Author: Grantham Institute

Climate change and environment institute at Imperial College London, one of the world's leading research universities.
A picture of the Queen's Tower with flowers in the foreground, with the Greening Imperial tagline as a footer
Individual action on climate

Imperial seeks an academic to lead ‘greening’ activities in new senior role – could it be you?

Grantham Institute Director of Policy and Translation Alyssa Gilbert reveals Imperial’s plan to recruit an Academic Leader for Sustainability, who will embed zero-carbon thinking and actions across the College’s estate, research, innovation and policy influence. After the UN agreed an international treaty for action on climate change in Paris in 2015, I was part of a small group of Imperial staff who met to discuss … Continue reading Imperial seeks an academic to lead ‘greening’ activities in new senior role – could it be you?

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Communicating climate change, Individual action on climate, Mitigation

Online education as a catalyst for climate action

Can online education really drive change? For the last 15 months, the Grantham Institute has been testing this question.  Working alongside the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), online platform leaders EdX, and Imperial’s Digital Learning Hub, staff at the Grantham Institute have developed the Clean Power Programme, three online courses – Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) – that aim to drive a shift to clean … Continue reading Online education as a catalyst for climate action

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Extinction Rebellion protests in London, April 2019. A big crowd of people gathered around Oxford Circus
Media, Mitigation, Policy

Let’s embrace this fighting chance to reach net zero

Dr Ajay Gambhir, Senior Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute and contributor to the Committee on Climate Change’s Net Zero report, blogs on why we mustn’t lose this moment to accelerate the low-carbon transition. On Thursday 2 May 2019 I attended the launch of the Committee on Climate Change’s (CCC’s) latest report, which advises the government that the UK should reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) … Continue reading Let’s embrace this fighting chance to reach net zero

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Health, Individual action on climate

My life as a temporary vegan

Maggie Robertson shares her experiences of going vegan for lent. ‘Several Grantham staff doing vegan for lent. Fancy it?’ That was the text from my husband back in February that began our vegan adventure. Or did it begin further back, when I first announced (I do all the cooking for our small family) we were going to be eating less meat? Or was it ten … Continue reading My life as a temporary vegan

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green corn field and blue sky
Mitigation

The ups and downs of BECCS –  where do we stand today?

Dr Alexandre Köberle and Mathilde Fajardy, co-authors of Grantham Institute briefing paper BECCS deployment: a reality check, consider bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technologies, the controversy surrounding them and their role in meeting climate targets. The rise of BECCS ‘Negative emissions technologies’ gained attention in 2015, when world leaders united behind the landmark Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to “well below” … Continue reading The ups and downs of BECCS –  where do we stand today?

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Research, Student blogs

Why global challenges need interdisciplinary researchers, and how to become one

Dr  Jonathan Bosch,  one year on from finishing up as a Research Postgraduate on the  Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet DTP (SSCP DTP), shares his tips on how to be successful at interdisciplinary research. As we face up to some of the toughest challenges of our age, the boundaries between the traditional academic fields – such as science, engineering, medicine, sociology, etc. – … Continue reading Why global challenges need interdisciplinary researchers, and how to become one

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Protesters sitting outside Westminster for the Youth Strike 4 Climate
Communicating climate change, Individual action on climate, Policy

#fridaysforfuture: Rising to the challenge of the Youth Strike 4 Climate

On Friday 15 February 2019, more than 10,000 students in the UK walked out of their classrooms and onto the streets. Part of the Youth Strike 4 Climate movement, which is gathering pace around the world, they are demanding that the Government takes greater action on climate change. With another strike scheduled for 15 March, two Grantham Institute colleagues, born in different decades, reflect on … Continue reading #fridaysforfuture: Rising to the challenge of the Youth Strike 4 Climate

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A Greenland Shark swimming near the surface of the water
Student blogs

The 400-year-old shark – what will a Greenland shark born today experience as the climate changes?

Nicholas Dunn, Research Postgraduate on the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet DTP and based at the ZSL Institute of Zoology, is developing environmental DNA methods to assess the distribution of sharks and rays. In this blog, he considers climate change from the perspective of a Greenland Shark, an ancient species where individuals can live for up to 400 years. Did you know that one … Continue reading The 400-year-old shark – what will a Greenland shark born today experience as the climate changes?

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Individual action on climate, Policy

2019: the year citizens speak up and governments act to protect our long-term prosperity

At the end of January, the Night of Ideas, an international event staged simultaneously in Paris, London, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and worldwide, questioned today’s challenges. The French Institute in London explored citizens’ experiences of today’s most talked-about issues: Europe Beyond Walls and The Earth Here and Now. In this blog, Professor Joanna Haigh, Co-Director of the Grantham Institute, reflects on the role that British and … Continue reading 2019: the year citizens speak up and governments act to protect our long-term prosperity

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Hunters look at the ship in Uelen, Chukotski region, Russia
Impacts & adaptation

Indigenous wisdom: Leaders of Arctic tribes visit Imperial

The Imperial College Environmental Society and Pacific Environment recently hosted an event with four Arctic indigenous leaders, who discussed climate change and its effects on indigenous communities in the Arctic. Richard Knight, Research Postgraduate at Imperial’s Centre for Environmental Policy, reflects on the fragility of the environment Arctic communities depend upon, and how it can be protected. “It is like we do not exist, and … Continue reading Indigenous wisdom: Leaders of Arctic tribes visit Imperial

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