Category: Individual action on climate

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Individual action on climate, Research

Women@Imperial 2020: Celebrating women at the Grantham Institute

To mark International Women’s Day and Women@Imperial week, we’re celebrating the brilliant women working in climate change and the environment at the Grantham Institute. From physicists and energy experts, to economists and entrepreneurs; hill walkers and gardeners, to climbers and crochet fiends, the office is full of inspiring women. Meet a small selection of them here: Gosia Gayer Institute Administrator Green-fingered yoga-lover who makes a … Continue reading Women@Imperial 2020: Celebrating women at the Grantham Institute

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The graphic shows that a single journey from London to Paris by plane will cost £64, take 4 hours 40 minutes, and emit 59kg equivalent of carbon dioxide. By train, the same journey will cost £49, take 2 hours 55 minutes, and emit 2kg equivalent of carbon dioxide. Assumptions: the start and end location are the main train terminal in the centre of each city; travel costs are for the cheapest advance tickets bought in advance and include all connecting journeys; carbon emissions are calculated using UK government greenhouse gas emissions factors for short-haul flights, ferry and international rail travel. To find out more, visit www.imperial.ac.uk/stories/climate-action
Individual action on climate, Mitigation, Policy, Student blogs

Reducing demand for air travel starts at work

Laura Warwick, Research Postgraduate on the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet Doctoral Training Partnership, says flying shouldn’t be the default option when it comes to international travel. Aviation is becoming an increasingly contentious issue in the UK. The government’s decision to step in to assist regional airline Flybe seems to be at odds with the UK Committee on Climate Change’s warning that continued … Continue reading Reducing demand for air travel starts at work

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Extinction Rebellion protests at Oxford Circus. Lots of people with green XR flags.
Communicating climate change, Individual action on climate, Student blogs

Put your fate in your hands: Rebelling against extinction gave me hope for the future

Geraint Northwood, Research Postgraduate on the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet DTP, blogs on his experience with Extinction Rebellion, and how it has turned his frustration to optimism for the future. The first I knew of Extinction Rebellion was when a sort of business card was handed to me at a climate strike in Westminster, which I pretty much ignored. It had the … Continue reading Put your fate in your hands: Rebelling against extinction gave me hope for the future

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Crossroad signpost saying this way, that way, another way concept for lost, confusion or decisions
Communicating climate change, Individual action on climate

Pragmatic optimism, rather than complacency or despondency, is the best way to tackle the climate emergency

Dr Ajay Gambhir, Advanced Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute, considers the best mindset with which to approach the climate emergency. In the last month there have been two eye-catching opinion pieces on climate change by famous, influential, though notably non-expert, commentators. The first, by celebrity historian Niall Ferguson, weighs in on Greta Thunberg. He asserts that Greta is taking climate change far too seriously. … Continue reading Pragmatic optimism, rather than complacency or despondency, is the best way to tackle the climate emergency

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A portrait picture of a girl cropped so that it only shows half her face, and shown horizontally.
Impacts & adaptation, Individual action on climate

Feeling anxious about climate change? You’re not the only one

As global temperatures rise, so do the mental health implications. Dr Emma Lawrance, Mental Health Innovations Fellow at Imperial’s Institute of Global Health Innovation, blogs on why it’s time to take the mental health implications of climate change seriously.  Mental health crisis. Climate crisis. While both are familiar phrases to anyone reading the press these days, the links between climate change and mental health remain unobvious … Continue reading Feeling anxious about climate change? You’re not the only one

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Graphic showing a green future city, with icons representing health, wealth, happiness and employment
Communicating climate change, Individual action on climate, Mitigation

What can the Brexit vote tell us about harnessing peoples’ enthusiasm to act on climate change?

Dr Neil Jennings, Partnership Development Manager at the Grantham Institute, considers how we can frame action on climate change in terms of other public priorities. Each month, the polling organisation Ipsos MORI surveys members of the public in the United Kingdom about what they think are the main issues facing the country. Currently (July 2019), the ‘Common Market/Brexit/EU’ tops the list. However, in 2015 it … Continue reading What can the Brexit vote tell us about harnessing peoples’ enthusiasm to act on climate change?

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close up of row of cows being milked
Health, Individual action on climate, Student blogs

Saving the planet, one meal at a time

Dr Neil Jennings, Partnership Development Manager at the Grantham Institute, and Lily Peck, Research Postgraduate on the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet Doctoral Training Programme, explain how eating a more plant-based, seasonal diet can help tackle climate change, support the local economy and help us to live healthier lives. For most of us, shifting to a more plant-based diet and reducing meat intake … Continue reading Saving the planet, one meal at a time

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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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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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