Open Access

The impact of climate change on cultural and natural heritage has gained increasing attention from policymakers. Rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions pose significant threats, particularly to the heritage of small island developing states and least developed countries. These challenges are expected to intensify both economic and non-economic losses, highlighting the need for a recalibration of international climate policies and financial mechanisms to include heritage preservation. However, heritage remains largely overlooked in global climate policy frameworks. Its inclusion has been limited to the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage and the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience. Additionally, key mechanisms of the Paris Agreement—such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and the Global Stocktake—fail to sufficiently integrate heritage concerns, despite their importance in building climate resilience. Addressing this gap requires expanding climate policy discussions to incorporate insights from heritage experts, policymakers, and networks. This research assesses the existing knowledge and policy gap, analysing how heritage is considered in submitted NDCs and NAPs. By identifying these gaps, it proposes strategies for embedding heritage into climate policy, ensuring its role in achieving climate-neutral and resilient futures.

Der Beitrag behandelt einen wichtigen Teilaspekt der gesetzgeberischen Bemühungen, Verfahren für immissionsschutzrechtliche Genehmigungen zu beschleunigen. Mit der Feststellung der sog. »einfachen« Vollständigkeit der Antragsunterlagen und der Erklärung gegenüber dem Antragsteller entsprechend § 7 Abs. 1 und 2 der 9. BImSchV soll ein belastbarer Startzeitpunkt gesetzt werden, von dem aus der Lauf der Bearbeitungsfristen für immissionsschutzrechtliche Genehmigungsverfahren in Gang gesetzt würde. Ob diese Hoffnung des Gesetzgebers sich jedoch erfüllen wird, ist aus Sicht der Autoren sowohl aus verfahrenspraktischen wie auch aus rechtsdogmatischen Gründen fraglich.

The increasing demand for essential resources such as water, energy, and food, driven by rapid population growth, urban expansion, and industrialisation, poses a significant challenge for developing countries, which is further exacerbated by climate change. Implementation of climate change policies, therefore, requires adequate consideration of the interconnection between water, energy, and food executed on synergies and managing tradeoffs, which most often is lacking in some developing countries like Nigeria. This paper assesses the relevance of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus approach and highlights its role in formulating sustainable climate policies. In this review, a narrative and exploratory approach was carried out through a literature search from international databases such as Google Scholar and Scopus to capture the full range of perspectives between the years 2002 and 2025 that have contributed to the emergence of the WEF nexus approach in formulating sustainable climate policies. Enhanced resource efficiency, improved resilience to climate change, reduced environmental degradation and innovation and technology development are some of the benefits of the WEF nexus approach. Given the intricate interconnections among these resources, integrating the WEF nexus into policymaking is essential for ensuring long-term resource security and sustainability. This approach fosters a comprehensive and strategic framework for embedding water, energy, and food considerations into climate governance

Rural communities in arid regions face linked challenges of water scarcity, energy insecurity, and climate stress. This study develops a pilot-scale “Green Village” model for Dar Al-Sawda, Oman, integrating agrivoltaic solar generation with natural wastewater treatment and agroforestry to enhance resilience. We used a mixed-methods design: semi-structured interviews with residents and experts informed the system requirements, and PVsyst simulations and field monitoring quantified expected performance. The integrated design comprises two 15 m3 ReedBox® natural wastewater treatment units and a 75 kWp agrivoltaic array above olive orchards. The treatment system processes 26 m3 day−1 for irrigation reuse, while the solar plant is estimated to generate 147,700 kWh per year. Performance ratio (PR) results are reported explicitly: monthly PR simulated for 2024 ranged from 0.70 to 0.81 (mean 0.77), while the annual PR estimated by PVsyst under a clean-panel case was 0.85 (85%). The modeled energy supply covers the treatment units and essential community loads, reducing diesel use and reliance on trucked water. For approximately 120 residents, the Green Village concept improves water security, clean energy access, and local food production, helping to counter rural out-migration. The results demonstrate the feasibility and advantages of an integrated water–energy–food approach and offer a scalable blueprint for sustainable development in Oman and comparable arid settings.