Key messages from the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C.

Global warming is not a myth, there is solid scientific evidence for it. If humanity opts to ignore it, it will come to a catastrophic end.

The transition to a zero-carbon economy is the inclusive growth story of the twenty-first century. It needs to be managed with effective and cohesive policies, whilst recognizing that sustainable development, inclusive growth and climate action are interwoven and mutually supportive.

The paper presents a comparison of selected power technologies from the point of view of emissions of greenhouse gases. Such evaluation is most often based only on analysis of direct emissions from combustion. However, the direct analysis does not show full picture of the problem as significant emissions of GHG appear also in the process of mining and transportation of fuel. It is demonstrated in the paper that comparison of power technologies from the GHG point of view has to be done using the cumulative calculus covering the whole cycle of fuel mining, processing, transportation and end-use. From this point of view coal technologies are in comparable level as gas technologies while nuclear power units are characterised with lowest GHG emissions. Mentioned technologies are compared from the point of view of GHG emissions in full cycle. Specific GHG cumulative emission factors per unit of generated electricity are determined. These factors have been applied to simulation of the influence of introduction of nuclear power units on decrease of GHG emissions in domestic scale. Within the presented simulations the prognosis of domestic power sector development according to the Polish energy policy till 2030 has been taken into account. The profitability of introduction of nuclear power units from the point of view of decreasing GHG emissions has been proved.

The pace of climate change observed since the beginning of the industrial era has prompted scientists to seriously consider whether human activity is to blame for global warming. On the geological timescale, however, climate change is certainly nothing new or exceptional – as is clear when one looks at the record of plant and animal fossils.

The climate as we know it is a natural resource that is becoming depleted due to the rising demand for energy. The most emission-intensive sectors are those providing for our comfort and welfare. We discuss these issues with Prof. Mirosław Miętus from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management.

The global warming and subsequent climate change has seriously threatened the glaciers of the Hindukush Karakoram Himalaya (HKH) region. These glaciers provide water to more than 60% people of the 11 countries, including Pakistan. The capital city of Pakistan has witnessed unprecedented urbanisation, population increase, development of new townships and associated economic activities. These challenges, together with climate change, have created severe pressure on the water resources of the city. In this mixed mode research, including questionnaire survey of 20 questions was distributed among the residents of the city online through Google Form. The questions were related to the expected impact of climate change on the availability of water, measures for conservation of water etc. About 205 residents from various parts of the city with different demographic backgrounds responded. This was followed by Focus Group Discussions (FDGs) of the experts and the major challenges to the urban water security of Islamabad with special reference to climate change have been assessed. The research has revealed that the water resources of the city are highly unsustainable. The residents have high concerns about the availability and quality of water. The results have shown that there is a number of governance issues in water distribution systems of the city. There are no organized water conservation strategies employed by City Government. The lack of institutional and policy framework has further complicated the situation. Residents seem willing for metering of water for its conservation. Recommendations have been made to municipal authorities for rational water resource management of the city.

In this paper, the analysis of carbon footprint values for children’s footwear was conducted. This group of products is characterized by similar small mass and diversity in the used materials. The carbon footprint is an environmental indicator, which is used to measure the total sets of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere caused by a product throughout its entire lifecycle. The complexity of carbon footprint calculation methodology is caused by multistage production process. The probability of emission greenhouse gases exists at each of these stages. Moreover, a large variety of footwear materials – both synthetic and natural, give the possibility of the emission of a lot of waste, sewage and gases, which can be dangerous to the environment. The diversity of materials could be the source of problems with the description of their origins, which make carbon footprint calculations difficult, especially in cases of complex supply chains. In this paper, with use of life cycle assessment, the carbon footprint was calculated for 4 children’s footwear types (one with an open upper and three with full uppers). The life cycles of the product were divided into 8 stages: raw materials extraction (stage 1), production of input materials (stage 2), footwear components manufacture (stage 3), footwear manufacture (stage 4), primary packaging manufacture (stage 5), footwear distribution to customers (stage 6), use phase (stage 7) and product’s end of life (stage 8). On these grounds, it was possible to point out the life cycle stages, where the optimization activities can be implemented in order to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. The obtained results showed that the most intensive corrective actions should be focused on the following stages: 3 (the higher emissivity), 4 and 8.

Nowadays, in addition to the thermodynamic properties of refrigerants, their impact on the environment is of high significance. Hence, it is important to use refrigerants with the lowest possible values of ozone depletion potential and global warming potential indices in refrigeration, organic Rankine cycle (ORC), air conditioning, and heat pump systems. Natural refrigerants are the most environmentally friendly; unfortunately, they have less favourable thermodynamic properties. Currently, low-pressure refrigerants from the FC (fluorocarbons, fluorine liquids) and HFE (hydrofluoroether) groups are increasingly used. This paper presents the most important properties and applications of selected refrigerants from these groups and also reviews the literature on their use.

Global warming and climate change are some of the most widely discussed topics in today's society, and they are of considerable importance to agriculture globally. Climate change directly affects agricultural production. On the other hand, the agricultural sector is inherently sensitive to climate conditions, and this has made the agricultural sector one of the most vulnerable sectors to the effects of global climate change. Rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere, increased temperature, and altering precipitation patterns all substantially influence agricultural insect pests and agricultural productivity. Climate change has a number of implications for insect pests. They can lead to a decreased biological control effectiveness, particularly natural enemies, increased incidence of insect-transmitted plant diseases, increased risk of migratory pest invasion, altered interspecific interaction, altered synchrony between plants and pests, increase in the number of generations, increased overwintering survival, and increase in geographic distribution. As a consequence, agricultural economic losses are a real possibility, as is a threat to human food and nutrition security. Global warming will necessitate sustainable management techniques to cope with the altering state of pests, as it is a primary driver of pest population dynamics. Future studies on the impacts of climate change on agricultural insect pests might be prioritized in several ways. Enhanced integrated pest control strategies, the use of modelling prediction tools, and climate and pest population monitoring are only a few examples.

The article aims to increase knowledge on methods for assessing Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions throughout the life cycle of marine alternative fuels. The life cycle of new marine alternative fuels and the assessment of GHG emissions resulting not only from their combustion is one of the new topics that are currently being discussed by the IMO, under the ‘Initial IMO GHG Reduction Strategy’ announced by the Organization in 2018. The IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (IMO MEPC) is currently working on the development of Guidelines for Life-Cycle Assessment of GHG emissions for marine fuels from their extraction, through transport, processing, bunkering on board and end use in vessels propulsion systems, what is often called ‘from Cradle-to-Grave’. The use of fossil hydrocarbon fuels is common throughout the shipping industry, but in recent years ships with alternative energy sources have begun to be successfully introduced. Alternative fuels, although they may have low, zero or zero net GHG emissions in use (Tank to Wake or TtW), GHG emissions during their production, processing and distribution (Well-to-Tank or WtT) can vary widely. While a range of low-carbon and zero-carbon energy sources are potentially available for shipping, currently there is no clear decarbonization path or paths, and is likely that in the future a range of solutions will be adopted according to different vessel and operational requirements.