CALL FOR PAPERS | THÉSIS EDIÇÃO TEMÁTICA Nº 19

In 1896, the Swedish chemical Svante Arrhenius carried out a study which sought to prove that greenhouse gases stimulate global warming due to the production of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels: ‘Air retains heat in two different ways. On the one hand, heat undergoes selective diffusion as it passes through the air; on the other hand, some of the atmospheric gases absorb considerable quantities of heat’ (ARRHENIUS, 1896).

In the first Assessment Report drawn up by the recognised Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1992, there was still a cautious conviction about human influence on climate change. However, since the Fourth Assessment Report in 2007, there has been a more assertive tone about the responsibility of human beings in relation to the environment. In the Sixth Assessment Report in 2023, it was concluded that:

human activities, mainly through greenhouse gas emissions, have unequivocally caused global warming, with the global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900 levels in 2011-2020. Global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase, with historical and ongoing unequal contributions resulting from unsustainable energy use, land use and land use change, lifestyles and consumption and production patterns across regions, between countries and between individuals (IPCC, 2023, p.4).

In November 2022, the world population reached the 8 billion mark. Despite the reduction of the relative population growth bias, demographic estimations are that the numbers will reach 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050 (UN, 2022, p.3). It should be noted that most of this contingent, around 83 per cent, lives in less affluent countries. Furthermore, there is a recognised and long-standing trend towards population concentration in cities. Today, it is estimated that 57 per cent of the world's population lives in urban areas. The future projection is alarming to say the least, as by 2050 this proportion is expected to reach 68 per cent (UNCTAD, 2023).

In 2023, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (2024), the average temperature on the Earth's surface reached approximately 1.45oC above the average temperature monitored between 1850-1900. That year was recognised as the hottest in the last 174 years. This is not an isolated event, but a progression of average temperatures that is becoming increasingly visible. The recurring positive radiative imbalance at the top of the atmosphere leads to the accumulation of energy in the Earth's system (in the form of heat), which ends up causing climatic extremes. The effects are felt not only through the feedback of rising global temperatures, but also through the formation of heat islands in the most urbanised areas.

The use of heat-trapping materials, the sealing of the soil in cities, the unbridled destruction of natural ecosystems, etc., due to anthropogenic action, are aggravating the problem in a way that is perhaps irreversible. As a result, torrential rains and devastating winds have become increasingly common; melting of a significant part of the cryosphere with a rise in the average sea level; increasingly common floods and inundations, among other consequences, such as those being witnessed all over the planet.

Thésis journal - in a distant reference to Richard Sennett - is proposing a NEW CALL for its 19th issue: ‘Climate change on the planet: perspectives for building and living’ and invites researchers to develop some propositions, among infinite others, on the state of the art of the subject: what are the consequences of climate change for cities? What solutions can be found to climate extremes? Are architects and urban planners prepared to deal with climate change? Who will be most affected by the rigours of the climate? Is there climate democracy? What concerns should be directed towards public and private space in the face of the climate reality that seems to be looming? Will construction concepts and processes be rethought with climate change?

Will there be new forms of life on the planet as a result of climate extremes? What new perspectives are emerging from Nature-Based Solutions? What intricacies of environmental history deserve to be told so far? What environmental responses to thermal comfort, in the context of architecture and urbanism, have been forgotten over time? What innovations in architecture, engineering, town planning, etc. can be expected from now on? What advances can be highlighted in the corporate environment, within the concept of ‘Environment, Social & Governance’ (ESG), in relation to the sustainability of the planet? Will environmental education sensitise the richest? Will popular mobilisation be able to halt the degradation of the Earth? Is the world ready for degrowth, which will involve changing lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production?

Articles will be received in Portuguese, English and Spanish on the Thésis website until 3rd March 2025.

We are looking forward to your contributions!

 

References:

ARRHENIUS, S. On the influence of carbonic acid in the air upon the temperature of the ground. The London Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, fifth series, vol. 4, n. 251, p.237-276, abril/1896.

IPCC. INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE. CLIMATE CHANGE. The IPCC 1990 and 1992 Assessments, 1992. Disponível em: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/climate-change-the-ipcc-1990-and-1992-assessments/ . Acesso em: 22 set. 2024.

IPCC. INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE. CLIMATE CHANGE. Climate Change: Synthesis Report, 2023. Disponível em: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf . Acesso em: 23 set. 2024.

WMO-World Meteorological Organization. State of the Global Climate 2023. Geneva: WMO, n^o 1347, 2024.