News

A global research initiative led by the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford has exceeded its target of improving water security for 10 million people across Africa and Asia, demonstrating a scalable approach to tackling one of the world’s most pressing challenges.

The University of Oxford is establishing a new multidisciplinary research initiative for sustainable natural resources. The Oxford EARTH programme (Ensuring equitable Access to sustainable Resources for a Thriving Habitat) aims to address the challenges in natural resources underpinning the net zero energy transition. This includes critical raw materials needed for the generation, storage and transmission of renewable energy, and the social license needed to extract them from the Earth.

Dr Jan Rosenow, an award-winning international expert in energy and climate is returning to the Oxford University department where he completed his doctorate in Energy Policy 13 years ago. Dr Rosenow has been appointed the new Energy Programme lead at the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) and a Jackson Senior Research Fellow at Oriel College, Oxford.

The UK’s Climate Change Committee has recently released its recommendation for a cap on emissions over the five-year period of 2038–2042. Dr Injy Johnstone, Oxford Net Zero and Smith School Research Fellow in Net Zero Aligned Offsetting; Jessica Zionts, Oxford Net Zero Researcher and DPhil student at the Environmental Change Institute; Millicent Sutton, Oxford Net Zero Researcher on net zero aviation; and Sindi Kuci, Researcher with the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, break down what it all means for the UK’s efforts to reach net zero by 2050. 

Tropical rainforests play a vital role in global climate regulation and biodiversity conservation. However, a major new study led by Dr Jesús Aguirre-Gutiérrez from the Environmental Change Institute (ECI), reveals that forests across the Americas are not adapting quickly enough to keep pace with climate change, raising concerns about their long-term resilience.

Governments frequently impose bans to safeguard wildlife species most at risk from trade. However, an ECI researcher has been studying the extent to which banning trade in one threatened species unintentionally drives demand for other endangered species. Writing in The Conversation, Dr Diogo Veríssimo, explains how efforts to deal with the risk of overexploitation by the government of Japan, one of the world’s largest wildlife markets, resulted in a pattern known as the ‘spillover effect’ - when a species is no longer available, demand often moves to alternative species rather than disappearing entirely.

Professor Heather Viles, Professor of Biogeomorphology and Heritage Conservation at the School of Geography and the Environment, talks about her pioneering research in preserving heritage sites, and her top tips on applying research into practice.

In The Big Issue, Kevin Grecksch from the School of Geography and the Environment provides expert insights into the complexities of reservoirs and water companies, contributing a critical perspective on current policies and their environmental implications.