To monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), India, during the last week
of March 2020, imposed national restrictions on the movement of its citizens (lockdown). Although
India’s economy was shut down due to restrictions, the nation observed a sharp decline in particulate
matter (PM) concentrations. In recent years, Delhi has...
Manufacturing and mining sectors are serious pollution sources and risk factors that
threaten air quality and human health. We analyzed pollutants at two study sites (Talcher and
Brajrajnagar) in Odisha, an area exposed to industrial emissions, in the pre-COVID-19 year (2019) and
consecutive pandemic years, including lockdowns (2020 and 2021)...
The study evaluates the impacts of India’s COVID-19 lockdown and unlocking periods on
the country’s ambient air quality. India experienced three strictly enforced lockdowns followed by
unlocking periods where economic and social restrictions were gradually lifted. We have examined
the in situ and satellite data of NO2 emissions for several...
This study’s objective is to examine how ASEAN countries reported their environment-related policies for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), and a dataset of their environmental policies was developed. This is a necessary first step in analyzing the reasons for insufficient progress on the...
The rapid growth in microplastic pollution research is influencing funding priorities, environmental policy, and public perceptions of risks to water quality and environmental and human health. Ensuring that environmental microplastics research data are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) is essential to inform policy and...
G7 leaders have already accepted many important concepts related to the environment and sustainability. The G7 agreed to “protect our planet by supporting a green revolution that creates jobs” in 2021 at the Cornwall Summit. However, the challenge is that the G7 has mostly issued general statements of principle rather than committed to concrete...
COVID-19 has changed the way we understand risk and vulnerability. The pandemic provides a more in-depth understanding of how systemic risks work and how they affect lives, livelihoods and economies at a broader scale. Consequently, a range of impacts was observed, including loss of human health, livelihoods, loss of general wellbeing, protracted...
The IPCC Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report addresses the challenges of climate action in the context of sustainable development with a particular focus on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Since IPCC AR5, human influence on the Earth’s climate has become unequivocal, increasingly apparent, and...
2021年は英国がG7の議長を務め、サミット及び一連の大臣会合を開催した。G7には、エンゲージメントグループという、政府から独立したステークホルダーが提言や政策対話を行う仕組みが存在する。各エンゲージメントグループは、本年６月に開催されたG7サミットに先立ち、G7で議論される分野に関してそれぞれ提言をまとめ、公開した。本稿では、気候・環境分野に関する各エンゲージメントグループの提言を整理し、G7サミットの成果とエンゲージメントグループの提言を主に比較した。その結果、エンゲージメントグループによる提言の多くは、G7カービスベイ首脳コミュニケ（首脳コミュニケ）及び付属文書、気候・環境大臣会合コミュニケ（大臣会合コミュニケ）等で合意された内容の中に何らかの形で言及がなされていることが分かった...
As in many developing countries, waste management is one of the greatest challenges faced by the Maldives. The limited or unavailbility of waste collection services, proper treatment, and disposal systems on the islands often results in dumping household waste on the beach, ocean, and forests and also open burning of waste. These activities are...