Cabot Institute for the Environment blog

 We've got lots of media trained climate change experts. If you need an expert for an interview, here is a list of Caboteers you can approach.  All media enquiries should be made via  Victoria Tagg , our dedicated Media and PR Manager at the University of Bristol.   Email  victoria.tagg@bristol.ac.uk  or call +44 (0)117 428 2489. Climate change / climate emergency / climate science / climate-induced disasters Dr Eunice Lo  - expert in changes in  extreme weather  events such as  heatwaves  and  cold spells , and how these changes translate to negative  health  outcomes including illnesses and deaths. Follow on Twitter  @EuniceLoClimate . Professor Daniela Schmidt  - expert in the causes and effects of climate change on  marine systems . Dani is also a Lead Author on the IPCC reports.  Dr Vikki Thompson - expert on  climate extremes , particularly heat extremes. Follow on Twitt...

Just Stop Oil handout / EPA , CC BY-NC Members of the protest group Just Stop Oil recently threw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in the National Gallery in London. The action once again triggered debate about what kinds of protest are most effective. After a quick clean of the glass, the painting was back on display. But critics argued that the real damage had been done, by alienating the public from the cause itself (the demand that the UK government reverse its support for opening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea). Supporters of more militant forms of protest often point to historical examples such as the suffragettes. In contrast with Just Stop Oil’s action, when the suffragette Mary Richardson went to the National Gallery to attack a painting called The Rokeby Venus, she slashed the canvas , causing major damage. The Rokeby Venus: the 17th century painting by Diego Velázquez was slash...

The National Guard rescuing a flood victim. Credit The National Guard, Flickr, CC BY 2.0 . Climate change is affecting the lives of billions of people. The impacts range from water scarcity and food production to health and wellbeing. Climate change impacts are felt in the cities and settlements where people live. We have heard many times that we need to ensure no one is left behind in climate change adaptation and mitigation. To ensure that every voice matters, the impacts of climate change on different groups have to be taken into account. Many individuals or groups are disproportionately affected by climate change as they have less capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related hazards. Worldwide, there are more than one billion persons with disabilities, 15% of the world’s population. The preamble of the Paris Agreement states that parties should respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights and the rights of persons with disabili...

Animals can only endure temperatures within a given range. The upper and lower temperatures of this range are called its critical thermal limits. As these limits are exceeded, an animal must either adjust or migrate to a cooler climate. However, temperatures are rising across the world at a rapid pace . The record-breaking heatwaves experienced across Europe this summer are indicative of this. Heatwaves such as these can cause temperatures to regularly surpass critical thermal limits, endangering many species. In a new study , my colleagues and I assessed how well 102 species of insect can adjust their critical thermal limits to survive temperature extremes. We found that insects have a weak capacity to do so, making them particularly vulnerable to climate change. The impact of climate change on insects could have profound consequences for human life. Many insect species serve important ecological functions while the movement of others can disrupt the balance of ecosystems. H...

Dragon Claws / shutterstock The day before new UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget plan for economic growth , a pound would buy you about $1.13. After financial markets rejected the plan, the pound suddenly sunk to around $1.07. Though it has since rallied thanks to major intervention from the Bank of England , the currency remains volatile and far below its value earlier this year. A lot has been written about how this will affect people’s incomes, the housing market or overall political and economic conditions. But we want to look at why the weak pound is bad news for the UK’s natural environment and its ability to hit climate targets. 1. The low-carbon economy just became a lot more expensive The fall in sterling’s value partly signals a loss in confidence in the value of UK assets following the unfunded tax commitments contained in the mini-budget. The government’s aim to achieve net zero by 2050 requires substantial publi...