**Preface to "Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability-Volume 6"**

The Earth's climate is changing; the global average temperature is estimated to already be about 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels. Indeed, we are now living in conditions of a climate emergency. Climate change leads to many adverse events, such as extreme heat, flooding, bushfire, drought, and many other associated economic and social consequences. Further warming is projected to occur in the coming decades, and climate-induced impacts may exceed the capacity of society to cope and adaptive in a 1.5 °C or 2 °C world. Therefore, urgent actions should be taken to address climate change and avoid irreversible environmental damages.

Climate change is interrelated with many other challenges such as urbanisation, population increase and economic growth. For instance, cities are now the main settlements of human being and are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions that are key contributors to climate change. Moreover, rapid and unregulated urbanisation in some contexts further causes urban problems such as environmental pollution, traffic congestion, urban flooding and heat island intensification. In the absence of well-designed measures, increasing urbanisation trends in the next two–three decades are likely to further aggravate such problems. Overall, climate change and many other challenges have deteriorated the sustainable development of the world.

The United Nations proposed the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. Goal 13, Climate Action, emphasises the need for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts in order to enhance sustainability. To achieve this, there is a need to develop a holistic framework that considers mitigation—the decarbonisation of society—to address the challenge of climate change from the root, and adaptation—an immediate action—to increase the resilience of and protect society from climate-induced hazards. The framework prioritises the transformation of the traditional methods of environmental modifications in various fields, including transportation, industry, building, energy generation, agriculture, land use and forestry, towards sustainable ones to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The framework also highlights the significance of sustainable environmental planning and design for adaptation in order to reduce climate-induced threats and risks. Moreover, it encourages the involvement and participation of all stakeholders to accelerate climate change mitigation and adaptation progress by developing sound climate-related governance systems.

The framework also calls for the support and engagement of all societal stakeholders. To support the achievement and implementation of the framework, this book focuses on climate change and environmental sustainability by covering four key aspects, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable urban–rural planning and design, decarbonisation of the built environment in addition to climate-related governance and challenges. Climate change mitigation and adaptation covers topics of greenhouse gas emissions and measurement, climate-related disasters and reduction, risk and vulnerability assessment and visualisation, impacts of climate change on health and well-being, ecosystem services and carbon sequestration, sustainable transport and climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable building and construction, industry decarbonisation and economic growth, renewable and clean energy potential and implementation in addition to environmental, economic and social benefits of climate change mitigation.

Sustainable urban–rural planning and design deals with questions of climate change and regional economic development, territorial spatial planning and carbon neutrality, urban overheating mitigation and adaptation, water-sensitive urban design, smart development for urban habitats, sustainable land use and planning, low-carbon cities and communities, wind-sensitive urban planning and design, nature-based solutions, urban morphology and environmental performance in addition to innovative technologies, models, methods and tools for spatial planning. Decarbonisation of the built environment addresses issues of climate-related impacts on the built environment, the health and well-being of occupants, demands on energy, materials and water, assessment methods, systems and tools, sustainable energy, materials and water systems, energy-efficient design technologies and appliances, smart technology and sustainable operation, the uptake and integration of clean energy, innovative materials for carbon reduction and environmental regulation, building demolition and material recycling and reusing in addition to sustainable building retrofitting and assessment. Climate-related governance and challenges concerns problems of targets, pathways and roadmaps towards carbon neutrality, pathways for climate resilience and future sustainability, challenges, opportunities and solutions for climate resilience, the development and challenges climate change governance coalitions (networks), co-benefits and synergies between adaptation and mitigation measures, conflicts and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation measures, mapping, accounting and trading carbon emissions, governance models, policies, regulations and programs, financing urban climate change mitigation, education, policy and advocacy of climate change mitigation and adaptation in addition to the impacts and lessons of COVID-19 and similar crises.

Overall, this book aims to introduce innovative systems, ideas, pathways, solutions, strategies, technologies, pilot cases and exemplars that are relevant to measuring and assessing the impact of climate change, mitigation and adaptation strategies and techniques in addition to public participation and governance. The outcomes of this book are expected to support decision makers and stakeholders to address climate change and promote environmental sustainability. Lastly, this book aims to provide support for the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and carbon neutrality in efforts aimed at achieving a more resilient, liveable and sustainable future.

This volume of Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability covers topics on green finance and investment, collaboration building and public engagement, and industry governance towards carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability. First, it presents issues related to embodied carbon in the international trade, impacts of the green finance system on carbon emissions, the implementation of green deal strategies, linkage between foreign direct investment and carbon emissions, and the implications of COVID-19 for decarbonisation actions. Following such critical problems, theoretical conceptualisation of new green deals, international research team collaboration for sustainability, nature conservation communication in social networks, and the efficiency of environmental policies in emission reduction are discussed. Next, close attention is paid to various industries, including agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing, by analysing topics relevant to the impacts of climate-related factors, assessment indicator systems or appraisal systems, and value chain systems. In addition, the book also presents disaster risk mapping studies for assessing vulnerability, best practices of risk management, and cases on environment-induced impacts on health. Results reported in this book are conducive to a better understanding of green finance and investment regimes, community engagement, and industry sustainability. We expect the book to benefit decision-makers, practitioners, and researchers in different fields and contribute to carbon neutrality and economic growth.

Prof. Baojie He acknowledges Project NO. 2021CDJQY-004, supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. We appreciate the assistance from Mr. Lifeng Xiong, Mr. Wei Wang, Ms. Xueke Chen, and Ms. Anxian Chen at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, China.

> **Baojie He, Ayyoob Sharifi, Chi Feng, and Jun Yang** *Editors*
