Author: Grantham Institute

Climate change and environment institute at Imperial College London, one of the world's leading research universities.
Communicating climate change, Student blogs

Dispatches from the climate debate – thoughts on engaging with climate deniers

Last month, Chris Wells and Kelvin Choi, Research Postgraduates on the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet DTP, appeared on a panel debate opposite climate sceptics Piers Corbyn and Dr Benny Pieser. Here they share their experiences and suggest some approaches scientists can take when engaging with avid climate deniers. The Invite Last month, we were invited last minute to join a panel debate … Continue reading Dispatches from the climate debate – thoughts on engaging with climate deniers

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Plane at cruising altitude against blue sky
Mitigation, Student blogs

Aviation, heavy industry and energy: 3 sectors ripe for a tech revolution

The technologies of a zero-carbon future, according to Research Postgraduate Jonathan Bosch, co-author of a report for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on key technological innovations for a low-carbon economy. There’s too much carbon! United States aside, climate scientists and policy makers don’t argue much these days about the pressure to take steps to safeguard the prosperity of the earth for future … Continue reading Aviation, heavy industry and energy: 3 sectors ripe for a tech revolution

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Scaffolding on Big Ben, London, with a view of a lamppost in the foreground
Policy

It is time be more ambitious – the UK’s Climate Change Act needs strengthening

Joanna Haigh, co-director of the Grantham Institute — Climate Change and the Environment, and John Krebs, emeritus professor of zoology at the University of Oxford and former member of the UK Committee on Climate Change, consider why the UK needs a more ambitious Climate Change Act.  The UK’s Climate Change Act is a pioneering and far-sighted piece of legislation, ushered in ten years ago by a remarkable cross-party … Continue reading It is time be more ambitious – the UK’s Climate Change Act needs strengthening

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Small solar panel on the floor in an African village, Madagascar
Mitigation, Student blogs

Forget about power lines, Pay-As-You-Go is transforming Africa’s energy landscape

Alvaro Lara and Sidney Wakaba, students on the MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance programme, put the spotlight on electricity access for communities in rural Africa, and consider how off-grid solar systems are revolutionising Africa’s energy sector. For most people in Europe and North America, a life without electricity is difficult to imagine.  A day without charging our iPhones, grabbing something to eat from the fridge, or … Continue reading Forget about power lines, Pay-As-You-Go is transforming Africa’s energy landscape

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Cordillera Blanca, Alpamayo plateau, Caraz, Peru
Impacts & adaptation, Water

Tracing the white water: how vulnerable are water resources to melting glaciers?

On World Water Day 2018, a group of UK and Peruvian scientists will be visiting the glaciers of the Cordillera Blanca in Peru to build research links that will help assess the vulnerability of water resources to melting glaciers, and design adequate adaptation strategies. In this blog, Grantham Affiliate Wouter Buytaert explains why this is such a complex task.    The Nazca lines are one of Peru’s … Continue reading Tracing the white water: how vulnerable are water resources to melting glaciers?

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Canada shown on a cheap globe
business, Mitigation, Policy

Canada and climate change: the transition to a low-carbon economy is a golden opportunity

Alyssa Gilbert, Director of Policy and Translation at the Grantham Institute, heads to the “energy engine” of Canada to talk climate change, cleantech and collaboration. This week I am heading to Canada, where I grew up, for the first time in six years. I am very excited about returning to Canadian soil (er, or snow), and particularly interested to meet a range of people involved … Continue reading Canada and climate change: the transition to a low-carbon economy is a golden opportunity

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Headshots of some leading ladies in climate change and environmental science at Imperial - Helen ApSimon, Ana Mijic, Jenny Nelson, Clementine Chambon, Joanna Haigh, Jess Wade
Communicating climate change, IPCC, Policy

Leading ladies in climate and environmental science, and why their profile counts

To mark International Women’s Day, archivist Anne Barrett, author of “Women At Imperial College Past Present and Future”, and Alice White, Wikimedian in Residence at the Wellcome Library, have organised a Wikipedia ‘edit-a-thon’ at Imperial College London to create and improve Wikipedia pages about women in science. In this blog, equality advocate Dr Jess Wade, Research Associate in Physics, explains the rationale behind the project, … Continue reading Leading ladies in climate and environmental science, and why their profile counts

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Earth systems, Innovation

Don’t blame plastic, blame poor waste management

Grantham Affiliate Chris Cheeseman, Professor of Materials Resources Engineering at Imperial College London, considers what’s behind the plastic pollution crisis, and why designers and engineers are fundamental to developing a long-term solution. Plastics are fantastic materials. Thanks to their amazing range of properties and inherent durability they have an enormous number of applications and we, as a society, have come to rely on them. They … Continue reading Don’t blame plastic, blame poor waste management

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Energy, Mitigation

The future of the electricity utility – decision time for US stakeholders

Last month, Grantham Affiliates Dr Jeffrey Hardy and Dr Chris Mazur travelled to Chicago to run a ‘Decision Theatre’ workshop with participants from the US energy supply chain as part of the Utility 2050 project. Here, they consider the findings of the workshop, the differences across the pond, and the potential for collaboration. The Utility 2050 project, originally conceived by the Energy Research Partnership, offers … Continue reading The future of the electricity utility – decision time for US stakeholders

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Graphic showing a thermometer rising, with a 2 written at the top to imply a 2 degree temperature rise
Communicating climate change, IPCC, Research

The lower the climate sensitivity the better – but what we need is zero carbon

Following the publication of a paper presenting a new narrower estimate of “equilibrium climate sensitivity” – a measure of how future greenhouse gas emissions could alter the climate – Professor Joanna Haigh, co-director of the Grantham Institute, explains the implications of climate sensitivity and why it should be interpreted carefully. What concerns me about a recent paper published in Nature is the interpretation of its … Continue reading The lower the climate sensitivity the better – but what we need is zero carbon

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