional water managers to make sure that recreational needs are taken into account in water planning.

Frequent and severe storms and flooding are increasingly posing difficult problems for sports organizations, athletic facilities, and recreational pursuits all over the United States. The report looks at the specific dangers that heavier rainfall, rising sea levels, and changing snowmelt patterns bring to coastal areas, which are at risk from storm surges and saltwater intrusion, and to inland areas, which are vulnerable to flash and riverine flooding. It highlights the sports that are most affected, namely field sports, golf, and water sports such as rowing and kayaking. Five adaptation measures are assessed: green infrastructure, permeable pavements, rooftop designs such as blue and green roofs, water squares, and storm and flooding protocols. Using case studies like Rotterdam's Benthemplein water square, the report demonstrates that green infrastructure can help reduce runoff while also offering environmental and recreational advantages. Nevertheless, its effectiveness is dependent on the site conditions, the design, the maintenance, and the funding. The report concludes that resilience can only be achieved by combining infrastructure investment with regularly updated, regionally appropriate protocols, and that making proactive investments can lessen long-term damage, closures, and recovery costs.

Shrinking snowpacks, earlier snowmelt, shorter winters, and increased variability in snowfall are putting winter sports, mountain areas, and the economies that depend on them at risk. This report examines how changing snowfall patterns affect winter recreation in the United States, with a particular focus on the Rocky Mountains, the Northeast, and the Upper Midwest. It highlights the most vulnerable sports, such as skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. The report considers five adaptation measures: artificial snowmaking, snow farming, windbreaks, dry ski slopes, and diversifying recreational activities. All of these have advantages but also involve compromises. Snowmaking requires large amounts of water and energy and becomes less efficient as temperatures rise. Synthetic slopes raise issues concerning emissions, waste, and microplastics. Operating year-round leads to higher costs and greater environmental pressures. The report states that no single strategy can preserve winter recreation, and that long-term resilience will depend on combining approaches suited to local conditions and resort capabilities, as well as shifting recreational models, rather than insisting on maintaining traditional operations at all costs.

Commissioned research to investigate the effectiveness of local-scale farming advice given in the UK. This commissioned research reflects the views of the authors or contractors. It may be used to inform decisions and recommendations made by the Office for Environmental Protection, but does not reflect the official view of the Office for Environmental Protection. Countryside and Community Research Institute were commissioned to undertake a realist evaluation of local-scale farm advice. This project sought to develop the evidence base around the role of local-scale farm advice. It focused on how such advice can improve environmental outcomes, spatial targeting, and the perceived coherence of policies and regulations. Applying a realist evaluation approach, evidence from 82 UK-based publications were reviewed to develop theories as to how and why local-scale farm advice works. These theories were tested through interviews with advice providers and users. The findings stress the importance of trust, long-term engagement, and maintaining contextual and technical relevance to ensure local and national agri-environment aims are met.

There are many instances when the dissemination of data sets to a wide audience may be beneficial. For example, in the scientific community this would serve as an opportunity to gain verification of results or allow experts to apply different evaluation techniques on the data generated by others. As computational devices are commonly employed in such analysis and evaluation, easing the electronic dissemination of such data is a necessity. One method to achieve data dissemination is via a centralised database accessible over public access computer networks (e.g., Internet). In such a scenario data is stored on a centralised service which allows the retrieval of data as and when required by clients. However, in a centralised approach it may be possible for client requests to rise beyond the level that may be handled by a service. To prevent this occurring a scalable solution is required. Commercial solutions are available that may scale to handle large numbers of client requests. Data is stored in a structured manner, allowing clients to form requests as queries to retrieve specified data items. Unfortunately, any organisation hosting such a service must carry the financial cost of the additional hardware and expertise to maintain the scalable service. If data is popular and is required to be freely available (e.g., historical climate change data), this financial cost will be significant. Therefore, any solution that afforded similar scalability benefits while allowing query based retrieval of data for clients without the financial costs incurred would be desirable to many organisations. Disseminating information in a scalable manner while limiting the financial burden on any one organisation is possible via peer-to-peer file sharing. Peer-to-peer file sharing software allows users to share files with each other without the need for such files to reside centrally. Files reside on the machines of users which cumulatively make up the peer-to-peer network of nodes. When a user request is made for a file those nodes that can satisfy the request may respond. The duplication of files across different nodes affords the scalability of data dissemination as potentially many nodes can service client requests. Cost of maintenance of the peer-to-peer network is, in essence, shared across all users. In this paper we present a software system called Wigan. Wigan adapts the algorithms of the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol to achieve scalable database style information dissemination. In this approach we are removing the financial burden of maintaining a scalable server. As such, Wigan will scale as, and when, more clients request data (join the network). Our approach differs significantly when compared to existing peer-to-peer file sharing techniques as we are dealing with data sets that are the result of client queries as opposed to file instances. This solution is challenging as Wigan must handle requests for data sets that may vary on a per-client basis compared to file instances which do not vary from node to node. In this paper we illustrate our approach to these challenges and present results showing that Wigan can, in certain circumstances, outperform traditional Client-Server database systems.

This paper will present the results of an in depth investigation of the standard database format defined by the Common Database project, UTMC10, funded by the Department for Transport on the mid 1990s applied to diverse datasets. It outlines the difficulties encountered in implementing the database platform to embrace different sources, (namely accident, pollutant concentrations, registration plate, journey time etc.) and to include both dynamic (vehicle tracking, tailpipe emissions, bus stop arrival times, car park occupancies etc) and static (public transport time tables, car parking charges etc.) data with different dimensions, sampling frequencies and accuracies. The paper will look at the requirements of Urban Traffic Management and Control compliant database infrastructure in the context of the delivery of wider policy objectives to those relating to traffic. In particular, to create the statistical processing capability that defines the current and changing status of the network, to provide the platform upon which to build a historic picture of the network to allow a statistical forecasting capability and to develop the foundations for model validation and evaluation. In this way the infrastructure needed to deliver policy objectives which not only embrace traffic management but also public transport, air quality, health impacts and climate change will be formulated.