How have plants adapted over centuries or millennia to survive and recover from human interference? David Moreno-Mateos and his team are analysing tree species in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest to find out, and to help inform and improve future restoration practice.
News
Why ‘de-extinct’ dire wolves are a Trojan horse to hide humanity’s destruction of nature
In a thought-provoking feature for The Conversation, Dr Rich Grenyer, Associate Professor in Biodiversity and Biogeography, examines the ethical and ecological concerns surrounding de-extinction, arguing that the allure of reviving species like dire wolves risks diverting attention from the ongoing human-driven destruction of the natural world.
When will life return to normal after the pandemic?
No one can ever know for sure when life will return to normal after a particular event, not least because what's normal keeps on changing, even in normal times. Nevertheless, it's a question we can't help pondering - particularly when new COVID developments, such as the emergence of the omicron variant, keep on shifting the pandemic's goalposts - Prof Danny Dorling writes in The Conversation.
IN THE MEDIA
Satellites reveal Ethiopian elephants under threat
Tens of thousands of illegal human settlements pose a real threat to the continued existence of an endangered elephant population, according to satellite analysis of the Babile Elephant Sanctuary in eastern Ethiopia by University of Oxford researchers and the Born Free Foundation.
NEWS
IKEA Foundation pledges £4.5m to back Oxford sustainable finance action
The IKEA Foundation is supporting, with a grant of £4.5 million over three years, four key University of Oxford Sustainable Finance Group projects, aimed at making a significant contribution to aligning finance and the financial system with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
IN THE MEDIA
The Heather Viles on ruins, rocks, rubble and winning a certain gold medal
There is no red carpet, no statuette and no large cash prize for Geography. There is, however, a Gold Founders Medal. Just one is awarded each year and last year, Professor Heather Viles, former head of Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment, won it. It is a seriously big deal.
IN THE MEDIA
The world has made more progress on climate change than you might think - or might have predicted a decade ago
Following COP26, Professor Myles Allen takes a look at the decades-long process that started with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and explores how far we have come in an article for The Conversation.
IN THE MEDIA
COP26: how unlocking nature's power can help the UK step up its fight against climate change
World leaders have been gathering at COP26, the UN climate summit in Glasgow, against a backdrop of flooded homes, closed roads and cancelled trains across the UK caused by extreme weather. These conditions are a stark reminder that as well as dramatically reducing our carbon emissions, we must also begin adapting to a climate that is already irreversibly changing.
IN THE MEDIA
COP26: Seven reasons global transport is so hard to decarbonise
Transport accounts for 21% of global carbon emissions. It is now the largest emitting sector in many developed countries. On 'transport day' at the COP26 climate summit, Dr Christian Brand provides seven reasons why global transport is particularly hard to decarbonise. Part of The Conversation's coverage on COP26.
IN THE MEDIA
COP26: here's what it would take to end coal power worldwide
Why is coal such a stubborn relic of energy systems around the world - even where cleaner alternatives like solar power are cheaper? Alex Clark, DPhil candidate at the School, explores what can be done about it in an article in The Conversation. Part of The Conversation's coverage on COP26.
IN THE MEDIA
Oxford University and Pearson launch online programmes in sustainable business and law
The Oxford Smith School has partnered with publishing group Pearson to launch two online programmes in January 2022.The programmes will allow a global audience to access the Smith School's world leading sustainability research and teaching.
NEWS
COP26: a letter to school strikers from 'the physicist behind net zero'
Professor Myles Allen, Professor of Geosystem Science and Director of Oxford Net Zero writes a letter to school strikers. Part of The Conversation's coverage on COP26.
IN THE MEDIA
