Review and Reflect
Carbon Dioxide and Methane Emissions from Landfill Sites under Hot Weather Conditions: Implications of Sustainability
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Abdirashid Elmi
As waste production exponentially increases, landfill continues to be the common waste disposal method. Landfills are significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing to global climate change. This study focuses on assessing the gaseous emissions and dispersion patterns of two major greenhouse gases, methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), from landfill sites situated in an arid hot environment. We used ISC-AERMOD- dispersion model was employed to estimate the release and dispersion rates of CH4 and CO2 from major landfill sites across Kuwait under different seasonal conditions. The dispersions of CH4 and CO2 were influenced by the dominant northwestern and southeastern wind directions and thus, the dispersion of CH4 and CO2 extended predominantly toward northeastern direction. The maximum concentrations of CH4 and CO2 were detected in winter and spring seasons, close to the landfill zone, and the dispersion of CH4 and CO2 fluxes during winter and spring seasons was longer than that during summer and fall seasons. Consequently, residential areas close to the disposal sites were exposed to higher concentrations of CH4 and CO2 gases during winter and spring. This study helps assess which areas are best suited for landfill sites under desert climatic conditions, in consideration towards distances that gaseous emissions can disperse.
Climate Warming Evidence Across Nigeria: A Detailed Examination of Temperature Trends in Sub-National Areas Using Long Memory Process View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Samuel Chibuzor Umeh
Climate change is now a global red light as regards the earth´s sustainability and has become the core of most international discourse. It has become a global environmental pandemic, and Nigeria is not left out from its fallout. Studies have shown that Nigeria is among the countries most affected by climate change. This paper attempts to verify if there is climatic warming or cooling across Nigeria with the help of monthly data from January 1901 to December 2020 on the mean temperatures of 37 subnationals of Nigeria. To do this, we first construct the temperature anomalies for each sub-national and then employ fractional integration to account for the data's probable long memory feature. However, we also study for other statistical features, such as linear trends, and, as usual, employ only data on temperature anomalies. Long memory is found in all cases, and a higher number of positive time trends are detected. Thus, 29 sub-nationals show significant time trends (suggesting climate warming instead of cooling), with the values being higher again in the post-WW2 sample, suggesting that industrialization might have contributed to climate warming in Nigeria. In the post-WW2 sample, only the time trend for Akwa Ibom state is found to be insignificant. The results also indicate some degree of homogeneity in the degree of persistence across the Nigerian sub-nationals.
We Need Trusted Intermediaries: Strategies for Effective Climate Change Communication from American and Polish Climate Scientists
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jagoda Mytych
The climate crisis is a critical challenge for human social, political, and economic systems and, at the same time, a profound communication crisis. Scholars observe the disconnect known as the climate change knowledge-action gap (Knutti 2019), where climate science communication still does not effectively reach broad audiences to leverage the needed action. Although much can be done to improve this communication (Moser, Dilling 2011), a "communications gap" often exists between scientists and the public (Hunter 2016). This study, aimed at addressing these communication-related gaps, seeks to understand climate scientists' strategies for enhancing the science-society dialogue on climate change. The author conducted in-depth interviews with eight American and eight Polish climate scientists known for their communicative efforts. Participants shared their experiences, evaluated communication effectiveness, and offered recommendations. Based on the findings, the author proposes a communication model that includes "trusted intermediaries”: societal actors who help bridge the gap between scientists and the public. These intermediaries support, rather than replace, scientists, helping translate complex information and foster a stronger connection with the general public. Trusted intermediaries acting as liaisons between academia and the public may answer one of the most pressing problems of scientific communication on climate change, namely the lack of sufficient numbers of scientists involved and the lack of institutional support for science communication. The paper outlines the training efforts undertaken in Poland to engage new climate communicators to support the voices of scientists and thus take on the role of trusted intermediaries in climate communication.
