This episode is about art, climate change, and community engagement. In this episode we will talk to a panel from the Sainsbury Centre and Norwich University of the Arts to share experiences and insights from their recent event, “Going to Meet the Sea”. We will talk about understanding the role of the arts in communicating the impacts of climate change, preparing for adaptation, and building resilience within communities.How does the act of walking deepen our connection and awareness of the e...

Our episode will talk about 1.5C – what it means science wise, policy wise,  and communications wise. 1.5C has been one of the most recognised numbers when we talk about climate change. Where did this number come from? The goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is a key aspect of international efforts to address climate change. This target is central to the Paris Agreement. 1.5C has actually been the rallying call of the alliance of small...

Our episode today is about shipping and its impact on climate change. In today’s episode, we will talk about some of the work by colleagues from the Tyndall Centre at Manchester University including the International Maritime Organisation's - the IMO’s in short - new shipping and climate strategy, technology like wind ships and electrification of ships, as well as the demand side of shipping. International shipping emits around 700 million tonnes of CO2 a year, equivalent to emissions from...

Our episode today is about one of the most controversial topics at COP28 – abated fossil fuels through carbon capture storage technology. At COP28, COP president Sultan Al Jaber claimed there is no science behind fossil fuel phaseout. At a press conference, IPCC chair Jim Skea said that in 1.5C-compatible scenarios “by 2050, fossil fuel use is greatly reduced and unabated coal use is completely phased out.” He added that oil use by 2050 is reduced by 60% and gas by 45%. According to Jim Skea,...

 Our episode is about heating and cooling buildings – quite timely as we enter the colder winter months. According to the Climate Change Committee, 29 million homes need to be upgraded to low carbon systems by 2050. This is not an easy task. According to Parliament, UK houses are one of the oldest and worst insulated in all of Europe and data from the CCC says that heat decarbonisation in each home will cost £10,000 on average per household – posing a major challenge to reach targets. In...

Many faith leaders have signified their commitments to climate action. For example, Pope Francis of the Catholic Church penned the Laudato Si, critiquing consumerism and irresponsible development and calls on people for swift and unified global action. The pope has also committed to net zero by 2050. The Church of England has also committed to net zero by 2030. Their plan includes reducing emissions from Cathedrals, churches, dioceses, and schools. Rowan Williamson, when he was the Archbishop...

Our episode is about biomass and why it is key for achieving net zero. Simply put, biomass energy is renewable energy that comes from plants and animals. Some biomass energy sources include crops like corn, soy beans, and sugar cane. According to the UK Parliament, bioenergy is currently the second largest source of renewable energy in the UK, generating 12.9% of the total UK electricity supply in 2021. How can biomass energy help us reach net zero and what about concerns about deforestation...

Our episode today is about citizen engagement in climate governance. More specifically, we will talk about climate assemblies, where representatives of the public come together and discuss issues. Citizen assemblies in the climate sphere are becoming more popular, especially in the UK and Europe. But how do they work and why are they important in the context of the climate crisis? Can we all join a citizen assembly? Our guest is Stephen Elstub of the Tyndall Centre at Newcastle University....

In common with many places in the world, the UK has been experiencing high temperatures over the last couple of years, and not a great deal of rain, reminding us of the need to adapt to the consequences of climate change. Our episode focuses on adaptation, and some of the reasons why policy and practice are lagging behind where we need them to be. The Adapt Lock-in project has been working to understand this gap better, looking at experience in three countries – the UK, the Netherlands and...

Our episode is about plastic recycling, in time for International Plastic Free Day, which is was last May 25th. Did you know that if every person in the world stopped using one single-use piece of plastic for one day, we’d avoid over 7.6 BILLION plastic items on that single day according to the International Plastic Free Day organised by Free the Ocean? The plastic problem is enormous, but how can we better solve the plastic problem?  “One Bin To Rule Them All” is a project that has been...

Our episode today is about art and climate change. What is the role of art in the climate crisis? How can museums respond to the climate crisis? The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art is one of the most prominent university museums in the UK. It is located in the University of East Anglia campus, and has a collection of global art. Recently, the Sainsbury Centre hired a Curator of Art and Climate Change (and he is here with us today), the very first of its kind in the UK.  Our guests today are...

A recent paper by Harry Smith, Dr Nem Vaughan, and Dr Johanna Forster, highlights the risks of countries relying on nature-based solutions to achieve net-zero. To date, around 146 countries have set out a net zero target, committing to reducing their emissions across the decades ahead. Some emissions, however, are ‘difficult-to-decarbonise’ and are balanced out by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The study found that once the bulk of the emissions have been reduced, most countries...

This episode isabout climate change and its impacts on migration and population displacement. The World Bank’s updated Groundswell report in 2021 finds that climate change could force 216 million people across six world regions to move within their countries by 2050. Climate change is a powerful driver of internal migration because of its impacts on people’s livelihoods and loss of livability in highly exposed locations. By 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa could see as many as 86 million internal...

Our episode today is about future flooding scenarios due to sea level rise. This year, we remember the 1953 North Sea flood on the night of 31 January/1 February 1953 that devastated Scotland, England, Belgium, and especially the Netherlands. In the UK, the east coast was particularly affected – especially Lincolnshire, Essex, Norfolk, and the mouth of the Thames area. The flood was caused by a storm combined with spring tides and severe gale force winds from the north. In the UK, 1600 km of...

Este es el primer episodio del podcast en español y vamos a conversar sobre que es la economía circular, como se puede aplicar en el ámbito de América del Sur y como puede influir en la lucha contra el cambio climático  Nuestros invitados en este episodio son Edmundo Munoz y Nicolas Labra, ambos expertos en economía circular.  Dr Edmundo Muñoz es Ingeniero Ambiental y Doctor en Ingeniería de la Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile. Actualmente es profesor asociado e investigador de la...

Our episode is about circular economy and renewable energy. According to the Circularity Gap Report of 2019, an annual report produced for the yearly World Economic Forum in Davos, “The world can maximise chances of avoiding dangerous climate change by moving to a circular economy, thereby allowing societies to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Action.” The role of circular economy in achieving net zero has been acknowledged by many countries. The World Resources Institute...

Our episode today is about aviation and shipping emissions. Aviation emissions have become a hot topic recently, thanks to the revelation that celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Taylor Swift have been using their private jets even for short trips – apparently as short as a three minute flight! This has caused some uproar, especially as climate researchers and activists have been pushing for a reduction of emissions in the aviation sector. Over the years, with cheaper tickets available to the...

This episode is about the real world feasibility and consequences of two greenhouse gas removal approaches: first, large-scale afforestation, and second, biomass energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). They both play the largest roles of any greenhouse gas removal approaches in future low emission scenarios that keep global mean temperature increase to below 1.5 °C and 2 °C. We have three guests for this episode Nem Vaughan, Clair Gough and Diarmaid Clery from the FAB-GGR team or the...

Adapting to climate change means taking action to prepare for and adjust to current and predicted effects of climate change. Adaptation plays an important role in managing past, present and future climate risk and impacts. However, there is an ‘adaptation gap’ where the distance  between existing adaptation efforts versus adaptation needs is widening. Tracking national adaptation plans is deemed critical to support future decision-making and drive future actions. Our guest today is Katie...

Our episode this month is about energy justice. The energy price crisis in the UK and beyond, means many more households will find themselves in fuel poverty - meaning they find it unaffordable to heat their homes to a safe and healthy level. In 2019, 3.5 million households in the UK were considered fuel poor and this is likely to have increased significantly as a result of the pandemic and energy crisis. How do we address this from a justice perspective? Our guests for this episode is Sarah...

Interested in starting a PhD at the Tyndall Centre? In this episode, hosts Charlotte Brown and James Mason interview three PhD researchers at Tyndall Manchester to shine some light on the PhD world. How do you apply for a PhD? What do you research? Why choose Tyndall? Have a listen to find out more! 

This episode is about wildfires. We have seen wildfires happening more frequently in recent years – In the US, Brazil, Indonesia, and Australia, for example. How do wildfires start, does climate change make them worse? How do they impact communities and what can we do to prevent them?  Our guest for this episode is Dr. Rachel Carmenta, environmental social scientist and Tyndall Lecturer in Climate Change and International Development. Her expertise is in interdisciplinary research at the...

To start this year, we have the Science Brief team to talk to us about their work and why accessible scientific evidence is important in this time of climate crisis. How do we filter quality science and evidence?  What makes a good data visualisation? How can we make sure that the information we share is backed by good science? We have Adam Smith, Anthony De-Gol, and Corinne Le Quere, the core team of Science Brief, joining us for this episode.

How does resilience look like for drought and water security? How do we put to this to work? How do we define resilience in different parts of the world?  This episode is a conversation among experts about what resilience means and how it looks like when we deal with drought and water security. This is part of a recorded seminar led by Tyndall Centre’s Adaptation and Resilience theme.