Why should the UK host the COP26 climate summit in 2020?
Grantham Institute lecturer Dr Joeri Rogelj, member of the United Nations’ Climate Science Advisory Group, blogs on why hosting the 26th Conference of the Parties in 2020 is an unrivaled opportunity for the UK to take the lead internationally on climate change action. For the last 40 years, each consecutive decade has been warmer than the previous one. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere … Continue reading Why should the UK host the COP26 climate summit in 2020?
Legacy on climate change – “make a powerful statement of global leadership”
A group of leading climate scientists, coordinated by Professor Joanna Haigh, former Co-Director of the Grantham Institute, have written to Prime Minister Theresa May calling for her to make climate change action her legacy by setting a net zero greenhouse gas emissions target into national law. Here is the text of the letter: Dear Prime Minister, As a group of Britain’s leading climate scientists, we … Continue reading Legacy on climate change – “make a powerful statement of global leadership”
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?
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
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
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
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?
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
#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
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?