climate

A new report from Oxford's Nature-based Solutions Initiative and collaborators including the Environmental Change Institute has found that nature-based solutions are key to reducing climate change impacts such flooding, soil erosion and loss of food production. The report is the first systematic review of the evidence for using nature-based interventions from around the world and investigates nearly 400 scientific studies.

Jesús Aguirre Gutiérrez has been awarded a new five-year Independent Researcher Fellowship from the Natural Environment Research Council to understand tropical forest responses to global change drivers, working with contacts from around the world including Brazil, Ghana, Mexico, Australia, Costa Rica, and Oxford and Leeds (UK).

Oxford University researchers have recorded the wettest October day since daily rainfall records began at the Radcliffe Meteorological Station in January 1827. 60.0 mm of rainfall was observed in the rain gauge on Saturday 3rd October 2020, which was the sixth wettest day of the 70,000 days in the records, and the rainiest day in Oxford for over 47 years.

New funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will support global research and practice to improve water security for 10 million people in Africa and Asia, through Oxford University's REACH programme led by SoGE and the Smith School.

An innovative collaboration between construction experts and leading international academics, including Smith School's Radhika Khosla, reveals global innovation in the building sector with the potential to help fight climate change. The new study finds that the technology and skills already exist to achieve net- or nearly-zero energy building in nearly every part of the world - including both developed and developing countries - at costs in the range of those of traditional projects.

Oxford experienced its wettest month for 145 years in October 2020, according to weather observers from the School of Geography and the Environment at Oxford University.

Sam Loni, MSc student in the School of Geography and the Environment, was recently selected by The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) for its fifth class of 30 leaders under the age of 30. Sam combines research and advocacy to support educators in preparing students for the challenges of the 21st century and empowering them to shape sustainable communities. He is studying for an MSc in Environmental Change and Management and an MBA at the Said Business School.

A new study involving Dr Julie Durcan challenges the long-held view that the destruction of Central Asia's medieval river civilizations was a direct result of the Mongol invasion in the early 13th century CE.

Natalie Sum Yue Chung, MPhil student in Environmental Change and Management, is included in Eco-Business's 2020 inaugural list of emerging youth sustainability changemakers. Natalie is a passionate youth climate advocate committed to environmental education and policy advisory in Asia, and the Director and co-founder of V'air Hong Kong.

While Arctic tundra greening and browning have received increasing attention over the past decade, one comparatively understudied area is the role of sea ice dynamics and decline as drivers of terrestrial vegetation change and the ecological consequences. A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, reveals two important insights that will have important implications for tundra productivity and vegetation-climate feedback. Read in full.