Inaction on Climate Change Projected to Reduce European Life Expectancy

Temperature and fertility: Evidence from Spain

In this paper, we combine administrative data for Spain from 2010 to 2018 with meteorological data, to identify the effect of daily mean temperature on fertility. We demonstrate for Spain that hot days (≥25°C) decrease the total fertility rate nine months after exposure. Moreover, we do not observe any substantial heterogeneities in the effect of heat by mother's age, mother's educational attainment, sex of the newborn, climatic area, or air conditioning penetration. Our results suggest that climate change may be altering the seasonal distribution of births and affect fertility rates in a context with low fertility and rapid population ageing.

Examining the dynamics between economic development, tourism, renewable energy and life expectancy in the Nordic economies

As the world struggles with pressing issues like climate change and sustainable development, affecting health outcomes and environmental quality, the Nordic regionsare at the forefront of major global challenges. This paper investigates the role of human capital, renewable energy use, tourism, natural resources, and economic growth in shaping life in the Nordic region i.e., Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland).Utilizing panel data spanning from 1990 to 2020, the Driscoll and Kraay standard error (DSK) technique is employed to analyze this intricate interplay. The study reveals that in the Nordic context, sustainable economic growth, bolstered by investments in human capital and the widespread acceptance of renewable energy sources, has been positively associated with increased life expectancies. Furthermore, prudent management of natural resources has helped mitigate adverse health effects related to depletion, maintaining environmental and public health standards. The thriving tourism industry has also been shown to influence lifespan in this region positively. On the contrary, the empirical finding contended that an adverse correlation exists between carbon emissions and LEX. This research underscores the importance of a comprehensive and balanced approach that considers economic development, sustainable development, and public health in pursuing longer and healthier lives, providing valuable insights for policymakers and regions seeking to replicate these positive outcomes.The findings of this study are both conceptually reliable and empirically robust, providing important insights for the formulation of environmental and health policy.

"They Did Not Know What They Were Doing": Climate Change and Intergenerational Compassion

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Compassion is described as an affective experience arising from witnessing the undeserved suffering of another that propels one to provide protection and cooperation. Climate change is often associated with "underserved suffering," especially of younger and future generations. Consequently, contemporary climate discourse has expressed hostility toward older generations for inflicting such suffering. Studies on intergenerational relations within the context of climate change agree that intergenerational solidarity, rather than conflict, is necessary for effective climate action. Because compassion is instrumental to solidarity, in this study, we explore intergenerational climate-related expressions of compassion leading to intergenerational solidarity.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We interviewed 16 climate activists from 8 countries (aged 16-76 years) to understand how they view climate responsibility. Thematic analysis was undertaken to create and explore themes related to intergenerational compassion and solidarity.

RESULTS

Compassion flowed in both directions: from younger to older generations in the form of forgiveness, empathy, and understanding, and from older to younger generations through advocacy, lifestyle changes, and transmission of knowledge and skills. All participants emphasized solutions over accusations. Areas of focus varied between industrialized and developing countries. Cultural factors played an essential role in intergenerational perceptions.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Climate change can be a polarizing issue with older adults fielding accusations and younger people facing criticism for demanding climate action. Examples of intergenerational compassion can counter ageism, reshape climate narratives, encourage intergenerational cooperation, harness the skills of different generations, and create a sustainable world for all ages.

Renewable energy, technological innovation, carbon emission, and life expectancy nexus: experience from the NAFTA economies

One essential component that reflects the development of society and the economy of most countries is life expectancy (LEXP). Nevertheless, LEXP can be influenced by varying factors, including socioeconomic and medical factors. Therefore, this analysis's focal point and motivation is to explore how socioeconomic factors such as economic growth, technological innovation, carbon emission, human capital, and renewable energy affect LEXP. The study utilized panel data from 1990 to 2020 from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which consists of the USA, Mexico, and Canada. The initial test confirmed that the research series were stationary and cointegrated. Therefore, the research applied the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) model to predict the paper's short- and long-term estimates. The empirical estimated model concluded that human capital, renewable energy, technological innovation, and economic growth boost life expectancy. Contrarily, the outcome espoused that carbon emission has an inverse association with LEXP. The causality test confirmed a unidirectional interaction between human capital, economic growth, technological innovation, and life expectancy. On the other hand, there is a bidirectional connection between carbon emission, renewable energy, and life expectancy. The research suggests that stakeholders and policy-makers strengthen and enforce air quality standards to reduce pollution from industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust and encourage using cleaner technologies to promote LEXP. The research outcome is empirically and theoretically consistent, providing an essential breakthrough for environment-health-energy and economic development policies.

Extreme Temperature and Mortality by Educational Attainment in Spain, 2012-2018

Extreme temperatures are a threat to public health, increasing mortality in the affected population. Moreover, there is substantial research showing how age and gender shape vulnerabilities to this environmental risk. However, there is only limited knowledge on how socioeconomic status (SES), operationalized using educational attainment, stratifies the effect of extreme temperatures on mortality. Here, we address this link using Poisson regression and administrative data from 2012 to 2018 for 50 Spanish Provinces on individuals aged above 65 matched with meteorological data provided by the E-OBS dataset. In line with previous studies, results show that hot and cold days increase mortality. Results on the interaction between SES and extreme temperatures show a positive and significant effect of exposure to heat and cold for individuals with medium and low SES level. Conversely, for high SES individuals we do not find evidence of a robust association with heat or cold. We further investigate how the local climate moderates these associations. A warmer climate increases risks with exposures to low temperatures and vice versa for hot temperatures in the pooled sample. Moreover, we observe that results are mostly driven by low SES individuals being particularly vulnerable to heat in colder climates and cold in warmer climates. In conclusion, results highlight how educational attainment stratifies the effect of extreme temperatures and the relevance of the local climate in shaping risks of low SES individuals aged above 65.

The Impact of Sustainability Goals on Productivity Growth: The Moderating Role of Global Warming

The objective of this paper was to gain novel insights into the complex relationships among Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in shaping productivity (GDP/capita) growth. Using dynamic panel regressions on data collected in 138 countries between 2000 and 2017, we found that rising temperatures negatively affect growth and mitigate the impact of other SDGs on growth. We also found that CO₂ emissions have a U-shaped relationship with growth; life expectancy negatively influences growth (positively moderated by rising temperatures), and food security positively impacts growth (negatively moderated by rising temperatures). This study highlights the difficulty of simultaneously implementing SDGs and elucidates novel research perspectives and policies to decrease the negative impacts of climate change on socio-economic and environmental well-being.