̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - COP26

International group of citizens and scientists creates feasible visions of a resilient, net zero future

sc604 — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 15:23:44 +0000

To create a globally net zero, climate-resilient world by 2050, there are two things we need to know: what solutions are feasible, and what is desirable. ̽��ֱ��COP26 Futures We Want project brings these things together.

Six groups of academic experts collated existing research and evidence on relevant risks, mitigation, adaptation and resilience solutions within the context of their region. Then, based on this evidence, six groups of citizens came together to share their hopes and ideas for the future. This gives us something new: visions of a globally net zero, climate-resilient world that people actually want to live in.

̽��ֱ��COP26 Futures We Want project is releasing its findings just before the start of the international climate summit in Glasgow. ̽��ֱ��project was commissioned by UK Government in their role as COP26 President and has been coordinated by Cambridge Zero, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s climate initiative.

This collaboration involved communities from the UK, Jamaica, Brazil, Kenya, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and India, and explored diverse views and solutions to address the real impacts of climate change, such as electricity generation, agriculture, waste and water management, building design, reforestation and ocean conservation.

“Work which addresses the global emergency of climate change at the regional level, and brings together academic and community perspectives, is a crucial part of building a climate-resilient world,” said Emily Marchant, Cambridge Open Engage Programme Manager, Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Press.

Dr Emily Shuckburgh, director of Cambridge Zero, and chair of the project’s International Expert Committee said: “COP26 can be the start of building a new, positive future if there is sufficient ambition. Partners and collaborators from around the world helped us to put citizens and evidence at the heart of informing policy.

“Together, we visualised a set of possible desirable futures by identifying many of the challenges and solutions that must be addressed to achieve a global zero-carbon future that is just and beneficial for all.”

̽��ֱ��final visions can be found on www.FuturesWeWant.world. Following on from the Visions, Cambridge Zero collaborated with the project’s International Expert Committee, the Met Office and academics in each region to compile the scientific evidence underlying the visions of each region into detailed papers, which are now freely available on Cambridge Open Engage via the links below. These peer-reviewed technical reports highlight many of the challenges and threats posed by the climate crisis, but also the wider benefits of ambitious climate action:

Arabian Peninsula (United Arab Emirates & Saudi Arabia):

Climate change will exacerbate already extreme weather conditions and could make parts of the region uninhabitable by late-century, and adaptation will be essential.
As a largely hot arid desert region, water scarcity is a critical issue and habitability is highly energy intensive, due to demands for cooling and water desalination/ irrigation, and heavy dependence on imports. Significant innovation across all sectors of the economy, including energy and water, the built-environment, food and agriculture, and transportation are required to tackle the high carbon footprint.
Abundant renewable sources of energy, and energy systems expertise available in the region, combined with significant sovereign wealth available for investment, present unique opportunities to benefit from the net zero transition and position the region as a leader in the energy transition.

Brazil:

Agriculture and livestock contribute the most to Brazil’s carbon emissions and are the largest drivers of deforestation and land-use change.
Brazil is one of the world’s most unequal countries in terms of access to productive resources, especially in rural areas; the ‘Future We Want’ in Brazil must consider structural inequalities to provide a just transition for the poorest Brazilians under principles of sustainable production.
̽��ֱ��energy sector in Brazil primarily relies on hydroelectric power, which is promising in terms of low carbon emissions, but it is also vulnerable to changing rainfall patterns caused by climate change.

India:

India has made considerable progress in its efforts towards decoupling economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2005 and 2016, India’s emission intensity of gross domestic product (GDP) has reduced by 24%, earlier than the target year of 2020.
Over half of country’s 1.3 billion people are dependent on climate-sensitive sectors for their livelihoods. It’s vital that India sets a net zero target in a manner that also supports its development priorities.
Greater uptake of nature-based solutions can provide a range of environmental, social and economic benefits while combatting the accelerating loss of biodiversity.

Jamaica:

There is considerable potential for nature-based solutions to provide benefits for both climate change adaptation and sustainable development in Jamaica.
Following a ‘late, disorderly transition pathway’ as opposed to a ‘steady, orderly, persistent transition pathway’ for climate change adaptation will lead to substantially greater risk to the environmental, economic and social stability of Jamaica.
Developing and strengthening governance and authorities is key to enabling a coordinated climate response, enabling economic and social improvements and aiding in preventing unequal distribution of transition benefits across the Jamaican population, leaving people behind and causing a serious risk to life.

Kenya:

In Kenya, a development-compatible pathway to net zero emissions needs strong support from the global community to ensure that economic value chains, particularly in transport, agriculture, industry standards, and financial services are climate-proofed.
There is a need for strong local leadership to implement appropriate regulatory frameworks and industry standards, and to support community-oriented data generation and scenario building.
It’s vital to connect climate-friendly innovations and investments with socioeconomic inclusion, with a particular focus on young people, women, remote populations, and informal settlements.

United Kingdom:

̽��ֱ��UK is a world leader in finance and innovation – both of which will prove key in reducing emissions.
̽��ֱ��UK has a large role to play in developing, and re-directing capital toward greener technologies.
Solutions must also be accompanied by behaviour change, such as encouraging active travel, and nature-based solutions, such as extending the coverage of hedgerows and diverse forests.

As part of COP26, we asked people in six regions to imagine a globally net zero, climate-resilient future. Here’s what they came up with.

Together, we visualised a set of possible desirable futures by identifying many of the challenges and solutions that must be addressed to achieve a global zero-carbon future that is just and beneficial for all

Emily Shuckburgh

United Nations Environment Programme

Mangroves from the nursery at the ̽��ֱ�� of the West Indies at Port Royal are being planted at the bay opposite Kingston.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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COP26: Cambridge experts on their hopes for the high-stakes summit

sc604 — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 07:58:53 +0000

What will it take to make the high-stakes United Nations climate summit a success? We spoke with some of our researchers and asked them what they want to see at COP26, what some of the biggest challenges are in getting to zero carbon, and what gives them hope.

Europeans want climate action but not lifestyle change – poll

sc604 — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 06:07:36 +0000

̽��ֱ��results – part of a collaboration with Cambridge Zero, the ̽��ֱ��’s climate initiative – also found that as the UK prepares to host crucial climate talks in Glasgow next month, barely a third of British adults have noticed that the event is taking place.

According to polling conducted last week, just 31% of British adults have read or heard much about COP26 so far, compared with 63% answering to the contrary – either “not very much” or “nothing at all”. These numbers have also barely changed in two months.

When the same question was asked as part of the main, international fieldwork in August, results showed a slightly larger difference of 28% versus 67%. Predictably, the other populations showed even less impact, such as 17% versus 75% in France, 9% versus 84% in Sweden and 7% versus 83% in Germany.

However, the poll indicates that while survey participants may not be following COP26, a significant majority of the 9,000 people polled across the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Italy strongly support many of the aims of the talks, at least in principle.

Dr Emily Shuckburgh, Director of Cambridge Zero, said:

“As the impacts of climate change are starting to be felt everywhere, COP26 should be seen as a vital summit where the world must deliver immediate and meaningful climate action. But the bad news is that most people have still barely noticed that the world leaders who can actually take the actions needed will be in our own backyard.”

Dr Joel Rogers de Waal, Academic Director of YouGov, said:

“ ̽��ֱ��good news for COP26 organisers is that in every country surveyed, the vast majority are on board with the programme, at least in principle. In each national sample, most agreed that climate change is a genuine phenomenon and a considerable concern, and rejected the idea that its seriousness is being exaggerated.”

Beyond overall terms of debate, however, the same findings also indicate both strong support for certain environmental agendas – the polling showed widespread enthusiasm for “rewilding”, with 70% support in Britain and 79% in Spain for programmes to restore parts of the country to their natural state – and some obvious challenges.

However, when it comes to making lifestyle changes, participants were less enthusiastic. Despite the clear environmental benefits of eating less meat, all seven countries showed majorities who eat meat at least several times a week. Within the meat-eating section of respondents, only a small proportion claimed to have reduced their meat consumption over the past 12 months, and of those, generally around half or under had done so for environmental reasons.

Attitudes towards environmental action at the policy level are a mixed bag. In nearly every country, large portions support the policy of greatly expanding government investment in renewable energy, such as solar, wind and tidal power, including majorities or pluralities in Britain (66%), Germany (52%), Denmark (65%), Sweden (47%), Spain (74%) and Italy (69%). Only France was an outlier in this respect, where just 24% said the same.

But in other areas, public support is tentative and variable, such as bans on the sale of petrol or diesel cars and vans, or a frequent flyer tax.

Poll results also give a sense of public attitudes towards the new environmental activism. Additional polling for the project at the start of September asked British voters two questions regarding Extinction Rebellion – one about methods, the other about message. On the former, a 53% majority said the methods used by the protest group generally go too far, compared with only 10% saying they got the balance about right and 7% saying they didn’t go far enough. On the latter, however, only 38% thought the environmental warnings of Extinction Rebellion generally overstate the situation, next to a combined 41% saying that they describe the situation about right (32%) or even understate it (9%).

“ ̽��ֱ��most powerful protest movements are those that ultimately manage to inspire and co-opt the wider population, creating a sense of social momentum that becomes impossible for the political centre to ignore,” said de Waal. “By contrast, acts of civic vandalism that specifically target the basic necessities of daily life are more likely to do the opposite, since by infuriating the public, they only make it easier for governments to ignore the message behind the action.”

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample sizes were: Britain= 1767; Germany=2108; France=1035; Denmark=1009; Sweden=1015; Spain=1050; Italy=1000. Fieldwork was undertaken online between 6th – 23rd August, 2021. For each country, the figures have been weighted and are representative of the adult population aged 18+.

Europeans want urgent action on climate change but remain committed meat-eaters and question policy proposals such as banning the sale of new petrol vehicles after 2030, according to a new poll from the YouGov–Cambridge Centre for Public Opinion Research that surveyed environmental attitudes in seven European countries, including the UK.

As the impacts of climate change are starting to be felt everywhere, COP26 should be seen as a vital summit where the world must deliver immediate and meaningful climate action.

Emily Shuckburgh

Alexander Savin

Extinction Rebellion London

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Scientists set out immediate actions and future research priorities to help UK to reach net zero target

sc604 — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 09:09:35 +0000

Achieving this target will require a mix of technological, societal and nature-based solutions working together to enable systemic change. Research in the 2020s must be prioritised into solutions for sectors that are particularly difficult to decarbonise, such as aviation, electricity generation and storage, and maritime shipping.

̽��ֱ��report, led by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, also highlights net zero solutions which could be implemented now, such as the electrification of road freight, hydrogen produced using renewable energy instead of current carbon-intensive methods, and changes to land use planning to prioritise denser, mixed-use, low traffic neighbourhoods.

̽��ֱ��briefing, Net-Zero Solutions and Research Priorities in the 2020s, is published by the COP26 Universities Network and brings together 26 leading scientists from 10 UK universities. It comes at a critical time ahead of the United Nations COP26 Climate Change Summit, which takes place in Glasgow this November.

“It is abundantly clear from the recent IPCC report that the 2020s will be the crucial decade to reduce emissions in order to meet the Paris Agreement goals, and the decisions made at COP26 will be critical in achieving that,” said co-lead author Dr Erik Mackie from Cambridge Zero, the ̽��ֱ��’s climate initiative. “This cross-disciplinary report will aid decision-makers by identifying the key actions that we must take now, and the priority areas where we should urgently focus our research efforts to tackle hard-to-decarbonise sectors.”

̽��ֱ��paper highlights net-zero solutions in eight priority sectors, setting out actions to take now, research priorities for the next decade, and future benefits for each sector. These are:

Electricity (generation, storage, system and networks)
Buildings
Road transport
Industry
Land/sea use and agriculture
Aviation and shipping
Waste
Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR)

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) – key actions that can work with nature to address climate change and biodiversity loss across all sectors, while also supporting economic recovery – are highlighted separately.

“ ̽��ֱ��coming decade will be about action and implementation, and we need to focus on solutions that can be practically implemented before 2030 – our report highlights some of these solutions for each of our priority sectors, many of which will have co-benefits due to their interdisciplinary nature,” said co-lead author Dr Elizabeth Tennyson, Marie-Curie Research Fellow in Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory. “No single sector is the solution: many sectors need to work in parallel in order to get to net zero. We hope this policy brief will not only influence change but also encourage further innovations.”

Additional solutions highlighted in the report include the retrofitting of buildings, increased R&D investment to bring low-carbon farming practices to market, and the deployment of Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) at scale by mid-2020s to support the first low-carbon and net zero industrial clusters.

̽��ֱ��authors stress that each solution should be assessed with respect to greenhouse gas emissions reductions, energy efficiency and societal implications to provide a basis for developing long-term policies, maximising positive impact of investment and research effort, and guiding industry investors in safe and responsible planning.

“It is great to see this group of universities pooling their expertise and coming to a broad consensus view about the needs for research and immediate actions in the fight against climate change,” said co-author Professor David Cebon from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, who leads the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight.

Of 26 co-authors on the paper, 14 are from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, from fields including chemistry, engineering, architecture, computer science, and epidemiology.

Established in 2020, the COP26 Universities Network aims to improve access to evidence and academic expertise for the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow for the UK Government, NGOs and the international community, working together to deliver ambitious climate change outcomes.

A new paper by leading UK scientists sets out key solutions and policy actions that should be implemented now, as well as priority research areas for the next decade, if the UK is to reach its net zero target by 2050.

̽��ֱ��2020s will be the crucial decade to reduce emissions in order to meet the Paris Agreement goals, and the decisions made at COP26 will be critical in achieving that

Erik Mackie

US Department of Energy

Nordex USA manufacturing facility - Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA

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Climate Exp0 – International climate conference being hosted by UK universities ahead of COP26

sc604 — Mon, 17 May 2021 09:29:04 +0000

This week, more than 500 researchers from over 80 UK and Italian Universities will be joining colleagues from 40 countries to contribute to Climate Exp0. Online, free, and open to all, it’s an opportunity to connect policy, academic and student audiences across the globe, and harness the power of virtual collaboration to help advance a resilient, zero-carbon world. It will feature a range of speakers – from policymakers and academics, to practitioners and students.

Organised by the COP26 Universities Network, the conference aims to raise ambition for tangible outcomes from the UN COP26 Climate Change Conference, jointly hosted by the UK and Italy in Glasgow this November.

At a critical point in the COP26 pre-meetings and negotiations – six months prior to the conference itself – Climate Exp0 will showcase the latest thinking and most relevant UK and international research around five key themes: Adaptation and Resilience; Finance; Green Recovery; Mitigation Solutions and Nature-based Solutions.

Dr Emily Shuckburgh, Chair of the COP26 Universities Network and Director of Cambridge Zero, said: “This is a vital moment for the world. As we look to emerge from the pandemic and build a more resilient, sustainable future, we must harness the ideas and innovations that will support a cleaner and greener future. Climate Exp0 is an exhibition of hope and inspiration to encourage the ambitious global climate action that is required.”

Highlights of this week’s conference include:

Monday
Opening of conference
̽��ֱ��Rt Hon Alok Sharma, President of COP26 and Minister Roberto Cingolani, Minister for Ecological Transition, Italy
Climate risk. Opening session setting out the threat we face (09:30 – 10:30).
Dr Emily Shuckburgh Cambridge ̽��ֱ��; Albert Klein Tank, MET Office and Tim Benton, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House.

Tuesday
Nature-based solutions and the opportunities they offer (09:00 – 09:30)
Zac Goldsmith, Minister of State for Pacific and the Environment and Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, UK

Wednesday
Policies for delivering COP26 mitigation objectives (16:30 – 17:15)
Manuel Pulgar Vidal, Global Head of Climate and Energy at WWF, Former Ministry of Environment of Peru, COP20 President, Jim Watson, Professor of Energy Policy, ̽��ֱ�� College London (UCL) Institute for Sustainable Resources and Jacob Werksman, Principal Advisor, DG-CLIMA, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium

Thursday
Adaptation and resilience challenges in the COP26 meeting (09:30 – 10:30)
Minister Maria Cristina Messa, Ministry of ̽��ֱ�� and Research and ̽��ֱ��Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, UK

Friday
Ask a Climate Change expert: How can we save our planet? (17:15 – 18:30)
Tamsin Edwards, Reader in Climate Change, Kings College London, Lord Deben, Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change and Brighton Kaoma, Global Director of UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network-Youth Initiative.

̽��ֱ��conference is a partnership with ‘Rete delle Universita’ per lo sviluppo Sostenibile (Italian ̽��ֱ�� Network for Sustainable Development), sponsored by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and with support from UN Climate Change Conference UK 2021 in Partnership with Italy and Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Press.

Weeklong conference brings together leading scientists, government ministers and experts from around the world to set the agenda ahead of the United Nations Climate Change conference.

As we look to emerge from the pandemic and build a more resilient, sustainable future, we must harness the ideas and innovations that will support a cleaner and greener future

Emily Shuckburgh

Dr Emily Shuckburgh Exp0 2021

National Renewable Energy Lab

Ivanpah Solar Project

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Cambridge researchers lead policy briefing on Nature-based Solutions for the climate and biodiversity crises

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 13:38:29 +0000

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) – solutions to societal challenges that involve working with nature – are such a solution. Examples include tree planting to sequester atmospheric carbon and restoring coastal habitats to mitigate floods.

Now, a group of researchers led by Professor David Coomes and Rogelio Luque-Lora from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute, have published a policy briefing outlining the underlying concepts of NbS as well a list of strategies and policy recommendations to take NbS to their full potential, in advance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference which will be held in Glasgow later this year.

̽��ֱ��briefing has been produced in association with the COP26 Universities Network, a group of UK-based universities and research institutes, including the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Cambridge Zero.

As explained by the authors, Nature-based Solutions can deliver both climate change mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation involves reducing the degree of climate change: planting trees to absorb carbon dioxide, for example. Adaptation is about reducing communities’ exposure and vulnerability to the negative effects of climate change, by providing flood protection, for example. And by enhancing biodiversity, NbS can also boost the resilience of ecosystems to changing climate conditions.

Nature-based Solutions often work by protecting existing ecosystems, which prevents further release of carbon into the atmosphere and safeguards the biological diversity attached to those ecosystems. They can also work by restoring habitats which have previously been degraded, improving the ability of these habitats to sequester carbon and host biodiversity. Both these strategies also have the potential to enhance the provision of ecosystem services, including water filtration and soil retention.

Other strategies include the sustainable management of working landscapes, such as agricultural land, and the creation of new habitats. ̽��ֱ��latter has also been referred to as ‘green engineering’ or ‘green infrastructure’, and can contribute to societal adaptation to climate change by cooling and cleaning the air in cities and providing physical and mental health benefits.

In the UK, NbS can support job creation and livelihoods, and can play a key role in ‘building back better’ after COVID-19 and can be more cost-effectively deployed than non-NbS approaches to mitigation and adaptation.

There is also scope for the UK use its presidency of COP26 to promote effective and fair NbS across the globe. In this context, the authors recommends that the UK promotes a broad range of NbS that go beyond the present emphasis on tree planting. In fact, while the authors acknowledge that commercial forestry plantations can be necessary to meet societal demand for timber and wood pulp, they caution that the promotion of afforestation with non-native species can have detrimental effects on biodiversity, for example when they replace species-rich grassland ecosystems. They can also lead to the release of carbon into the atmosphere, if carbon-rich habitats such as peatland are replaced by the shallower soils of plantations.

̽��ֱ��authors warn, too, that NbS can never be a substitute to the urgent and thorough decarbonisation of the economy. NbS can only contribute to meeting international climate targets if they act as a complement to the main task of transitioning away from fossil fuels. There is a risk that NbS could be used to justify ‘business as usual’, by conveying the illusion that emissions are being compensated for by deploying NbS.

NbS are most effective when they are strategically deployed to minimise trade-offs and deliver simultaneous wins. For example, restoring upland peat in the UK can help to protect communities from flooding and soil erosion while also storing carbon, providing recreational space and natural habitat for wildlife with negligible loss of agricultural potential on the national scale. In contrast, replacing highly productive agricultural land with natural habitats could make the UK more dependent on food imports.

Also, crucially, local communities must be involved in every stage of the planning and implementation processes. This is essential to ensure that local people do not overwhelmingly bear any costs associated with NbS, that they receive a just share of the benefits, and that they support the projects in the medium and long terms.

“I am excited by the opportunities that COP26 will provide to make the most of the potential of NbS to deliver climate change mitigation while benefitting biodiversity and livelihoods,” said Coomes.

Adapted from a story published on the UCCRI website.

As societies face the triple challenge of avoiding the worst effects of climate change, protecting remaining biodiversity and improving human wellbeing, there are calls to end siloed thinking and design solutions that address these problems simultaneously.

Rob Barnes under licence from AGEDI

Mangrove ready to be planted

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‘Overwhelming’ international support for more government action on environment

fpjl2 — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 10:07:10 +0000

Ahead of COP26, a survey experiment taking in the UK, US, Brazil, India, China, Indonesia and Poland finds huge support for more action from governments to protect the environment.