Our 51¸£ÀûÉç Festival of Climate Action acted as a forum to share our insight and innovations.
But the discussion doesn't stop there.
We've made our resources and academic contacts from each talk available below so we can keep discussion going as we continue to work together on solutions.
Join in the discussion on Twitter #UoMClimateQs.
51¸£ÀûÉç Festival of Climate Action
Mitigation – How do we secure global net zero?
Climate change impacts are widespread and intensifying. However, strong, sustained reductions in carbon emissions will help to limit climate change.
How do we speed up the energy transition? How can we fast-track decarbonisation? How do we accelerate exploration into transformational technologies?
Decarbonising the consumption of goods and services in cities is vital and urgent to stem dangerous levels of warming. Consider, for instance, cement, our food, or flights taken from elsewhere. As many of these emissions occur beyond boundary, they are often neglected in (net) zero carbon efforts.
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Lecturer in Human Geography, 51¸£ÀûÉç and Member of the 51¸£ÀûÉç Zero Carbon Advisory Group
- , Tyndall 51¸£ÀûÉç at 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Lecturer in Sustainability and Innovation, Alliance 51¸£ÀûÉç Business School
- Usman Aziz, Research Associate, Alliance 51¸£ÀûÉç Business School
Research conducted by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that carbon capture is an essential technology in the fight to mitigate climate change.
Leading experts from 51¸£ÀûÉç are exploring the increasing role that carbon capture and storage will play in the transition to a net zero economy, analysing the advances, technical challenges and research issues around carbon capture and storage technologies.
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Professor of Geophysics, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Reader, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Lecturer, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Chair in Sustainable Geoscience, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- Chair of Carbonate Geoscience, 51¸£ÀûÉç
David Attenborough in Blue Planet II did what many polymer scientists have been trying to do for years: convince the public and government that the challenges of plastic waste are real and need to be fixed. But is this as simple as doing away with single-use plastic?
Experts at 51¸£ÀûÉç are exploring the complex nature of our plastic environment, the interdependency of plastics on our goals for lowering our carbon footprint and increasing our expected lifespan, while also showcasing how our work at the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub has the opportunity to shape a new sustainable future by developing interdisciplinary solutions that work for all actors.
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Director of the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub and Professor of Polymer Science in the Department of Materials, 51¸£ÀûÉç.
- , PhD Student, Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub and the Department of Materials, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Research Fellow, Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub and the Department of Materials, 51¸£ÀûÉç
Where we are when it comes to achieving net zero targets, and what do we need to be doing better? For example, why is UK decarbonisation progressing well in the electricity sector, but struggling to make progress in heating and mobility?
What lessons can we draw from the interactions between innovation, company strategies, consumers, social acceptance, and policy choices in the UK electricity, heating, and mobility systems?
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Professor of System Innovation and Sustainability at Alliance 51¸£ÀûÉç Business School
The UK’s target of net zero by 2050 is extremely ambitious and the scale of the effort required to achieve it must not be underestimated. While many potential options are pitched as being “the solution” in meeting our net zero ambitions, in practice it will likely require all possible low-carbon generation technologies to meet the ambitious target, and this will include nuclear.
Large parts of the national discussion on nuclear energy are currently underdeveloped. With aims to resolve this, we need to address questions such as:
- What role(s) should nuclear be playing in the UK’s future energy landscape?
- Is an energy future possible with Hinkley Point C as the only nuclear generation to 2050?
- What challenges must the nuclear sector overcome to warrant serious consideration?
- What is the responsibility of government in this challenge?
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Research Associate in Nuclear Systems Choice, 51¸£ÀûÉç's Dalton Nuclear Institute.
- , Director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute
- , Head of Strategic Assessment, Dalton Nuclear Institute
- , Professor in Nuclear Energy Technology, Dalton Nuclear Institute
In 2019 researchers at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at 51¸£ÀûÉç teamed up with legendary electronic band Massive Attack, aiming to transform the live music industry. The Roadmap to Super Low Carbon Live Music sets out urgent recommendations on how the sector can help tackle the climate crisis.
The roadmap has the potential to reconfigure the music industry as we know it.
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Professor of Climate Energy and Policy at 51¸£ÀûÉç and Director of Tyndall 51¸£ÀûÉç
- Research Fellow, Tyndall 51¸£ÀûÉç
Evidence generated by The University of Toronto and 51¸£ÀûÉç suggests that investments in urban forestry, street greening, and more strategic green infrastructure can support ecosystem service provision, reduce flooding and improve air quality. In addition, research findings argue that an alignment between the ecological and socio-economic perspectives of urban planning are critical to understanding how green infrastructure can deliver greater resilience for urban systems.
What are the synergies needed between effective urban governance, environmental research and socio-cultural understandings of need in Canada and the UK?
Useful reads
- (PDF, 596KB)
Academic contacts
- , Professor of Human Geography and Director of the 51¸£ÀûÉç Urban Institute at 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Reader in Environmental & Landscape Planning, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- Tenley Conway, Professor, Department of Geography, Geomatics and Environment, University of Toronto-Mississauga
- Professor Matti Siemiatycki, Department of Geography and Program in Planning, University of Toronto
Adaptation – How can we protect our communities and natural habitats?
Extreme weather is affecting every continent. The seas and atmosphere are warming at unprecedented rates. Some of the consequences are irrevocable.
How do we protect communities and natural habitats?
For both people and nature to thrive, we need to see more high-quality natural spaces that are better joined up, throughout our landscapes. For the past five years, the Carbon Landscape Partnership has been working to restore and connect ecosystems across the landscape that fuelled the Industrial Revolution. Working with 14 delivery partners, the Partnership has drawn together strands of landscape ecology, heritage, community engagement, education, traineeships, and art to imagine a different future for this post-industrial landscape.
We are now seeing what was once a fragmented landscape becoming a joined-up network of important wildlife habitats, providing places for people to visit, relax and exercise. Environmental improvements include biodiversity gains; ‘slow the flow’ natural flood management projects; capturing and storing carbon; and improving water quality.
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Lecturer in Spatial Planning in the School of Environment and Development, 51¸£ÀûÉç
How do we move beyond working with purely the self-selected sample of ‘greenies’ to ensure sustainability messages are heard by all students? Who are the key actors in this discussion, and who are we not hearing? Through a co-constructed un-workshop we invited students to shape the conversation about sustainability teaching and learning at 51¸£ÀûÉç and make plans for change.
Follow-up actions to be shared.
Useful reads
- Discover our programme where our students graduate with first-hand experience of driving change with organisations across the world.
- (PDF, 60KB)
Academic contacts
- , Academic Lead of Sustainability Teaching and Learning at 51¸£ÀûÉç
The frequency and intensity of heatwaves is likely to increase in England because of climate change. This will have a significant impact on public health through increased ill health and on health and social care services as people who are impacted seek support. With the frequency of heatwaves likely to increase in the coming years, what is being done to prepare, and where can impacts be mitigated?
Useful reads
- (PDF, 3.51MB)
Academic contacts
- , Clinical Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Professor of Integrative Physiology, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Professor in Occupational and Environmental Health, 51¸£ÀûÉç
Many activists argue that transition to a post-carbon economy is inevitable but a just transition is far from guaranteed: it will only be achieved if social change happens in tandem with technological innovation. There is therefore a call to move beyond the focus on how to adapt to climate change, towards democratic debate about fundamental eco-social transformation. What are the strategies for greater inclusion of women and people marginalised by poverty, racialisation, age and citizenship status in climate politics?
Useful reads
- Ethics, faith and collaboration:
Academic contacts
- , Reader in Environmental Politics, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , PHD Researcher, 51¸£ÀûÉç
It has been estimated that we need to produce more food in the next 35 years than we have ever produced in human history, based on projected increases in world population, and predications that rising incomes will continue to change diets. Sustainable food systems lie at the heart of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and we need to deliver food security and nutrition that is healthy for us, healthy for the environment, and economically viable.
What are the challenges and potential solutions to delivering sustainable food systems, and how is current research at 51¸£ÀûÉç helping this endeavour?
Useful reads
- UoM is part of
Academic contacts
- , Professor of Soil Microbial Ecology, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Professor of Innovation and Sustainability, 51¸£ÀûÉç
The Earth has been in existence for 4.5 billion years and our planet's climate has changed dramatically over these millennia. Just in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 11,700 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era – and of human civilisation.
It is only by studying the past that we can really understand what is going on in our world today. The planet is warming much faster than it has over human history, which is having a dramatic impact on our environment. How, by looking at geological and biological records, can we start to unravel how the Earth’s natural systems have swung between vicious cold to unrelenting heat, and what are the clues that our planet has left behind for us?
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Professor of Geochemistry, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography and Quaternary Science, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Senior Research Fellow, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Reader, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Lecturer in Physical Geography, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- Lauren O’Connor, Research Associate, 51¸£ÀûÉç
There is no denying that extreme weather events are on the rise, with the World Meteorological Organisation confirming they have increased five times in the past 50 years. In the last year alone, our news channels have been filled with reports of flash floods, wildfires and heatwaves devastating lives across the world.
Scientists believe that alongside better reporting, climate change is increasing the likelihood of these extreme weather events. So, as temperatures continue to rise and heavy rainfall becomes more frequent, what long term measures can we take to protect our communities and make them more resilient to climate change? And is it possible for nature to play a part in protecting us?
Useful reads
- : an expert led report for the 3rd Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3) (PDF, 28.6MB)
- Keep up to date with the
Academic contacts
- , Lecturer in Physical Geography, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Reader in Physical Geography, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Lecturer in Geographical Information Science, 51¸£ÀûÉç
Finance – How do we finance change?
We need to mobilise trillions in private and public sector finance to power us towards net zero, and to manage the increasing impacts of climate change.
This means we need to ensure every financial decision takes climate into account.
It’s all very well having short-term strategies to begin addressing the climate crisis, but what businesses really need are long-term solutions.
However, as we recover from the financial impact of COVID-19, how can businesses afford the investment required to make the changes needed? What does a long-term strategy look like, and what’s realistic?
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Professor of Productivity Studies, Alliance 51¸£ÀûÉç Business School (AMBS)
- , Professor of Innovation Studies, Alliance 51¸£ÀûÉç Business School (AMBS)
Strong domestic climate action is vital in demonstrating international leadership in the build-up to COP26. So, what does the UK need to do to ensure it retains international credibility, and helps manufacturing businesses to decarbonise? And how can this deliver a green economy that works for all?
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Professor of Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, and Director of the 51¸£ÀûÉç Institute of Innovation Research, 51¸£ÀûÉç
Business decisions are traditionally based on factors that are easy to measure: profit and loss, output and value. However, the more nuanced ‘loss’, such as the cost to nature in the pursuit of value, has been hard to account for, until now.
Professor Paolo Quattrone presents a shift to value-added accounting, which considers environmental impacts as part of the bottom line. Providing stakeholders with the ability to account for their impact, this innovative approach will enable businesses to decide how much they are willing to give up to restore natural capital.
Useful reads
- Seeking transparency makes one blind:
- Letter: (subscription needed)
Academic contacts
- , Professor of Accounting, Governance and Society, and Director of Centre for the Analysis of Investment Risk (CAIR), Alliance 51¸£ÀûÉç Business School (AMBS)
Accounting for climate change is already an important feature of modules at 51¸£ÀûÉç for undergraduate and postgraduate students, but even more so when teaching those new to accounting.
How does teaching accounting need to change to reflect climate change risks, which students care deeply about? How do you link climate change to accounting and how should the risks it poses to the global economy be taught in novel and informative ways which challenge the status quo?
Useful reads
- Take part in our , a LinkedIn group which discusses the teaching of accounting
- Jenni Rose's LinkedIn
- Find out more about an
Academic contacts
- , Senior Lecturer in the Accounting and Finance division at Alliance 51¸£ÀûÉç Business School
Collaboration – How can we turn ambition into reality?
We need to collaborate across sectors, cultures and countries to help to drive the transformation needed.
From the way we heat our homes and travel, to how we adapt to the ever-changing environment, by working collaboratively we can deliver progress, faster.
With more extreme weather expected as a result of the climate crisis, we are at a critical juncture where urgent measures are required to address widening energy inequality.
To support the energy-poor, Professor Stefan Bouzarovski has been developing grass-roots solutions in 51¸£ÀûÉç. STEP-IN Living Labs, an initiative in partnership with Greater 51¸£ÀûÉç Combined Authority (GMCA), is designed to bring real long-term benefits to communities, households and consumers in need.
What are the social and technical forces shaping urban energy consumption? How can this understanding be used to help wider health, environmental and societal issues? How can the work of STEP-IN inform other local approaches?
Useful reads
- for latest research updates
Academic contacts
- , Professor of Geography, 51¸£ÀûÉç, and chair of the ENGAGER Action (European Energy Poverty: Agenda Co-Creation and Knowledge Innovation)
- , Presidential Fellow in the Geography department, 51¸£ÀûÉç
How does the cultural sector move beyond bins, lightbulbs and building-based adaptations to more fully and creatively address the climate and ecological emergency for the people of our city region?
The opportunity in 51¸£ÀûÉç is for visible and compelling change, for the cultural sector to build upon its reputation and track record and make a discernible step-change – in terms of active carbon reduction, civic engagement, social justice and education.
Useful reads
- (PDF, 148KB)
Academic contacts
- , Director of 51¸£ÀûÉç Museum
- , Lecturer in Heritage Studies at the Institute for Cultural Practices, 51¸£ÀûÉç
COP26 is the latest in nearly thirty years of Conferences of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Those negotiations have a chequered history, to say the least, with some notable agreements at Kyoto (1997) and Paris (2015) but also notable failures such as at Copenhagen (2009).
They have also been plagued by a series of recurrent conflicts over the appropriate design of international climate agreements, which reflect conflicts over inequalities in emissions, wealth and power, over whether ‘market mechanisms’ are a useful way to approach climate change, over how to deal with those parts of the world that suffer the worst of climate impacts, and because of domestic politics in the United States in particular.
The dynamics of these conflicts over time have shifted in some important ways, but remain the key conflicts that need to be overcome if Glasgow is to be any sort of success.
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Professor of International Politics, 51¸£ÀûÉç
Nuclear is enjoying a resurgence in popularity in the UK given its unique status as the only reliable, low-carbon generator available to the UK on a large scale. But beyond all this promise, how would England and Wales actually deliver a flourishing, large-scale nuclear sector?
The North West Nuclear Arc (NWNA) is a unique nuclear sector cluster, spanning the North of England and North Wales that incorporates all the facilities and capabilities across the whole nuclear lifecycle: from fuels, to energy production, management of waste and decommissioning.
Useful reads
- (PDF, 50.9MB)
- (PDF, 2MB)
Academic contacts
- , Research Associate in Nuclear Systems Choice, 51¸£ÀûÉç's Dalton Nuclear Institute
- , Director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute
The climate crisis will affect the lives of billions of people. The poorest and most socially marginalised are likely to be the most affected. We have a huge responsibility to address underlying social inequalities as part of our response to climate change.
This means organisations need to consider who is making decisions, what their end goals are and whether their transformations will help or hinder equity and inclusion. But with sustainability the second least diverse discipline in the UK, second only to farming, how can we successfully fight climate change if we don’t first address our own social inequality?
Academic contacts
- , Head of Environmental Sustainability, 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Researcher, 51¸£ÀûÉç
How do systems thrive or fall – where we ‘join the eco-dots’ to build a bigger picture, about not only flood defences but the strategic levels – landscapes and livelihoods, future cities and future climates.
We explore systematically the ‘R word’ – resilience – with its social, technical, economic, ecological, political and cultural layers. We draw on topical research themes: peri-urban / climate (the project Peri-cene), Bio-regional 3.0 and Green New Deal 3.0.
This all points towards a systems co-evolution view on resilience – not a fixed condition, more a process of learning, co-creation and co-production – all adding up to a ‘collective resilience intelligence’.
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Research Fellow at the 51¸£ÀûÉç Urban Institute, 51¸£ÀûÉç
Nuclear fusion has the potential to be an abundant source of continuous, zero carbon-emitting power. Fusion research has been ongoing for many decades, and we are now entering a stage of huge growth: with ITER in progress, the new UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) STEP programme in place, and a huge number of private companies entering the scene. However, significant challenges remain that must be overcome before fusion power is connected to the grid.
What are the essential next steps? Where should our priorities lie? And, crucially, how can we ensure we build the robust global collaborations necessary to achieve fusion's full potential?
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Harwell Research Fellow in Fusion, 51¸£ÀûÉç’s Dalton Nuclear Institute
It is not just governments that need to respond to the challenge of climate change. Communities across the world have an important role to play in building their own resilience and providing a local resilience capability to mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover from emergencies when they happen. Communities can collaborate with policymakers, businesses and each other in order to make themselves more resilient.
Useful reads
Academic contacts
- , Professor of Operations and Critical Systems, Alliance 51¸£ÀûÉç Business School (AMBS)
How can the arts spark conversations around climate change? Discover some of the arts-based approaches researchers have developed to engage citizens in dialogue, learning and action around climate change.
Useful reads
- (password: cucusonic)
Academic contacts
- , Project Manager, and Anthropologist at 51¸£ÀûÉç
- , Lecturer in Responses to Climate Crises at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, 51¸£ÀûÉç