The Climate Papers

Hot, hot, hot – how communities cope with extreme weather

In this fifth episode we discuss the public health risks associated with the more frequent extremes of weather we are likely to experience as a result of climate change. We discuss aspects of vulnerability and resilience to the effect of these extremes and how a joined up approach can help individuals and communities to cope better. To get into the detail of this issue we are joined by Dr Ana Raquel Nunes, Assistant Professor in Environmental Change and Public Health at the Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, and Ross Thompson, Principal Environmental Public Health Scientist within the Extreme Events and Health Protection team at the UK Heath Security Agency.

Climate Risk & Attribution

In this fourth episode we discuss climate risk and attribution – understanding how man-made ‘forcing factors’ can affect the intensity and probability of extreme weather events such as heat waves and extreme rainfall leading to droughts and flooding. As our understanding of this emerging and complex area of climate science increases we may be better placed to understand climate risk and avoid or adapt to extremes of weather. To unpack this issue we are joined by Dr Neven Fučkar, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellow, COP26 Fellow in Climate Risk, and Departmental Tutor at the University of Oxford and Prof Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Tipping Points

In this third episode we discuss climate risk tipping points – those moments when a small change or changes become so significant they cause a much larger and often irreversible shift. Have we reached such a point with climate change? The most recent IPCC report appears to suggest that we are now on such an irrevocable path. We are joined by climate scientist Dr Eric Mackie from the University of Cambridge and Dr Luke Kemp, a research associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge.

Anxiety Vs Apathy – getting the balance right in communicating climate risk

In this second episode of our Climate Risk series researcher and writer Freya Roberts from UCL’s Climate Action Unit and Professor Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, discuss the need to get the right message across to all sectors of society around risk. What lessons have we learnt from Covid and is there a right or wrong way to sharing information?

Climate Risk 2022: What you should know

Welcome to the new series of The Climate Papers podcasts – Climate Risk – produced in conjunction with the UK Universities Climate Network. We talk with experts Alyssa Gilbert from Imperial College London, Emily Shuckburgh from Cambridge Zero, Kris De Meyer from King’s College London and Craig Hutton from the University of Southampton to get an insight and introduction to climate risk and why it is so important to understand, quantify and mitigate it as far as possible.

Co-Benefits

In this final episode of The Climate Papers Series 1 we focus upon the co-benefits* associated with climate change mitigation and adaptation policy and action. We are joined by Professor Sebastien Chastin, Professor of Health Behaviour Dynamics: People, Places, Systems at Glasgow Caledonian University and Professor Laura Diaz-Anadon who holds the chaired Professorship of Climate Change Policy at the University of Cambridge.

Counting the Cost of Climate Finance

Join our experts Dr Jessica Omukuti (University of York) and Dr Harald Heubaum (SOAS University of London) as they discuss the financing and investments that will support a global transition to net zero. How and where is the money being raised and spent? How do we account for loss and damage? What more can be done to support least developed countries and small island developing states?

It’s Rocket Science!

Our sixth podcast in the series looks at the important role played by space-based Earth Observation. Hosts Amanda Carpenter and Alyssa Gilbert are joined by Prof. Marian Scott and Prof. Jonathan Bamber as they explain how Earth Observation combined with in-situ and sensor data provides a powerful means to observe environmental changes over space and time in unprecedented detail, even in remote parts of the globe. We find out how Earth Observation satellites are our eyes on the planet and why, without them, we would be virtually blind to the magnitude and timing of climate change and to human interference with the fragile ecosystems we all depend on.

You can download the paper here

Getting the Measure of Offsets

Our guests Eli Mitchell-Larson (University of Oxford) and Matt Dunlop (University of Newcastle) explore the issues and some of the challenges they raise in the latest briefing paper Carbon Offsetting for UK Higher and Further Education.