Developing a Climate Change Vulnerability Index for Coastal City Sustainability, Mitigation, and Adaptation: A Case Study of Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

Impacts of renewable energy on climate vulnerability: A global perspective for energy transition in a climate adaptation framework

The transition to renewable energy can disproportionately impact the effectiveness of climate change adaptation, due to regional heterogeneity. Many countries attempt to promote renewable energy to reduce the impact of climate change, but the impacts of national energy policy in the climate vulnerability framework remain little understood. Here, we exploit variations in renewable energy uses to test the effectiveness of climate adaptation policy across the dimensions of climate impact and vulnerability. Using the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process and panel data regression, we analyze the spatiotemporal correlation between renewable energy transition and climate vulnerability across the world. We find that while renewable energy increases proportionally with climate exposure and sensitivity, many countries exhibit discrepancies between the variation in renewable energy transition and climate vulnerability. The promotion of renewable energy funnels into nations with a higher level of adaptive capacity while bypassing more vulnerable countries. The results signify that existing renewable energy policies can exacerbate climate inequality and undermine the benefits of the transition to renewable energy by neglecting the spatial heterogeneity in climate vulnerability. Our findings provide empirical evidence for the ways in which renewable energy policy can generate spatial inequalities in climate adaptation.

Environmental impact of submerged and emerged breakwaters

Coastlines are constantly threatened by erosion. Effective coastal defense structures with the least environmental impacts are increasingly required. Submerged and emerged breakwaters have been implemented globally, while positively or negatively creating impacts on the environment. One of the most significant concerns in applying breakwaters is how to minimize their undesirable consequences on the environment. Thus, a thorough understanding of how submerged and emerged breakwaters affect the surrounding environment must be achieved. This article critically reviews and summarizes their environmental impacts on beach morphology, hydrodynamics, ecology, tourism, and recreation, as well as other notable impacts. This is a review article that may help coastal practitioners to manage coastal erosion with breakwaters more sustainably.

Impacts of Future Sea-Level Rise under Global Warming Assessed from Tide Gauge Records: A Case Study of the East Coast Economic Region of Peninsular Malaysia

The effects of global warming are putting the world’s coasts at risk. Coastal planners need relatively accurate projections of the rate of sea-level rise and its possible consequences, such as extreme sea-level changes, flooding, and coastal erosion. The east coast of Peninsular Malaysia is vulnerable to sea-level change. The purpose of this study is to present an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model to analyse sea-level change based on observed data of tide gauge, rainfall, sea level pressure, sea surface temperature, and wind. A Feed-forward Neural Network (FNN) approach was used on observed data from 1991 to 2012 to simulate and predict the sea level change until 2020 from five tide gauge stations in Kuala Terengganu along the East Coast of Malaysia. From 1991 to 2020, predictions estimate that sea level would increase at a pace of roughly 4.60 mm/year on average, with a rate of 2.05 ± 7.16 mm on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This study shows that Peninsular Malaysia’s East Coast is vulnerable to sea-level rise, particularly at Kula Terengganu, Terengganu state, with a rate of 1.38 ± 7.59 mm/year, and Tanjung Gelang, Pahang state, with a rate of 1.87 ± 7.33 mm/year. As a result, strategies and planning for long-term adaptation are needed to control potential consequences. Our research provides crucial information for decision-makers seeking to protect coastal cities from the risks of rising sea levels.