Category: Student blogs

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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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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Van on Yellowknife Ice Road, Northwest Territories, Canada
Mitigation, Student blogs

Getting renewable electricity to Canada’s remote communities

Alvaro Lara, a student on the MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance programme, considers the challenges faced by off-grid communities in Canada, why climate change threatens their status quo, and how renewables could hold the key to a reliable power supply. Colville Lake is about as remote as you can get in Canada. Located 50km north of the Arctic circle and with a population of only … Continue reading Getting renewable electricity to Canada’s remote communities

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CCS, Mitigation, Student blogs

What to do with all the carbon dioxide?

Research Postgraduates Clara Heuberger and Clea Kolster, who recently attended the UNFCCC’s 23rd Conference of the Parties in Bonn, consider the significant potential of  carbon dioxide removal technologies, and the barriers they face.  A recent report published by the UN highlighted that, last year, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased at record speed, hitting a level not seen for more than three … Continue reading What to do with all the carbon dioxide?

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Climate negotiations, Communicating climate change, Student blogs

Creative, critical and charged – the young voices of COP23 

Earlier this month, just before the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) kicked off in Bonn, Research Postgraduate Luciana Miu attended the 13th Conference of Youth (COY). Organised by YOUNGO, the official youth-constituency to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), COY has taken place before every COP since 2005. Representing the Alumni Association of Climate-KIC, the EU’s largest climate innovation initiative, Luciana … Continue reading Creative, critical and charged – the young voices of COP23 

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Graphic showing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
Grantham work themes, Student blogs

Can tackling antimicrobial resistance help end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity?

Healthy People, Healthy Planet is a challenge team formed by students from the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet (SSCP) Doctoral Training Partnership. Following an event earlier this year, team member Hiral Shah discusses how antimicrobial resistance is intrinsically linked to other global problems, and why tackling it is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were developed … Continue reading Can tackling antimicrobial resistance help end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity?

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Graphic showing a plane flying with a "Business as usual" banner
business, Mitigation, Student blogs

What does business-as-usual mean today?

Energy models are a vital tool to help predict what the future energy system could look like. Conventionally, such models are based on business-as-usual scenarios – points of reference informed by historical norms. However, the energy transition is already underway: basing future energy models on such scenarios could be highly risky. Following an energy modelling workshop with academics, industry leaders and policymakers, research postgraduates Jonathan … Continue reading What does business-as-usual mean today?

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Graphic showing desired links between disciplines
Research, Student blogs

Researchers need to reach out to other disciplines to face up to the challenges of climate change

Healthy People, Healthy Planet is a challenge team formed by students from the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet (SSCP) Doctoral Training Partnership.  Team members, Hiral Shah, Rebecca Thomas, Jonathan Bosch, Branwen Snelling and Rowan Schley, discuss why climate change and global health go hand in hand.  “Tackling climate change could be the biggest global health opportunity of the twenty first century.” This message, … Continue reading Researchers need to reach out to other disciplines to face up to the challenges of climate change

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Communicating climate change, Emissions, Student blogs

Earth’s love-hate relationship with carbon dioxide

At last month’s international Pint of Science Festival, the Grantham Institute co-sponsored three events themed around Planet Earth. SSCP DTP student Rachel Bertram, who organised several of the talks, summarises some of the discussions about carbon dioxide, the most well-known greenhouse gas. Over a few nights each May, Pint of Science brings scientists out of their universities and research environments to the local pub where they … Continue reading Earth’s love-hate relationship with carbon dioxide

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