Journal Articles by Laurence L Delina
Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, 2024
This Briefing emphasizes the importance of enhancing the resilience of Bangsamoro communities in ... more This Briefing emphasizes the importance of enhancing the resilience of Bangsamoro communities in Mindanao, Philippines, to the risks posed by violent conflicts and climate change. We propose the concept of “peace-positive climate adaptation,” which integrates conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding principles into climate adaptation interventions and promoting peace.
Environmental Research Communications, 2024
Southeast Asian cities are increasingly affected by heat-related phenomena and various climate-re... more Southeast Asian cities are increasingly affected by heat-related phenomena and various climate-related disasters; however, research on urban heat in this region remains limited compared to other areas. This paper employs bibliometric and thematic analyses to investigate studies on extreme heat in mega-urban areas of Southeast Asia, focusing on the risks and impacts faced by vulnerable populations and their adaptation and mitigation strategies. The bibliometric analysis visualises the research landscape, identifying key clusters and highlighting prevalent themes and gaps. It reveals a predominant emphasis on characterising extreme heat and analysing urban temperature variations through satellite and meteorological data, underscoring a significant lack of research on the socio-economic factors affecting at-risk communities. The thematic analysis further examines how existing studies address these socio-economic vulnerabilities and evaluates the adaptation strategies employed, particularly concerning land use changes driven by population growth. Our findings indicate that, while studies address urban heat in Southeast Asia, their quantity is relatively small compared to the extensive research focused on other regions. Strategies to mitigate the effects of extreme heat on mental and social well-being emphasise the importance of green infrastructure and public spaces. There is also a pressing need to enhance urban planning and design to ensure adaptation measures include at-risk, lower-income communities. Understanding the complexities of the risks and impacts of extreme heat on urban populations is crucial for developing effective, context-specific adaptation strategies that prioritise the needs of vulnerable populations and promote equitable, sustainable urban development.
World Development Perspectives, 2024
Intensifying climate change exacerbates humanitarian challenges, especially in parts of the world... more Intensifying climate change exacerbates humanitarian challenges, especially in parts of the world with a history of violent conflicts. This paper describes the nexus between extreme weather events and their implications for security and livelihoods in Maguindanao province in the Philippine Bangsamoro. It brings front-and-centre an analysis of how climate and security risks impact sustainable livelihoods, unpacking Maguindanao-specific livelihood vulnerabilities and how weather extremes and conflicts exacerbated them. This paper delivers primary empirical evidence on these linkages, showing how prolonged droughts and intense precipitations leading to flooding and incidences of violent conflicts affected the marginalised communities in Maguindanao and their livelihoods. While communities have responded to these challenges through different livelihood adaptation strategies, this paper reveals the need for leadership by local and the Bangsamoro governments in addressing the current and potential issues associated with these strategies. Left unaddressed, climate fragilities can threaten sustainable livelihoods, spiralling further in downward trajectories, poverty traps, and worsened inequalities.
Energy Research & Social Science, 2024
This Perspective overviews the role and potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in accel... more This Perspective overviews the role and potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy technologies and systems. We pay close attention to and speculate the probable impacts of AI on communities which are already vulnerable to the effects of energy transition and discuss how these impacts can be mitigated. In addition to a short literature review, we employed the assistive capabilities of a Generative AI chatbot through hypothetical roleplays to provide feedback on proposed mitigative measures. We highlight society-positive and society-negative impacts, emphasising the implications for just energy transition. We suggest potential measures to address these issues using the energy justice framework, including developing accurate training datasets, community-based mitigation policies, and establishing participative decision-making channels. We argue that human discretion must remain paramount, particularly in ensuring participative policymaking that safeguards social equity protection for vulnerable communities in AIassisted energy transitions.
Data in Brief, 2024
As Southeast Asia grapples with extreme heat occurrences in recent years, mapping which areas are... more As Southeast Asia grapples with extreme heat occurrences in recent years, mapping which areas are clustered with elevated temperatures is crucial for monitoring the at-risk population. Identifying the contributing factors to the warming trends in these areas is also vital in formulating adaptation and mitigation strategies. This dataset comprises land surface temperature (LST) in three metropolises in the region – Metropolitan Manila, Bangkok Metropolitan Area, and Greater Jakarta – downloaded and processed from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument. We used MODIS’ inherent grid system to map LST values at the satellite image's most granular level. We combined them with selected environmental and socioeconomic variables, including building and built-up areas, areas of greeneries, industrial zones, and water bodies, nighttime light (to approximate areas of economic activities), gridded population, distance from water bodies, and indicators on which urban infrastructures, i.e. roads and airports, are present in each grid. Available in shapefile and comma-separate variable file format, this dataset is useful for urban studies in these three cities. The dataset can be easily updated as additional data on LST and other variables becomes available.
Energy Research & Social Science, 2024
Fossil fuel actors have been using greenwashing strategies to enhance their public image by makin... more Fossil fuel actors have been using greenwashing strategies to enhance their public image by making 'green' and 'sustainable' claims, which can be misleading for the investing public. This is particularly concerning as it can lead to the unwitting investment in carbon-intensive businesses and investments. The challenge lies in verifying the accuracy of environmental practices due to the vague language used in environmental reporting and disclosures. This Perspective proposes the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-supported greenwashing detection tools to help identify and scrutinise greenwashing practices, especially through web scraping, natural language processing, and life cycle assessments to assess the claims made in environmental reports and disclosures using examples from three cases to detect deceptive practices and promote transparency in the industry. However, for AI to be effective in detecting greenwashing practices, it is essential to have trustworthy and readily available databases, as well as human expert involvement to check for any biases in the AI's analysis.
Energy Strategy Reviews, 2024
The electrical grid system is a technology and a complex amalgamation of various factors, includi... more The electrical grid system is a technology and a complex amalgamation of various factors, including geography, relationships, institutions, and socio-political-economic influences. Although China's involvement in international grids has primarily been analysed from the political economy perspective, little attention has been given to its impact on the electricity systems of host countries and how it affects their performance. This article addresses this gap by combining insights from international relations, political economy, and electricity systems transitions to analyse databases, news accounts and interview data on the performance and perceptions of energy actors regarding China's involvement in the Philippine electricity grid. Dissatisfaction with delays in project implementations, declining contributions to the development of in-house technological capabilities of the national grid company and transmission lines, diversification of local economic elites and oligarchs, and a lack of transparency have intensified mutual distrust between the Chinese grid company and prominent energy actors in the Philippines and failed to mitigate national security concerns. Our findings imply that changes in the constellation of local energy actors amid the electricity sector reform and integration of renewable energy in grids affect the role of the grid and justification for international grid investors. The perception of unsatisfactory performances raises concerns about national security during the worsening of bilateral relations.
Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 2024
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted food behavior choices, including in procurement, pre... more The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted food behavior choices, including in procurement, preparation, and waste management. Although some of these behavior changes have resulted in positive economic outcomes, such as the growth of employment opportunities for food delivery personnel, others have been deemed environmentally unsustainable, such as the increase in materials used for food packaging. This article examines how the pandemic intensified the negotiations between sustainability and health in food choice behaviors in Hong Kong and demonstrates how contextual and social determinants influence these behaviors. Public health trumped sustainability drivers during these intense disruptions.
Resilient rice farming in indigenous ricescapes is dependent on access to various forms of capita... more Resilient rice farming in indigenous ricescapes is dependent on access to various forms of capital assets; however, the acquisition of these assets is hindered by environmental, industry, demographic, and cultural vulnerabilities. This paper examines the implications of these challenges on natural, physical, financial, human, social, and cultural capital assets for rice farming in the indigenously engineered ricescapes of Bali, Indonesia, and Ifugao, the Philippines. The study used site visits, focus group discussions, and interviews and employed a combined analysis of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework and Bourdieu's theory of capital to explore the interconnected vulnerabilities and their impacts on rice farming to understand the factors that endanger the preservation, cultural integrity, and heritage of these sites. The study shows that similar challenges are present across these ricescapes, including land use changes, erratic weather patterns, and rice market volatility, among others. Additionally, dilemmas regarding cultural and normative directions for development are apparent, while livelihoods vary and are in flux among households due to their discrepant access to capital assets. Therefore, it is crucial to implement governmental, market, and development programs that strengthen rice farmers' access to various types of capital assets to preserve the outstanding universal values of these ricescapes.
Energy Strategy Reviews, 2024
Hybrid renewable energy systems have garnered considerable attention as sustainable power sources... more Hybrid renewable energy systems have garnered considerable attention as sustainable power sources for remote off-grid islands in the Philippines. Consequently, they have been the subject of numerous techno-economic investigations. However, comprehensive explorations into the viability of 100 % renewable energy (RE) systems for these areas have been limited due to their exorbitant initial outlays. In this work, we modelled the prospective transition of off-grid island mini-grids in the Philippines from the contemporary status quo in 2020 to a fully integrated 100 % RE system by 2050. Our approach involves the gradual shift towards RE adoption instead of the abrupt deployment of RE systems. This maneuver serves a twofold purpose: firstly, it mitigates the adverse economic repercussions stemming from the substantial upfront costs inherent to RE technologies; secondly, it leverages the declining future costs of these technologies. We collected an energy generation and consumption dataset across 208 mini-grids in Philippine off-grid islands. We then simulate the RE transition based on prevailing technology costs at five-year intervals from 2020 to 2050. Afterwards, different scenarios that may affect the energy transition are simulated. Our results indicate that an energy transition steered solely by market dynamics cannot achieve a 100 % RE penetration; hence, we analysed alternative scenarios promoting RE utilization. The immediate discontinuation of all diesel generators by 2050 will lead to a substantial cost uptick at the end of the transition. Integrating biodiesel yields a more measured progression of costs, although this relies upon a nascent market, rendering it susceptible to feedstock supply risks. Recognizing the intermittent nature of RE technologies, we posit that allowing for a certain degree of unmet load fosters greater RE penetration. Nevertheless, this approach compromises the reliability of the system. Our work demonstrates that a 100 % RE transition in Philippine off-grid islands is technically and economically feasible. However, the energy trilemma or the tradeoff between affordability, reliability, and sustainability encumbers the realization of this transition.
Environment and Security, 2024
Extreme weather events have been closely associated with the escalation of violent conflicts. Thi... more Extreme weather events have been closely associated with the escalation of violent conflicts. This article introduces empirical evidence that underscores the vulnerability of conflict emergence to extended deficit rainfall values within Maguindanao, a province situated in the Bangsamoro region of the southern Philippines. Using a combination of satellite data, hydrological analysis and an examination of conflict databases, our study unveils the pivotal role played by protracted droughts and intensified precipitation in fostering human insecurity, consequently elevating the likelihood of violent conflicts. Our research spotlights the climate-conflict nexus within this relatively lessexplored geographical area. Our findings underscore a robust association between instances of violent conflicts, protracted deficits or episodes of intense rainfall, and the subsequent surge in food prices. Notably, disruptions in food prices align temporally with heightened participation in violent conflicts by individuals. In essence, the emergence of violent conflicts exacerbates fragility, thereby engendering a vicious cycle that intertwines climate change, conflict dynamics and the pursuit of peace.
Cities & Health, 2024
This paper examines the nexus between behaviours, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and th... more This paper examines the nexus between behaviours, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and the behavioural changes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. Through an extensive review of 208 written sources spanning March 2020 to July 2021, the study analyses how the pandemic has affected the progress and relevance of the SDG targets in the city. Using UN-provided SDG indicators, the study evaluates the written accounts of behavioural change and establishes the linkages between them and the SDGs. Saaty’s Analytical Hierarchy Process was applied to rank 75 SDG sub-targets according to their importance and urgency in Hong Kong’s pandemic context. Notably, four SDGs stand out among the top 15: SDG3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG1 (No Poverty), and SDG10 (Reduced Inequalities), reflecting the significant challenges and opportunities for public health, the economy, vulnerable communities, and environmental sustainability in Hong Kong. The paper provides a comprehensive framework for developing post-pandemic strategies to address the city’s SDG targets. It also offers valuable insights into health, consumption, social and environmental engagement, quality of life, and institutions and organisations for policymakers and stakeholders involved in Hong Kong’s pandemic recovery and sustainable development efforts.
The Electricity Journal, 2023
Access to adequate and reliable electricity is paramount for the adaptation and resilience of typ... more Access to adequate and reliable electricity is paramount for the adaptation and resilience of typhoon-prone coastal communities, particularly in the face of intensifying challenges posed by climate change. Climaterelated extreme weather events, such as typhoons and their consequent flooding and storm surges, exert significant pressure on electricity systems in these vulnerable regions, affecting every aspect from generation to transmission, distribution, and end-user utilization. Therefore, urgent action is required to fortify these communities with electric systems that are resilient enough to withstand such meteorological extremes. This review paper examines the far-reaching impacts of extreme weather events on electricity systems and showcases illuminating case studies that highlight innovative strategies to bolster these systems against such extremes. The review emphasizes the pivotal role of meticulous energy planning, strong support from local governments, and the significance of infrastructure hardening in building resilient energy systems. Future research opportunities exist in integrating renewable energy, engaging community members, assessing climate risks, and cross-sectoral resilience.
Data in Brief, 2023
Between 2000 and 2020, Japan played a crucial role in transforming Southeast Asia's energy sector... more Between 2000 and 2020, Japan played a crucial role in transforming Southeast Asia's energy sector, contributing significantly to local, national, and regional development. This period saw substantial Japanese investments in various energy sources, including renewable energy initiatives and continued use of fossil fuels, while emphasising capacity development. Our research involved an extensive and systematic inventory of secondary resources, with meticulous validation and fact-checking of critical project data. The resulting dataset provides funding amounts and details channelled through Japanese government-backed institutions and private corporations. This dataset could enhance our understanding of Japan-supported energy infrastructure and soft-skill capacity-building projects, allowing us to analyse further how these investments were aligned with the broader economic and sustainability objectives of Southeast Asian countries. Covering investment types, funding sources, and project locations, this valuable resource is useful for scholars across disciplines. Asian studies researchers can gain insights into Japan's strategic involvement in the region, while energy studies specialists can gain a nuanced understanding of the evolving energy finance landscape. Energy policy experts can also use this data to analyse the implications of Japan's contributions to Southeast Asia's energy transition.
Energy Strategy Reviews, 2023
Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) have emerged as a promising solution for delivering sustai... more Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) have emerged as a promising solution for delivering sustainable energy to off-grid communities. However, the vulnerability of specific regions to extreme weather events has raised concerns about the resilience of these systems. This study undertakes a techno-economic analysis to assess the impact and significance of incorporating storm hardening measures and insurance into an HRES designed for the Busuanga island cluster. Central to our study is introducing a novel cost metric, the probability-averaged levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), which adeptly captures the inherently probabilistic nature of climate-induced damages to HRES energy assets. This metric serves as the linchpin for comparing the economic viability of HRES configurations, considering both scenarios with and without storm hardening or insurance. Our findings unveil a clear trend: for a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel with an annual probability of damage at 1%, insurance emerges as a financially prudent choice, while storm hardening gains merit at a probability of 4%. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is pivotal in shaping investment decisions. HRES setups featuring non-hardened solar PV panels become more economically appealing than their insured or hardened counterparts under higher WACC conditions, under the condition that the solar PV panels can maintain functionality for 15 years without impairment. Our study demonstrates the importance of accounting for often overlooked factors such as storm hardening and insurance premiums for solar PV panels in climate-vulnerable areas, which are commonly disregarded in many techno-economic studies. Moreover, our findings and conclusions on the optimal balance between capital costs, insurance premiums, and storm-hardening markups can readily extend to other climate-vulnerable areas.
Climate Risk Management, 2023
The Cotabato River Basin, located on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, holds paramount i... more The Cotabato River Basin, located on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, holds paramount importance for local communities and the national economy. However, over the past few decades, the region has been severely affected by the consequences of climate change, such as flooding and drought, along with long-standing socio-political conflicts that threaten livelihood security. This article analyzes the interplay between livelihood security, climate fragility, and state fragility to foster a more meaningful understanding of the impacts arising from historical fragilities and conflicts. The study findings reveal five significant effects of these fragilities on security: persistent flooding, changes in land use, river siltation, drought impact, and uncertainties stemming from violent conflicts. Through a detailed analysis, the article elucidates how the frequent exposure to these events has compelled communities to adapt by perceiving threats to their livelihoods as uncontrollable, thereby normalizing fragilities as an inherent aspect of everyday life. The study underscores the importance of temporal awareness and cultural understanding to comprehend the complexities of fragilities and conflicts. Integrating such awareness and experience makes refining approaches to strengthen livelihoods and mitigate community vulnerabilities possible.
The Electricity Journal, 2023
This article traces the development of energy generation in the Philippines, tracing its origins ... more This article traces the development of energy generation in the Philippines, tracing its origins back to 1892 and spanning through the significant reforms ushered in by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) in 2001, and the subsequent two decades. The early chapters of this history witnessed the establishment of pivotal companies like Compania La Electricista and Manila Railway & Light Company (Meralco), which hinged on foreign investment and expertise. Meralco's expansion encompassed the establishment of diverse power plants, including hydroelectric facilities, to cater to the escalating electricity demand. However, concerns surrounding foreign dominance and reliance on imported resources led to the creation of the National Power Corporation (NPC) in 1936 tasked with harnessing hydraulic power and increasing state participation in the energy sector. The postwar era witnessed the NPC's significant role in bolstering the nation's growing economy, especially through its expansive power development program and the nationalization of the electric power landscape. Despite progress in rural electrification, the NPC encountered challenges like financial constraints, political complexities, and the contentious Bataan Nuclear Power Plant project, which impeded its operational efficiency. The 1990 s unveiled a severe power crisis due to financial constraints and inadequate infrastructure. In response, the government sought to invigorate the sector by incorporating private sector engagement through independent power producers. To rectify inefficiencies and stimulate competition, the EPIRA was enacted in 2001 to steer the energy sector toward a comprehensive overhaul by restructuring the power industry and divesting NPC's generation and transmission assets. This article provides insights into the historical trajectory of the Philippine energy sector, culminating in a series of reforms aimed at cultivating a more streamlined and competitive power sector, positioned to meet the nation's ever-evolving energy needs.
Energy Research and Social Science, 2023
Cities are front-runners and essential actors in the household energy transition from traditional... more Cities are front-runners and essential actors in the household energy transition from traditional solid to modern non-solid fuels. However, achieving an equitable and just transition in cities presents challenges, particularly for vulnerable populations. Among these vulnerable groups, older people are particularly affected by energy poverty, facing inadequate access to clean and modern energy. Yet, the linkages between their energy poverty and fuel choices remain underexplored, especially in urban areas outside the Global North context. This study focuses on China, a fastest-aging country, and aims to understand why some older people in affluent urban areas continue to burn honeycomb coal briquettes. By analyzing older people's subjective experiences and objective connections to their fuel use, we uncover their lived experiences with energy poverty. We extended the 'Energy Cultures Framework' by including older people's vulnerability attributes alongside their material culture, norms, practices, and external influences. Using semi-structured interviews and participant observations in urban Wuhan, we found two patterns of dirty fuel stacking among older people facing energy poverty: passive and active dirty stacking. Passive dirty stacking is mainly caused by older energy-poor individuals' material culture, external influences, and vulnerability attributes; whereas active dirty stacking is primarily associated with their norms, practices, vulnerability attributes, and related external factors. Our findings provide strong implications for social and energy policy, particularly regarding the characterization of energy poverty, regulatory and infrastructural responses, social justice, grassroots governance, energy literacy, and cultural compatibility.
Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 2023
This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainability behaviors in Hong Kong ... more This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainability behaviors in Hong Kong across five domains of the Sustainable Development Goals: health, consumption, social environment, quality of life, and institutions. Through a survey and focus groups, we found that the pandemic led to significant changes in people's behaviors, including increased attention to personal hygiene and health practices, reduced consumption of non-essential goods, and greater appreciation for local nature. Furthermore, we identified the role of external factors, such as age and income, in shaping people's behavioral changes during this challenging period. For instance, younger people were less likely to be concerned about their health and more likely to engage in online shopping for groceries, while those with higher incomes were more likely to prioritize sustainability practices in their daily lives. Our findings provide insights into the pandemic's impact on sustainability behaviors and suggest eighteen SDG-aligned policy recommendations for promoting sustainable practices in Hong Kong in the future.
Energy Research & Social Science, 2023
There is a dichotomy in the understanding of energy poverty between Asia and the rest of the worl... more There is a dichotomy in the understanding of energy poverty between Asia and the rest of the world, especially in the Global North. While there has been considerable discourse regarding energy poverty in the Global North, particularly the emergence of affordable cooling, the development of energy poverty studies in the Global South has received less attention. This review article explores energy poverty within Asia reviewing energy poverty studies in 23 countries and territories in South, East, and Southeast Asia, using bibliometric analysis to identify emerging discussions and researchers. We highlight the concepts of 'hidden energy poverty', 'urban energy poverty', and 'cooling poverty' to outline potential areas for future research that contextualises energy poverty into using a more encompassing term, 'energy insecurity,' which consolidates the wide gamut of energy-related sufferings. To investigate other drivers and impacts of energy insecurity, qualitative research can extend previously identified elements of accessibility and affordability. New research directions may also include contextualising energy insecurity in the context of a just energy transition.
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Journal Articles by Laurence L Delina
Mining select histories from India, the United States, the Philippines, and Burma, the book explores topics including visioning and identity building; framing; triggering pressure; boosting publicity; and diversifying networks as strategic tools to the repertoires of climate action groups, organizations, and institutions. It will be of great value to academics and practitioners, as well as to anyone interested in how to actively combat climate change.
This book explores how the transition occurs in fourteen developing countries and broadly surveys their technological, policy, financing, and institutional capacities in response to the three key aspects of the transition: achieving universal energy access, harvesting energy efficiency, and deploying renewable energy. The book shows how fragmented these approaches are, how they occur across multiple levels of governance, and how policy, financing, and institutional turns could occur in these complex settings.
This book will be of interest to students and scholars of energy and climate policy, development studies, international relations, politics, strategic studies, and geography. It is also useful to policymakers and development practitioners.
Strategies for Rapid Climate Mitigation examines the wartime-climate analogy by drawing lessons from wartime mobilisations to develop contingency plans for a scenario where governments implement stringent mitigation programs as an ‘insurance policy’ where we pay for future benefits. Readers are provided a picture of how these programs could look, how they would work, what could trigger them, and the challenges in execution. The book analyses in detail one plausible approach to a crucial issue – an approach built upon knowledge of climate science and on proven and demonstrated mitigation measures. The book is meshed with a social and political analysis that draws upon narratives of mobilisations during the war to meet a transnational threat, while also addressing the shortcomings of the analogy and its strategies.
The book will be of great interest to scholars, students, and practitioners of public policy, climate policy, energy policy, international relations, and strategic studies.