Sustainability Matters: Environmental And Climate Changes In The Asia-pacific


Book Description

Sustainability Matters is a compilation of some of the best research papers by students from the National University of Singapore's multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary graduate programme in environmental studies, the M.Sc. in Environmental Management [MEM]. This collection is for the period 2012/2013 and 2013/2014. Entitled Sustainability Matters: Environmental and Climate Changes in the Asia-Pacific, this is the fifth compilation by the programme, and comprises 18 of the best research papers completed during this period. The papers have been edited for brevity. They analyse the many challenges to effective environmental management covering countries including Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and the US. Issues examined include biodiversity conservation, environmental impact assessments, energy, food security, sustainable business practices, public housing, environmental education, and climate change.The first compilation, Sustainability Matters: Environmental Management in Asia was published in 2010 (World Scientific) and comprised the best papers from 2001/2002 to 2006/2007. The second, Sustainability Matters: Challenges and Opportunities in Environmental Management in Asia was published in 2011 (Pearson), and comprised the best papers from 2007/2008 and 2008/2009. The third and fourth compilations (World Scientific) comprised the best papers from the period 2009/2010 to 2011/2012.The papers are edited by five staff members from different disciplines in the MEM programme: Lye Lin-Heng, Victor R Savage, Kua Harn-Wei, Chou Loke-Ming and Tan Puay-Yok.




Accounting for Sustainability: Asia Pacific Perspectives


Book Description

This book advances the understanding of corporate sustainability and challenges and roles of sustainability accounting in the Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific region has shown fast economic growth for several decades which is expected to continue. In this context, Asia has become the “production engine” of the global economy. At the same time scientific reports reveal that some planetary boundaries are crossed, for example relating to biodiversity and climate change. Companies in the Asia-Pacific region are therefore increasingly challenged to reduce their environmental impacts, to document their social contribution and to contribute to sustainable development. Key approaches to identify sustainability problems and challenges, to support improvement processes and to back up sustainability contributions include accounting and reporting. In contrast to the high relevance of accounting and reporting for corporate sustainability for the Asia-Pacific region, academic research has so far been dominated by Western researchers and pre-dominantly dealt with Western and Japanese cases and approaches. It is thus time to take account of Asian perspectives on accounting and reporting for sustainability in the Asia-Pacific region.




Sustainability Matters


Book Description

Ch. 1. The impact of community forestry on biodiversity conservation in Nepal / Ishwari Prasad Poudel and Chou Loke-Ming -- ch. 2. Improving Leachate water quality using a wetland treatment system in Lorong Halus - A pilot study / Christian Budiman and Ting Yen-Ping -- ch. 3. Life cycle assessment of an urban waste refinery / Celia Chua Bee-Hong and Kua Harn-Wei -- ch. 4. A study of the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Programs in primary schools, Singapore / Kelly Yong Kim-Lian and Victor R. Savage -- ch. 5. An assessment of sustainable cities / May Yadana Aung and Chou Loke-Ming -- ch. 6. Urban greenery as a mitigation strategy for urban heat island effect in high density commercial districts of Dhaka, Bangladesh / Nabanita Islam and Wong Nyuk-Hien -- ch. 7. The potential for residential water conservation in Dhaka, Bangladesh / Sonia F. Hoque, Asanga Gunawansa and Md. Mafizur Rahman -- ch. 8. Planned housing environments and children's outdoor play: Is child-friendliness possible? / Md Rashed Bhuyan and Tracey Skelton -- ch. 9. Wind: The alternative source of power for Singapore after solar energy? / Chew Keng-Hui and Lanry Yung -- ch. 10. The economics of wind energy / Alan Yau Wai-Hoo and Benjamin K. Sovacool -- ch. 11. Print media and climate change: A comparison of the 1992 Rio Summit and the 2009 Copenhagen Conference / Davina Loh and Victor R. Savage -- ch. 12. Green business strategies in the precision engineering industry in Singapore / Gan Chin-Yean and Audrey Chia -- ch. 13. The second green revolution: A review of the challenges and prospects / Leong Li-Sun and Victor R. Savage -- ch. 14. Towards broader implementation of corporate sustainability and sustainability reporting in the construction industry in Singapore / Kaia Margit Davis-Tan and Audrey Chia




Sustainability And Development In Asia And The Pacific: Emerging Policy Issues


Book Description

The UN Sustainable Development Goals provide a common global agenda for development. However, the emerging policy issues vary greatly across the world.With 32 contributors, this volume provides a timely, research-based overview for the need for policy interventions to improve the sustainability and development models of the ten selected countries in Asia and the Pacific. The volume is firmly positioned at the cusp between research, policy and practice.




Sustainability Matters: Environmental Management In The Anthropocene


Book Description

Sustainability Matters is a compilation of some of the best research papers submitted by students from the National University of Singapore's multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary graduate programme in environmental studies, as their MSc dissertations in Environmental Management [MEM]. This collection is for the period 2014/2015 to 2015/2016. Entitled Sustainability Matters: Environmental Management in the Anthropocene, this is the sixth volume in the series, and comprises 15 of the best research papers completed during this period. The papers have been edited for brevity. They analyse the many challenges to effective environmental management covering countries including China, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the EU, and USA. Issues examined include biodiversity conservation, environmental science, environmental governance and management, energy, and urban studies.The first compilation, Sustainability Matters: Environmental Management in Asia was published in 2010 and comprised the best papers from 2001/2002 to 2006/2007. The second, Sustainability Matters: Challenges and Opportunities in Environmental Management in Asia, was published in 2011, and comprised the best papers from 2007/2008 and 2008/2009. The third and fourth compilations, Sustainability Matters: Asia's Green Challenges, and Sustainability Matters: Asia's Energy Concerns, Green Policies and Environmental Advocacy, comprised the best papers from the periods 2009/2010 and 2011/2012 respectively. The fifth compilation, Sustainability Matters: Environmental and Climate Changes in the Asia-Pacific, was published in 2015 and comprised the best papers for the periods 2012/2013 and 2013/2014.The papers are edited by five staff members from different disciplines in the MEM programme: Lye Lin-Heng, Harvey Neo, Sekhar Kondepudi, Yew Wen-Shan, Judy Sng Gek-Khim.




How to Avoid a Climate Disaster


Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical—and accessible—plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market, he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively, where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete, practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions—suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers, and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but if we follow the plan he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.




Global Implications of Development, Disasters and Climate Change


Book Description

Displacements in the Asia Pacific region are escalating. The region has for decades experienced more than half of the world’s natural disasters and, in recent years, a disproportionately high share of extreme weather-related disasters, which displaced 19 million people in 2013 alone. This volume offers an innovative and thought-provoking Asia-Pacific perspective on an intensifying global problem: the forced displacement of people from their land, homes, and livelihoods due to development, disasters and environmental change. This book draws together theoretical and multidisciplinary perspectives with diverse case studies from around the region – including China’s Three Gorges Reservoir, Japan’s Fukushima disaster, and the Pacific’s Banaba resettlement. Focusing on responses to displacement in the context of power asymmetries and questions of the public interest, the book highlights shared experiences of displacement, seeking new approaches and solutions that have potential global application. This book shows how displaced peoples respond to interlinked impacts that unravel their social fabric and productive bases, whether through sporadic protest, organised campaigns, empowered mobility or; even community-based negotiation of resettlement solutions. . The volume will be of great interest to researchers and postgraduate students in development studies, environmental and climate change studies, anthropology, sociology, human geography, international law and human rights.




Green Diesel: An Alternative to Biodiesel and Petrodiesel


Book Description

This book covers the entire spectrum of green diesel and their applications in existing CI engines. This book discusses how a green diesel is a better fuel than biodiesel and petrodiesel and more suitable fuels for sustainable future development. The book begins with a concise overview of the fundamentals of the green diesel properties, preparation, and characterization of green diesel using hydroprocessing technology. The book covers recent developments in the domain of green diesel derived particularly from the second-/third-generation feedstocks. Various topics covered in this book include the catalysts involved in the processing of green diesel, characterization of the products as per ASTM/EN protocols. In addition, the book also illustrates characteristic features of green diesel and how it is different from biodiesel and petrodiesel. Other chapters cover performance and emission characteristics of green diesel in CI engines and techno-economic analysis. Moreover, the current status of green diesel industries is also incorporated. This book is of particular interest to graduate students and academic or industrial researchers/professionals working in the area of green diesel/green energy, bioenergy and mechanical, automobile, and chemical engineering. This book makes a forceful foundation for the establishment of green diesel refineries/biorefineries for a sustainable, cleaner, and greener future.




Climate Change Litigation in the Asia Pacific


Book Description

This is the first scholarly examination of climate change litigation in the Asia Pacific region. Bringing legal academics and lawyers from the Global South and Global North together, this book provides rich insights into how litigation can galvanize climate action in countries including Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and China. Written in clear and accessible language, the fourteen chapters in this book shed light on the important question of how litigation may unfold as a potential regulatory pathway towards decarbonization in the world's most populous region.




Sustainability Matters (In 2 Volumes)


Book Description

Sustainability Mattersis a compilation of some of the best research papers by students from the National University of Singapore's inter-disciplinary graduate programme in environmental studies, the MSc in Environmental Management [MEM]. This collection is for the period 2009/10 to 2011/12.As the period covers 3 academic years, the papers have been split into two volumes: Sustainability Matters: Asia's Green Challenges, and Sustainability Matters: Asia's Energy Concerns, Green Policies and Environmental Advocacy. These two volumes are the third and fourth compilation by the programme, and respectively comprise sixteen and fourteen of the best research papers completed during this period. The papers have been edited for brevity. These papers analyze the many challenges to effective environmental management in the context of different countries including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore, and Thailand, and propose insightful solutions.The first compilation, Sustainability Matters: Environmental Management in Asia, was published in 2010 (World Scientific) and comprised the best papers from 2001/2 to 2006/7. The second, Sustainability Matters: Challenges and Opportunities in Environmental Management in Asia was published in 2011 (Pearson), and comprised the best papers from 2007/8 to 2008/09.