IRISH RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO SOLVE SOCIETAL CHALLENGES COUNTRY: Ireland SCHOOL: Technological University Dublin
ECONOMIC COSTS OF NEW CLIMATE REALITY COUNTRY: Germany SCHOOL: Frankfurt School of Finance and Management The average heatwave causes losses of around $360 million due to declining imports worldwide, according to a new study on the cost of climate events from ZEW Mannheim and Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (Frankfurt School). This figure is only set to rise in the future. Using a moderate (one that is neither too pessimistic nor too optimistic) global climate projection, the study also found that annual global trade would be reduced by around $735 million annually in the period 2020-2038, as compared to global trade in 2015, because of trade losses from heatwaves. “Two-thirds of these costs have to be shouldered by countries that were not directly affected by the heat,” said the study’s co-author, Oliver Schenker, a professor at the Frankfurt School. This is because importing countries must accept their losses from a fall in exports from countries hit by heatwaves and the drop in labour productivity and supply that come with them. Alternatively, they can switch to other exporters, incurring additional costs in the process. The exports themselves were found to fall by an average of 3.4 per cent in months when a country’s average temperature was at least 30° C, compared to a month when the average temperature was below this threshold. Other definitions of a heatwave produced similar results. “We found that the negative impact of heat on exports is most evident where trade is preceded by labour-intensive production processes,” said co- author, Daniel Osberghaus, senior researcher at the ZEW Research Unit for Environmental and Climate Economics. The authors were also quick to pour scorn on the merits of countries opting to pursue protectionist trade policies in light of the potential impact of temperatures experienced by other countries. “It is global trade with its substitution possibilities that reduces the economic losses caused by climate change,” surmised Schenker. TBD
Technological University Dublin lecturer Dr Anushree Priyadarshini is leading Forward, a project that will quantify the food waste generated by Irish households. It has received funding under the Irish Research Council (IRC)’s Collaborative Alliances for Societal Challenges (COALESCE) programme. Food waste, education policies for children with autism in Ireland, and the impact of wind turbine noise, are among the topics of 21 research projects to receive a total investment of €4.9 million under the COALESCE programme. The awards are being made as part of the fourth cycle of COALESCE, which funds research that addresses national and European global challenges across a number of strands. The IRC funds a strand that is unique in the Irish research landscape in supporting interdisciplinary projects led by an AHSS (Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences) researcher working in collaboration with a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) researcher. Commenting on the announcement, Dr Louise Callinan, director of the Irish Research Council, said: “The aims of the COALESCE programme strongly align with the commitments in Impact 2030, Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy, to drive interdisciplinary research underpinned by research excellence to maximise the impact on the grand challenges we face. “We are delighted that through our continued partnerships with different government departments and agencies we are able to support collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects that respond to current priorities and policy needs.” Priyadarshini’s project will quantify food waste generated by Irish households and conduct simulation modelling to identify occupational and demographic clusters of food waste generation, and the generation of clusters in a particular location and period of time. Based on this new knowledge, the project will focus on developing a roadmap for converting household food waste into sustainable bio-based products. CD
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