Network briefings
Net-Zero Solutions and Research Priorities in the 2020s (Briefing)
To meet the UK’s 2050 net-zero target, technological, societal, and nature-based solutions will be required to reduce carbon emissions in all sectors of our economy and society.
This briefing sets out a vision of plausible net-zero solutions, innovations and research priorities across eight different sectors to highlight, based on the available evidence, what we already know and what still requires further research, as well as what actions we need to take now.
Image credit: 'Wind Turbine Installation' by Thomas Gennara, Consumers Energy.
Why the Ocean Matters in Climate Negotiations (Briefing)
The ocean takes up heat and carbon, reducing the adverse effects of climate change. However, those benefits also have costs: the ocean is warming, the rate of sea level rise is increasing, and the ocean is acidifying.
This briefing explores mitigation strategies and adaptation actions both for and by the ocean, as well as the importance of supporting better inclusion of the ocean in international climate change negotiations.
Image credit: 'Offshore wind farms as backdrop to enjoyment of the sea', by K. Boot, Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Used with permission.
Space-Based Earth Observations for Climate Security (Briefing)
Given the rapidity of environmental change there is an urgent need for timely, reliable evidence to support climate action and to monitor the effectiveness of mitigation measures.
This briefing lays out the importance of Earth Observation (EO) data for achieving the goals of COP26, alongside opportunities to harness EO to improve climate security, achieve the UN Sustainability Development Goals and meet the need for actionable evidence for policy on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Image credit: Photograph freely available from Pixabay.
Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Change, People and Biodiversity (Briefing)
Nature-based solutions can, if well designed and robustly implemented, deliver multiple benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation, enhance biodiversity, promote human wellbeing and support the economic recovery.
This briefing explores the benefits of nature-based solutions; the best practice guidelines necessary for these benefits to materialise; the role of nature-based solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation in the UK; and the opportunity for COP26 to promote the global adoption of good practice principles for nature-based solutions.
Image credit: Photographer: Eyoel Kahssay via Unsplash. Instagram: @eyoel_kahssay_photographer. Direct link to photo.
Destination Net Zero: Setting and Delivering Ambitious, Credible Targets (Briefing)
Net zero emissions targets have gained traction in the global effort to halt climate change. This briefing sets out the science behind net zero targets and the considerations that policymakers and industry leaders should take when adopting and implementing such targets to represent the highest ambition in both planning and delivery.
Image credit: Image by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
A Net-Zero Emissions Economic Recovery from Covid-19 (Briefing)
As the world emerges from the crisis of Covid-19, governments will introduce recovery packages to boost economic growth, including in the UK. These will have a highly significant impact on the UK’s future prosperity, including its potential to meet its legally mandated net-zero emissions obligation. Collectively, the packages will strongly influence whether the global Paris Agreement targets are met.
This briefing identifies ten fiscal recovery policies which promise to bring both short-term high economic impact, and long-term structural change through decoupling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from economic growth.
Listen to our podcast Making the 'New Normal Zero' on this briefing, with guests Professor Cameron Hepburn, Smith School Oxford University, and Dr Jennifer Allan, University of Cardiff.
Image credit: Image by Stephen Yang / The Solutions Project. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Just Transition: Pathways to Socially Inclusive Decarbonisation (Briefing)
Various protests in recent decades have highlighted the importance of an integrated approach that accounts for the environmental, economic, social, cultural and psychological dimensions of the transition to a post-carbon economy. Covid-19 serves as a stark reminder that socio-economic disruptions tend to worsen social inequalities, with pandemic policies disproportionately affecting low-skilled workers, minorities, women and other vulnerable groups.
Against this backdrop, it is increasingly recognised that the transition to a post-carbon economy needs to be green, sustainable and socially inclusive. This briefing outlines what kind of governance policies, modalities, institutions, spaces and actors will be required to make sure that the transition is socially inclusive and supported by citizens.
Image credit: Image by International Renewable Energy Agency is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Carbon Offsetting for UK Higher and Further Education (Briefing)
- COP26 Universities Network Carbon Offsetting Briefing
- COP26 Universities Network Carbon Offsetting Briefing Supplementary Information
This briefing note provides guidance to support the development of further and higher education offsetting policies. It specifically discusses the use of offsetting in the context of net zero strategies.
The authors are also using this briefing to consult on the approaches to carbon offsetting that different FHE institutions are taking. To input into this sector consultation please go to this form.
Planned Network Briefings
- Student-led briefing
- Climate finance
- Adaptation and development
- Climate change and health
- Resilience/high ambition links
- City/local scale solutions