Abstract

Many countries are developing national strategies and action plans aimed at minimising the negative impacts of climate change on biodiversity. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview not only of strategies and plans that have been developed in Australia, but also of research that has been carried out in Australia by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Climate Adaptation Flagship to assist the development of future strategies and plans. Major points are summarised from key policy documents such as the National Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan 2004–2007, and Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010–2030, as well as the 2009 report on “Australia’s Biodiversity and Climate Change”. Within the first three years of its existence, the Natural Ecosystems theme in CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship has carried out studies analysing impacts and identifying potential adaptations across the whole of Australia’s vast terrestrial and marine environments. Techniques used in these studies could be applied easily in other countries and could assist the development of more effective national strategies and adaptation action plans for the conservation of biodiversity under climate change. Booth, T. H., 2012: Biodiversity and climate change adaptation in Australia: Strategy and research developments. Adv. Clim. Change Res., 3(1), doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1248.2012.00012.

Abstract

The World Bank Group (WBG) has focused on reducing the environmental impacts of its internal operations and improving corporate environmental practices since 2002, when the WBG President announced WBG's commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The objective of this document is to summarize the actions WBG has taken thus far to reduce environmental impacts from internal operations and present an action plan to further integrate sustainability into WBG's internal operations. Although this work focuses on the environmental impact associated with WBG daily operations, the links between WBG policies and actions related to environmental management and the financial/social considerations are significant. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) footprint and World Bank corporate responsibility teams facilitate the sustainability commitment of the WBG and monitor and track its progress. These teams provide technical information and research support to a dedicated group of champions throughout the WBG who implement emission reduction activities. Budget for these activities flows primarily through the environment department, the general services department, and IFC facilities management and administration. The environment department and IFC facilities management each resource one staff member to provide back-up research support and to monitor and report on environmental metrics, with building engineers and managers and project officers from across the WBG contributing. Document type: Book

Abstract

This Hazardous Waste Management Act/Resource Conservation and Recovery Act closure plan for the fluorinel dissolution process makeup and cooling and heating systems located in the Fluorinel Dissolution Process and Fuel Storage Facility (CPP-666), Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, Idaho National Laboratory Site, was developed to meet milestones established under the Voluntary Consent Order. The systems to be closed include waste piping associated with the fluorinel dissolution process makeup systems. This closure plan presents the closure performance standards and methods of achieving those standards. Document type: Report

Abstract

The Corrective Action Plan provides the closure methods for Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 423: Area 3 Building 03-60 Underground Discharge Point (UDP), Tonoopah Test Range, Nevada. CAU 423 consists of the UDP and an associated discharge pipeline extending from Building 03-60. Corrective action investigations were completed in January 1998, and are documented in the Corrective Action Decision Document (US DOE, 1998). Results indicate an asymmetrical hydrocarbon plume, measuring 11 meters (m) 35 ft in length, 6 m (20 ft) in width, and 4 to 20 m (14 to 65 ft) in depth, has formed beneath the UDP and migrated westward. Petroleum hydrocarbon levels were identified above the 100 miligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) action level specified in Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) 445A (NAC 1996). The highest petroleum hydrocarbon concentration detected was 2,4000 mg/kg at 6 m, 20 ft, below surface grade as diesel. Corrective actions will consist of administrative controls and in place closure of th e UDP and its associated discharge pipeline. Document type: Report

Abstract

Infrastructure has made a net contribution of around one percentage point to Nigeria's improved per capita growth performance in recent years, in spite of the fact that unreliable power supply held growth back. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by around four percentage points. Nigeria has made important strides toward improving much of its infrastructure. Compared to many African peers, Nigeria has relatively advanced power, road, rail, and information and communications technology (ICT) networks that cover extensive areas of the nation's territory. In recent years, Nigeria has conducted several important infrastructure sector reforms. The ports sector has been converted to a landlord model, and terminal concessions now attract private investment on a scale unprecedented for Africa. The power sector is undergoing a restructuring, paving the way for performance improvements; the sector is finally on a path toward raising tariffs to recover a larger share of costs. Bold liberalization measures in the ICT sector have resulted in widespread, low-cost mobile services, Africa's most vibrant fixed-line sector, and major private investments in the development of a national fiber-optic backbone. A burgeoning domestic air transport sector has emerged, with strong private carriers that have rapidly attained regional significance. Document type: Book

Abstract

The main objective of the report is to analyze the current greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory process in Romania, and provide recommendations for improving the system in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of inventory development in compliance with United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) and European Union (EU) requirements, including emissions forecasting provisions. This report describes the GHG inventory process and its history, analyzes the legal framework, documents and information provisions, and flows related to making the inventory together with identifying the potential adjustments for improvement, assess reporting entities and correlation mechanisms to economic dynamics, in terms of completeness, coherence, response time constant to changes in the number of companies' impact on data reporting, and provides recommendations on the possibility to improve the inventory-making process in order to meet the requirements of emission projections. The report is organized into seven sections as follows: section one provides a general introduction to GHG inventories. Section two examines the processes and procedures used in the present GHG inventory system in Romania and the alignment of this system with international frameworks including the framework for the development of environmental statistics (FDES) and the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) schematic framework. Section three elaborates the challenges with the existing greenhouse inventory process including data gaps and weaknesses in the statistical infrastructure. Section four looks at the international and national legal requirements for greenhouse gas inventories. Section five provides analysis on the flow of information and the specific verification points to ensure data consistency and coherence. Section six provides a number of recommendations and concludes in section seven with a summary of key recommendations.

Abstract

This report presents the findings of the second edition of Connecting to Compete, a report on the new dataset for the 2010 Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and its component indicators. Based on a worldwide survey of global freight forwarders and express carriers, the LPI is a benchmarking tool developed by the World Bank that measures performance along the logistics supply chain within a country. The index can help countries identify challenges and opportunities and improve their logistics performance. The World Bank conducts the survey every two years. The 2010 LPI also provides a snapshot of selected performance indicators in nearly 130 countries, including expanded information on the time, cost, and reliability of import and export supply chains, infrastructure quality, performance of core services, and the friendliness of trade clearance procedures. The 2010 LPI and its indicators encapsulate the firsthand knowledge of movers of international trade, collected amid the economic turmoil of 2009. This information is relevant for policymakers and the private sector seeking to identify priorities for reform agendas. Findings include the following. First, except in high-income countries, the availability and quality of trade-related infrastructure is a major constraint to performance, but the specific priorities tend to vary across countries. Second, efficient border management and coordination of the various agencies involved in border clearance is increasingly important. Third, a major challenge for the international community is how to help the lowest performing countries benefit from an increasingly open global trading system.