Abstract
Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be traced to five economic sectors: energy, industry, buildings, transport and AFOLU (agriculture, forestry and other land uses). In this topical ...review, we synthesise the literature to explain recent trends in global and regional emissions in each of these sectors. To contextualise our review, we present estimates of GHG emissions trends by sector from 1990 to 2018, describing the major sources of emissions growth, stability and decline across ten global regions. Overall, the literature and data emphasise that progress towards reducing GHG emissions has been limited. The prominent global pattern is a continuation of underlying drivers with few signs of emerging limits to demand, nor of a deep shift towards the delivery of low and zero carbon services across sectors. We observe a moderate decarbonisation of energy systems in Europe and North America, driven by fuel switching and the increasing penetration of renewables. By contrast, in rapidly industrialising regions, fossil-based energy systems have continuously expanded, only very recently slowing down in their growth. Strong demand for materials, floor area, energy services and travel have driven emissions growth in the industry, buildings and transport sectors, particularly in Eastern Asia, Southern Asia and South-East Asia. An expansion of agriculture into carbon-dense tropical forest areas has driven recent increases in AFOLU emissions in Latin America, South-East Asia and Africa. Identifying, understanding, and tackling the most persistent and climate-damaging trends across sectors is a fundamental concern for research and policy as humanity treads deeper into the Anthropocene.
•University students in Zimbabwe generally understand the significance of SDGs.•Most students think SDGs content in university curricula is low.•Student awareness of SDGs is a function of factors ...other than just the teachers’ knowledge and familiarity.•Science related programmes have the least SDGs localisation effort.•Lack of resources and policy direction are the leading barriers to SDGs localisation.
This study examines the perceptions of students about SDG localization in Zimbabwean universities. The study uses a mixed methods research design. The results reveal that students perceive the SDGs as significant in university curricula. Only 39 % confirm satisfactory or high coverage of SDGs content in their curricula. SDGs familiarity varies per discipline. Various challenges inhibit the localization of SDGs in universities. Lack of resources is the key factor. The study concludes that universities in Zimbabwe have not yet localized the SDGs to an 'acceptable or better' level. The study highlights the possibility of improving the pace of SDGs localization.
As this article was being finalised, the world was left with less than 7 of the 15 years of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation to 2030. There were still huge gaps in the attainment ...of the SDGs in institutions of higher learning globally, especially that COVID-19 brought a barrier leading to a known pushback. However, the pandemic did not imply there was no work done prior, during and after COVID-19. This article investigates the extent to which the University of South Africa’s academic staff activated and mainstreamed the SDGs in their core mandates between 2016 and 2022. Data was generated through a survey ( n = 121), participatory action research, and document analysis. It emerged there is a greater degree of awareness of the SDGs, with 78% of academic respondents confirming this. However, the percentages drop across the four core mandate areas when it comes to SDGs implementation. About 52.6% of academics indicated they were promoting SDGs in their teaching, research (63.3%), community engagement (55.5%) and academic citizenship (54.5%). Findings further reveal key enabling institutional policies like the SDGS Localisation Declaration, and the Africa-Nuanced SDGs Research Support Programme. Large gaps remain on the publication front, where over 60% of the responding academics had not published an article explicitly on SDGs. There is also bias in publications towards certain SDGs. The work recommends that University of South Africa management continue raising awareness on the SDGs and systematically address barriers identified in the main article to enhance the mainstreaming of the SDGs across all core mandate areas.
In May 2023, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency of international concern. However, this declaration does not remove severe negative impacts ...COVID-19 had on the education sector. This paper sets an objective to determine the impact of COVID-19 and the responses thereto in school operations in two municipalities in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Following a mixed methods research design, data were generated through an educator/teacher survey (n = 226), complemented by key informant interviews (n = 14) analysed in ATLAS.ti. Key findings reveal the severity of COVID-19 impacts on teaching and learning, feeding schemes, transport, and sporting activities, which resulted in a pushback on progress towards the attainment of quality education as per Sustainable Development Goal 4. All 39 schools sampled did not migrate to remote learning and were, at some point, completely shut down during the hard lockdowns. The only key innovation from the National Government was to introduce Hot Sitting/Platooning, and Rotational Block Learning. Although face-to-face classes continued thereafter, there was limited learning, low exit pass rates, increased absenteeism, and dropouts. There were also other challenges, including growth in the number of orphaned learners, vandalism, traumatised learners, and increased staff workload due to catch-up classes. The paper recommends a revisit of the schooling system post-COVID-19 to assess the magnified gaps, including the digital divide between private and public schools, and general internet connectivity. School disaster risk reduction and management plans are further recommended as medium to long-term resilience and adaptation measures.
This study examined the impact of climate change on plant species diversity of a savanna ecosystem, through an assessment of climatic trends over a period of forty years (1974–2014) using Masvingo ...Province, Zimbabwe, as a case study. The normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used as a proxy for plant species diversity to cover for the absence of long-term historical plant diversity data. Observed precipitation and temperature data collected over the review period were compared with the trends in NDVI to understand the impact of climate change on plant species diversity over time. The nonaligned block sampling design was used as the sampling framework, from which 198 sampling plots were identified. Data sources included satellite images, field measurements, and direct observations. Temperature and precipitation had significant (p < 0.05) trends over the period under study. However, the trend for seasonal total precipitation was not significant but declining. Significant correlations (p < 0.001) were identified between various climate variables and the Shannon index of diversity. NDVI was also significantly correlated to the Shannon index of diversity. The declining trend of plant species in savanna ecosystems is directly linked to the decreasing precipitation and increasing temperatures.
Introduction The influence of non-teaching staff on localizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within universities is underexplored despite its potential significance. This study examines the ...familiarization with SDGs at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU). Methods The triangulation convergence model of the mixed methods research design was adopted as the strategy for inquiry. The study surveyed 70 randomly selected non-teaching staff from diverse departments and key informant interviews were done with purposively selected non-teaching staff. Secondary data sources were obtained from the information department and the university website for additional details on SDG localisation initiatives. Results The results indicate that the non-teaching staff members at GZU exhibit a moderate familiarity with SDGs, scoring 42.14%. About 42.86% of the employees had engaged with SDGs documents. Interestingly, respondents perceived the institution as well-prepared for SDGs localization, scoring 62.17%. The overall SDGs localization score is 58.5%, with variations between specific SDGs. In particular, SDG 5 (Gender Equality) scores highest, while SDG 14 (Life below Water) is the least localized. The study identifies several obstacles that hinder non-teaching staff from actively contributing to SDG implementation, such as primarily financial constraints followed by lack of awareness, demotivated employees, insufficient training, and a scarcity of SDG materials. Structural challenges within the institution were also observed. Discussion To facilitate the mainstreaming of SDGs issues among non-academic staff activities and initiatives, the study underscores the need for management to play an enabling role and designate focal persons for SDGs to oversee projects’ execution. Overall, this research sheds light on the current status of SDGs familiarization in higher learning institutions and offers insights for enhancing the involvement of non-teaching staff in achieving SDG targets.
This study used a mixed-methods research design to examine the sensitivity of vector-borne disease (VBD) patterns to the changes in rainfall and temperature trends. The research focused on malaria in ...Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. The study interfaced the climate action, health and sustainable cities and communities with sustainable development goals (SDGs). Historical climate and epidemiological data were used to compute the correlations and determine the possible modifications of disease patterns. Clustered random and chain-referral sampling approaches were used to select study sites and respondents. Primary data were gathered through a questionnaire survey (n = 191), interviews and focus group discussions, with Mann–Kendal trend tests performed using XLSTAT 2020. The results show a positive correlation between malaria prevalence rates and temperature-related variables. A decline in precipitation-related variables, specifically mean monthly precipitation (MMP), was associated with an increase in malaria prevalence. These observations were confirmed by the views of the respondents, which show that climate change has a bearing on malaria spatial and temporal dynamics in Masvingo Province. The study concludes that climate change plays a contributory role in VBD dynamics, thereby impeding the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially SDG 3, which deals with health. The study recommends further research into appropriate adaptation mechanisms to increase the resilience of rural and urban communities against the negative transmutations associated with weather and climatic pressures.
Sub-catchment level water sector response strategies to climate change in Zimbabwe have not been adequately analyzed to determine their impact and connectedness with the Sustainable Development Goals ...(SDGs). In this study, the mixed methods research design is used to examine the implications of water sector climate change response strategies (CCRS) on SDGs in Mutirikwi sub-catchment in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. Results show that the climate is changing, with a statistically significant (p = 0.031; α = 0.05) increase in the annual mean temperature and a declining rainfall trend, though not statistically significant (p=0.753; α = 0.05). Views from local communities and stakeholders confirm the existence of climate change. There is a deluge of response strategies to the changing climate, including borehole drilling, roof rainwater harvesting, surface storage, water reuse and water transfers. These strategies have directly contributed to the achievement of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 11 (Sustainable Settlements), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). They have also indirectly contributed to the achievement of SDG 3 (Health), SDG 5 (Gender), SDG 9 (Infrastructure) SDG 12 (Sustainable Consumption) and SDG 15 (Life on Land). The study concludes that there is an inextricable link between CCRS and SDGs. However, implementation of the response strategies is riddled with challenges that are threatening the sustainability matters. There is a need to design community-driven response mechanisms synergized with national and international climate adaptation initiatives to ensure sustainability of the strategies through guaranteed policy and resource support from the national government and non-governmental agencies.
Due to climate change's effects, protected areas, particularly national parks, face conservation challenges, negatively impacting tourism. Sustainable tourism requires understanding the climate and ...conservation challenges in national parks and their implications for tourism. Marakele National Park in South Africa faces climatic and conservation challenges. A purposive and snowball sampling strategy was used to select study participants. An in-depth interview was conducted with the employees of South African National Parks, including top managers, scientists, field, section, honorary rangers, conservationists, and hospitality staff. A perception survey involving 871 tourists was conducted along with field observations, archival data, and an analysis of archival data. The study results indicate that rainfall levels in the national park vary greatly from season to season and are declining. A warm climate and high rainfall were also observed, and increased drought episodes. The observed climatic extremes led to several ecological challenges, including bush thickening and encroachment, intense soil erosion, wetland degradation and an increased frequency of wildfires. The environmental challenges impact the park's aesthetic value, affect tourist comfort and perceptions, and cause employee discomfort. The paper recommends that the park develops anticipatory action plans for the identified climatic and tourist attraction risks.
The emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) have significant influence on the global economic and environmental trajectories. They have carbon intensive economic ...systems, which contribute significantly to total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, leading to climate change. However, BRICS have joined the race to net-zero emissions by 2050 in the quest for a climate neutral and sustainable global economy. The journey, however, is not without challenges and opportunities. The proliferation of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had mixed reactions from scientists regarding its implications on net-zero trajectories. While statistical data show a correlation between COVID-19 and a decrease in total emissions, it is envisaged that COVID-19 compromised the efforts to develop carbon neutral economies. Hence, there is still need for more scientific examination of COVID-19′s impact on net-zero ambitions, especially in the emerging economies. This study focuses on India and South Africa's trajectories. Statistical analysis of secondary data from authentic interactive web-based dashboards for COVID-19 data repositories, namely Our World in Data and Climate Action Tracker was performed in conjunction with the document analysis approach following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. Some of the COVID-19 challenges as indicated by the results of the study include curtailing the technology transfer staircase in the energy sector, retaliatory emissions for recovery and resource diversion. The opportunities presented by COVID-19 in the quest for carbon neutrality include behavioural changes in investment, production and consumption patterns with a focus on low carbon options. Governments and stakeholders need to focus on addressing the barriers whilst riding on the opportunities presented by the pandemic to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
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