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
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
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?
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
Now we can have a genuinely global energy body
While the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) has been going on in Bonn, another international meeting – also significant for climate change and environment issues – took place in Paris. Neil Hirst, Senior Policy Fellow at the Grantham Institute, explains why the International Energy Agency’s Ministerial Meeting was an important step forwards for climate change mitigation. While talks continue at this year’s climate … Continue reading Now we can have a genuinely global energy body
COP23: The Fijian approach, the ‘Paris Rulebook’, and a potential showdown…
Alyssa Gilbert, Director of Policy and Translation at the Grantham Institute, anticipates the comings and goings of the COP23. Representatives from nearly two hundred countries are coming together this week in an annual meeting to push forward global progress in tackling climate change. Participants in the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), are converging on … Continue reading COP23: The Fijian approach, the ‘Paris Rulebook’, and a potential showdown…
Ring of Fire: the future of ecological climate change research?
‘Ring of Fire’ is a four-year research project that investigates how rising temperatures of global warming could affect freshwater ecosystems. A team of scientists are visiting five high-latitude sites where geothermal activity generates a temperature gradient across freshwater streams. The streams are used as ‘natural laboratories’ to investigate how global warming could impact everything from gene expression to whole ecosystem processes, in systems that are experiencing … Continue reading Ring of Fire: the future of ecological climate change research?
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?
The Clean Growth Strategy – a turn in the right direction for a low carbon future
Alyssa Gilbert, Director of Policy and Translation at the Grantham Institute, mulls over the government’s Clean Growth Strategy and looks ahead to the next steps. Good things come to those who wait. After nearly a year of anticipation, the UK Government finally launched its Clean Growth Strategy on 12 October. Was it worth the wait? It certainly shows commitment to green growth, embedding climate change … Continue reading The Clean Growth Strategy – a turn in the right direction for a low carbon future
Ring of Fire: how biofilms will help us understand the impacts of climate change
‘Ring of Fire’ is a NERC-funded research project that, over the course of four years and five geothermal sites in the Arctic Circle, investigates the impact of rising temperatures of global warming on freshwater ecosystems. Danielle Harris has just returned from an eight-day fieldwork trip in Svalbard, where she scrubbed nearly 300 rocks to see how temperature affects the community composition of biofilms, and the … Continue reading Ring of Fire: how biofilms will help us understand the impacts of climate change
