climate change

We must allow nuclear power to play its part in tackling climate change

By Melissa Denecke Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: November 28, 2016

This month, the twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) took place in Marrakech, Morocco. Here, Prof Melissa Denecke reflects on the letter that Women in Nuclear Global wrote on the occasion of COP21 last year and argues that investing in Nuclear Energy is vital to tackling climate change. Decision-makers across the […]

Negotiating for the climate: COP22 vs. The election of Donald Trump

By Simon Chin-Yee and Lauren Gifford Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment Posted: November 16, 2016

This week, the twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) is taking place in Marrakech, Morocco. In light of the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, Simon Chin Yee and Lauren Gifford blog from the conference, reflecting on what the election might mean for global climate change policy. […]

Expanding Heathrow flies in the face of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change

By Alice Larkin Filed Under: All posts Posted: October 26, 2016

At a cabinet committee on Tuesday, the government approved plans to build a third runway at Heathrow, expanding UK airport capacity There will be a public consultation on the effects of the expansion before the government makes a final decision as part of a national policy statement on aviation. Here, Professor Alice Larkin urges the […]

What does Habitat 3 mean for people affected by climate change?

By Joanne Jordan Filed Under: All posts Posted: October 17, 2016

This month more than 25,000 delegates meet in Quito, Ecuador, for the Habitat 3 conference which sets out the United Nations’ New Urban Agenda – a guide to policies and approaches for the sustainable development and planning of cities and towns across the globe for the next 20 years. As part of The University of Manchester’s […]

Are land-use policies jeopardising the UK’s resilience to climate change and population growth?

By Claire Hoolohan and Maria Sharmina Filed Under: All posts Posted: April 22, 2016

Land provides a wide range of goods and services to society. But with multiple demands placed on our land, both now and into the future, Claire Hoolohan and Maria Sharmina ask why are land-use policies failing to make the most of UK land? Land is an invaluable resource that sustains much of the UK economy […]

Groundhog Day: Why the Government needs a new approach, to stop failing on flooding

By Graham Haughton and Iain White Filed Under: All posts Posted: March 16, 2016

The ferocious storms and heavy downpours at the end of 2015 contributed to one of the wettest months in the UK since records began. And with saturated soils and rain still falling in early 2016, the flood risk continues for many parts of the UK. Graham Haughton and Iain White argue that Government flood policy has […]

Were the Paris climate talks a success or a COP-out?

By Jonas Amtoft Bruun Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: January 11, 2016

COP 21 is good news – but only to a point, argues Jonas Amtoft Bruun. “We have an agreement.” Those redeeming words from French foreign minister Laurent Fabius in the evening of Saturday 12 December unleashed a wave of standing ovations from high level UN staff, delegates and observers from business and civil society. Preceding […]

COP21: Changing the way we think about change

By Simon Chin-Yee Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: December 3, 2015

Change is inevitable, but climate change is damaging. Simon Chin-Yee argues that as the COP21 discussions continue in Paris, we must adapt to limit the damage being caused by climate change. Mark Twain once said: “I’m all for progress, its change I object to.” What is it about human nature that makes us averse to […]

The Paris climate change negotiations and 2°C: a view from the coal-face

By Kevin Anderson Filed Under: All posts Posted: December 2, 2015

As the Paris COP21 negotiations continue, Kevin Anderson, who is in France for the conference, gives his views. Paris will witness frenetic discussion centred ostensibly on the long-established 2°C temperature threshold between ‘acceptable’ and ‘dangerous’ climate change. However, as a citizen concerned with the moral framing of climate change, I consider the 2°C increase above the […]

Is fracking a price worth paying?

By Paul Younger and Kevin Anderson Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: October 22, 2015

Our dependence on a constant supply of energy presents seemingly intractable dilemmas. One of these is whether fracking should be permitted. Professor Paul Younger and Professor Kevin Anderson took opposing views in a recent online debate. In the US, the recovery of underground reserves of shale gas and its extraction from solid rock through the […]