Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item Greenhouse gas mitigation in pasture-based dairy production systems in New Zealand: A review of mitigation options and their interactions(Elsevier B.V., 2025-08) Kalehe Kankanamge E; Ramilan T; Tozer PR; de Klein C; Romera A; Pieralli SReducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy farming is crucial for mitigating climate change and enhancing the environmental credentials of New Zealand's dairy exports. This paper aims to explore potential GHG mitigation measures and their interactive effects when combined within New Zealand context, emphasising the practicality of these combinations, particularly focusing on recent studies of pasture-based dairy systems. The review assesses various mitigation options across animal, manure management, feed-based, soil-related, and system-related interventions and identifies immediately applicable mitigation options based on specific criteria. It also discusses the implementation costs, implications on emissions, and the combined effects of these options when applied as bundles in pasture-based systems using a combination matrix. It is indicated that mitigation options on New Zealand's dairy farms can yield diverse outcomes and costs based on farming characteristics. By analysing different combinations of short-listed, it was found that although most mitigation options are compatible, some may have a lower overall reduction potential because of interaction effects. Integrating lower N fertiliser use, low-emission feed, and reduced stocking rates with high-performing animals provides a practical approach for GHG reductions and potential cost savings. However, implementing compatible mitigation bundles requires better quantification of their interactions, economic viability, and compatibility with existing farming systems which need further research.Item A virtual geobibliography of polar tourism and climate change(Taylor and Francis Group, 2024-09-01) Demiroglu OC; Bohn D; Dannevig H; Hall CM; Hehir C; Lundmark L; Nilsson RO; Olsen J; Tervo-Kankare K; Vereda M; Welling JThe polar regions are increasingly at the center of attention as the hot spots of climate crisis as well as tourism development. The recent IPCC reports highlight several climate change risks for the rather carbon-intensive and weather-based/dependent polar tourism industry in the Arctic and the Antarctic. This study presents the scholarly state-of-knowledge on tourism and climate change in the polar regions with a literature survey extending beyond the Anglophone publications. As a supporting tool, we provide a live web GIS application based on the geographical coverages of the publications and filterable by various spatial, thematic and bibliographical attributes. The final list of 137 publications indicates that, regionally, the Arctic has been covered more than the Antarctic, whilst an uneven distribution within the Arctic also exists. In terms of the climate change risks themes, climate risk research, i.e. impact and adaptation studies, strongly outnumbers the carbon risk studies especially in the Arctic context, and, despite a balance between the two main risk themes, climate risk research in the Antarctic proves itself outdated. Accordingly, the review ends with a research agenda based on these spatial and thematic gaps and their detailed breakdowns.Item Representations of Youth Climate Anxiety: A Framing Analysis of Emotional Responses to the Climate Crisis in International News Media(Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-06-02) Murray L; Breheny M; Cumming R; Doig T; Erueti B; Mooney M; Severinsen C; Shanly JReports of children feeling distressed, anxious, or angry about the impacts of climate change have appeared in the international news media with increasing frequency since 2019. There is international evidence that young people are increasingly worried about climate change, and such distress negatively affects their daily lives. The ways that such distress is framed in public discourse vary widely. We conducted a framing analysis of 274 articles from the international news media (published between 2019 and 2021) to explore how the media frames young peoples' emotional reactions to the climate crisis. Our findings revealed three key frames: (1) Climate distress as inevitable “teen angst” fueled by activists and the media. (2) Climate distress as an appropriate response to a genuine threat, and (3) Climate distress as embodied social suffering caused by societal inaction on climate change. These framings of negative emotional responses to climate change have implications for public health responses to youth mental health in a changing climate. Framing distress in terms of social suffering brings about productive possibilities for social change. This framing avoids pathologizing widely felt experiences, builds empathy between generations, and situates young people's mental distress in the context of their present and unfolding social milieu.Item Policy implications of time-differentiated climate change analysis in life cycle assessment of building elements in Aotearoa New Zealand(Springer-Verlag GmbH, 2025-03-21) McLaren SJ; Elliot T; Dowdell D; Wakelin S; Kouchaki-Penchah H; Levasseur A; Hoxha EPurpose: Climate change policies are increasingly including time-dependent carbon targets for different economic activities. However, current standards and guidelines for climate change assessment of buildings ignore these dynamic aspects and require use of static life cycle assessment (LCA). This research investigates how to better account for the timing of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals in LCAs of buildings and construction products, using a static and dynamic LCA case study of roofs, walls and floors in Aotearoa New Zealand residential dwellings. Methods: Static and dynamic LCA methods were used to assess the climate change impact of two assemblies each for external walls, ground floors and roofs used in stand-alone residential dwellings in Aotearoa New Zealand. Each assembly was modelled for a life cycle extending from material production, through to element construction, operational use, and final end-of-life treatment. Results were calculated as total GWP100 results for each life cycle stage, GWP100 results disaggregated into time periods, and as instantaneous and cumulative radiative forcing up to year 190. Sensitivity analysis was undertaken for the building reference service life, exposure zone, location, and end-of-life treatment. Results and discussion: Four time-related aspects were found to be particularly significant as regards their contribution to the final static LCA (sLCA) climate change results: -Inclusion versus exclusion of biogenic carbon storage in landfill -Modelling of end-of-life recycling activities using current versus future low or net zero carbon technologies (in module D) -Building reference service life (50 versus 90 years) -Choice of modelling parameters for landfilled timber and engineered wood products. Use of dynamic LCA (dLCA) enabled priorities to be identified for climate change mitigation actions in the shorter and longer term, and showed that half of the assemblies achieved net zero carbon by year 190 (timber wall, steel wall, timber floor). Conclusions: Timing of GHG emissions and removals should be included in LCAs to support decision-making in the context of achieving targets set in climate change policies. In particular, LCA results should show ongoing biogenic carbon storage in landfilled timber and engineered wood products. Carbon footprint standards, guidelines and calculation tools should be prescriptive about building and construction product reference service lives, the EofL fate for different materials/products, and modelling of forestry and landfill activities, to provide a level playing field for stakeholders.Item The political economics of civic energy: A framework for comparative research(Elsevier B.V., 2025-01-02) Berka AL; Hoicka C; Sperling KDeep civic engagement in energy transitions has been limited and unique to specific political economic contexts. This study develops a generic policy mix enabling civic energy, drawing on a systematic overview of barriers and policies for civic energy by country and region from 1980 to 2023. We show that when policy mixes support widespread diffusion of civic energy, they are likely to be “thick”; meaning that they align a wide range of corporate legal, market access, energy subsidy, localised planning and facilitation, access to finance, and capacity building policies - extending well beyond the domain of energy policy. Literature suggests that “thick” policy mixes emerge in contexts where there are narratives and conscious strategies for participation, political opportunities and resources mobilised towards enabling participation, with high degrees of fiscal and legislative decentralisation and policy coordination. In contrast, contexts characterised by low levels of civic energy are posited as having “thin” policy mixes, with limited opportunity for inclusive visioning or experimentation in multi-stakeholder platforms, limited decentralisation and policy coordination, resulting in marginalisation of civic arenas, conflicting framings and lack of high-level strategies for civic participation. We identify countries characterised by thick and thin policy mixes based on literature and identify research needed to confirm the existence of exclusive and inclusive governance and policy settings in relation to key indicators for both inclusivity and speed of transitions, allowing for better articulation of the value of inclusive innovation as a practical and beneficial approach to meeting emission reduction goals.Item Towards use of life cycle–based indicators to support continuous improvement in the environmental performance of avocado orchards in New Zealand(Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, 2024-02) Majumdar S; McLaren SJPurpose A life cycle assessment (LCA) study was undertaken for the orchard stage of the NZ avocado value chain, to guide the development of indicators for facilitating continuous improvement in its environmental profile. Methods The functional unit (FU) was 1 kg Hass avocados produced in NZ, up to the orchard gate. The baseline model assessed avocados produced in fully productive orchards, using input data collected from 49 orchards across 281 ha in the three main avocado growing regions of New Zealand. In addition, the non-productive and low production years of avocado orchards were assessed using data from four newly established avocado operations spread across 489 ha. Climate change, eutrophication, water use, freshwater ecotoxicity and terrestrial ecotoxicity results were calculated for each orchard. Finally, national scores were calculated for each impact category from the weighted averages of the individual orchard results in the baseline sample of the three studied regions. Results There was significant variability between orchards in different input quantities, as well as impact scores. The impact assessment results showed that fuel use and fertiliser/soil conditioner production and use on orchard were consistently the main hotspots for all impact categories except water use, where impacts were generally dominated by indirect water use (irrespective of whether the orchards were irrigated or not). When considering the entire orchard lifespan, the commercially productive stage of the orchard life contributed the most to all impact category results. However, the impacts associated with 1 kg avocados, when allocated based on the total impacts across the orchard lifespan, were 13–26% higher than the baseline results which considered only the commercially productive years of the orchard life. Conclusion The study identified the priority areas for focussed improvement efforts (in particular, fertiliser and fuel use for all impact categories, and agrichemical use for the ecotoxicity impacts). Second, the regional- and national-level impact scores obtained in this study can be used as benchmarks in indicator development to show growers their relative ranking in terms of environmental performance. When using the indicators and benchmarks in a monitoring scheme, consideration should be given to developing separate benchmarks (using area-based functional units) for young orchards. It will also be necessary to develop a better understanding of the reasons for the variability in inputs and impacts so that benchmarks can be tailored to account fairly and equitably for the variability between orchards and regions.Item Climate change, vulnerability and well-being in the Pacific region(Taylor and Francis Group on behalf of the New Zealand Association of Economists Incorporated, 2024-05-12) Gounder RThe Pacific region has experienced vast adverse effects from climate change impacting the peoples’ livelihoods both in these nations’ urban and rural areas. Countries association between socio-economic performance and livelihoods have been adversity impacted by climatic hazards and vulnerabilities on nations’ economic performance impacting the societal outcomes. An assessment of the Pacific’s climate change, vulnerability and well-being is presented in general and a case study of Fiji in particular. The Pacific islands require resources invested in environmental education, and climate change and trade policy linkages to benefit the islands, future returns to individuals and higher levels of satisfied basic needs to reduce vulnerabilities.Item Identifying and prioritizing climate change adaptation measures in the context of electricity, transportation and water infrastructure: A case study(Elsevier B.V., 2023-11-17) Rathnayaka B; Robert D; Siriwardana C; Adikariwattage VV; Pasindu HR; Setunge S; Amaratunga DClimate Change Adaptation (CCA) has become a vital measure within every nation due to the significant impacts posed by climate change on Critical Infrastructures (CIs) and human lives. Despite scholars' identification of possible impacts on CIs, a lack of consideration for CCA measures to mitigate these impacts can be observed. This study aims to identify and prioritize CCA measures in the assets and infrastructure of critical sectors; electricity, transportation, and water supply considering Sri Lanka as a case study. The present study employed an Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) to prioritize CCA measures of these three infrastructure sectors as a system considering their interconnected and systematic nature. The prioritization process was informed by 42 open-ended expert interviews, and these interviews were also instrumental in validating the criteria used to evaluate the CCA measures. The study identified and discussed several CCA measures for different stages of the infrastructure life cycle, including planning, design and construction, and maintenance and retrofitting. The CCA measures were prioritized based on eight criteria obtained from a detailed review analysis. The results revealed that an asset management system at the planning stage is the most significant CCA measure for CIs. Furthermore, the study emphasizes that proper planning of evacuation routes, consideration of operational loads imposed by climate change, and nature-based solutions are significant CCA measures that need to be incorporated during infrastructure development. The outcome from this study provides insights for built environment professionals to adapt infrastructures to climate change. Additionally, the results of the study can be integrated into the rules and regulations of the developing countries to enhance climate resilience within the built environment.Item ‘Is it okay to have a child?’: figuring subjectivities and reproductive decisions in response to climate change(Springer Nature, 2023-10-27) Meynell L; Morgan M; Van Ommen CIn this article, we engage feminist theorisations of figurations as “performative images that can be inhabited” (Haraway 1997/2018) to trace some of the figures which are animating stories about climate change and reproduction in Global North contexts. We focus our reading on a handful of texts which circulate around the question of ‘Is it okay to have a child, given our climate conditions and futures?’ Throughout, we consider the relationship between figurations and our subjective becomings in response to environmental devastations. We critique and resist the hegemonic figuring of ‘the human subject’ as rational and unitary (Braidotti 2014), as this figure naturalises the Western social power relations of advanced capitalism, population control and human exceptionalism. Seeking multiplicity, we look for figures and subjective openings which enable us to become response-able to the pain of ecological worlds dying around us (Haraway 2016), including from our disciplinary location of psychology.Item Climate change and geopolitical conflicts: The role of ESG readiness(Elsevier Ltd, 2024-02-27) Alam A; Banna H; Alam AW; Bhuiyan MBU; Mokhtar NB; Evans JMThis study examines the relationship between climate change vulnerability and geopolitical risk using data on 42 countries from 1995 to 2021. Utilising two distinct indices, the climate vulnerability index (CVI) and the country-specific geopolitical risk (CGPR) indices, we find that countries with high vulnerability to climate change are more likely to experience geopolitical conflicts. Further analysis reveals that country-level overall economic, social, and governance (ESG) readiness significantly mitigates this detrimental effect. This moderation is mainly attributed to the social and governance readiness measures. Additional tests indicate that the mitigating role of ESG is more pronounced for countries with high institutional governance. These results remain resilient through a set of endogeneity tests using matched samples of countries generated through propensity score matching (PSM) estimation. Our findings suggest that addressing climate vulnerability is crucial to promoting global peace and geopolitical stability.