Stories

Cambridge Zero is offering a unique opportunity for a highly motivated postdoc to join our team as part of a 3 month mini-fellowship programme. This is an ideal opportunity for a Postdoc or recent PhD student looking to gain experience of climate research engagement in an interdisciplinary environment.

Over the course of a November fortnight, Cambridge students were among the strong Youth contingent which descended on Glasgow for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26. Of those in attendance, a sample have spoken to Cambridge Zero about their experiences, sharing their reflections on the conference and the final agreement.

An exciting job opportunity has arisen to become part of a joint initiative between the University’s Sustainability Team supported by Cambridge Zero. The position will provide the opportunity to gain experience of working on current issues in climate change and the environment in a fast-paced and impactful environment.

Engage for Change is a twelve-week programme for students at the University of Cambridge who want to learn to make change happen. You will design, implement and evaluate your own environmental sustainability-related intervention, aligned with the University's Environmental Sustainability Vision, Policy and Strategy.

Raheela Rehman summarises the first Symposium of this Michaelmas term, 'Climate Science'. Bringing together academics and early career researchers, the afternoon showcased the latest research taking place in this field across the University of Cambridge and British Antarctic Survey. The fundamental scientific models spanned the physical environment, from the atmosphere to the oceans and ice sheet loss.

This paper presents a complementary new approach for calculating ocean fronts using an unsupervised classification method called Gaussian mixture modelling (GMM) and a novel inter-class parameter called the I-metric. By researchers at the University of Cambridge, the British Antarctic Survey and Sorbonne University LOCEAN-IPSL Laboratory.

Dr Joanna Depledge, expert in international climate change negotiations, unpicks the intricate global politics which underlined COP26 in Glasgow.

The People’s summit for Climate Justice in Glasgow was attended by Cambridge Student Maryam Grassley who has fed back the poignant quotes which moved her from the range of talks and discussions.

On COP26’s impromptu Saturday, an agreement was made by the parties. Friederike Hartz stayed in Glasgow and caught almost all interventions, including an emotional plea from Tuvalu’s representative, emphasising the agreement’s human impact by showing his grandchildren.

On COP26’s final Friday, pressure mounted for parties to reach an agreement. Friederike Hartz reports on the presidency’s informal stocktaking and the people’s plenary which discussed transparency and inclusivity problems.

On the penultimate day of COP26, negotiations were ongoing and issues like finance proved difficult. Read the highlights alongside on the ground reporting from Friederike Hartz.

A round up of week two’s Tuesday and Wednesday negotiation developments, and Cambridge’s involvement ranging from COPTV to students attending the Presidency event and updating on China’s energy transformation.

A round-up of highlights and reports from Cambridge on the Ground at COP26 on Adaptation, loss and damage day. Here from Friederike Hartz about her first day at COP26, and read about Cambridge Zero's Arctic Basecamp event.

In an incredibly busy Friday and weekend at #COP26, many Cambridge academics and students alike were involved and have fed back their insights! Read here highlights, two politics lecturers protests commentary and see two student’s photos from taking part!

My personal view would be “so far so good”. In fact, I would venture even further, and say that COP 26 has exceeded my (admittedly low) expectations. Perhaps it’s because I am following the Conference from the comfort of my home office, and haven’t been frustrated by queues, restricted access, the threat of Covid, and poorly functioning online systems. But I detect a positive buzz and – dare I say it – a sense of cautious optimism among many, especially veterans of the process.

Young people, families with little children, teachers with groups of students, the elderly, representatives of indigenous communities… Climate marches are no longer a scream from the youth, traditionally viewed as less-risk averse, more innovative, impulsive, eager or even rebellious. The Climate March that we have seen this morning 6th of November in Glasgow is an example of that.

In the evening of November 4 (“Energy Day”) in the COP26 UK Pavilion, researchers from the project on the Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition (EEIST) presented the new flagship report on “The New Economics of Innovation and Transition: Evaluating Risks and opportunities”. The report, which has 28 authors, was led by Prof. Michael Grubb (UCL) and has seven authors from Cambridge's Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance.

COP26’s energy day proved to be suitably explosive in its announcements! To help you make sense of all day 5’s news, read the highlights alongside on-the-ground thoughts from Cambridge’s Dr Sam Strands. We also include insightful comments highlighting the need for regional nuance when discussing Energy at COP26 from Dr Sam Short and Dr Ryan Nehring.

Cambridge Zero has been working with Green Officers around Cambridge to support them in streaming COP26 Green Zone Events. An exciting and broad range of events have been chosen, engaging students with the historic conference.

We wrap up the the pledges and commitments from day 3 of COP26, alongside commentary from Emily Shuckburgh and student Rosa Posser’s thoughts and feelings for her COP26 attendance!

ActNowFilm – an official COP26 Universities Network project - will be shown in the Green Zone at COP26. ActNowFilm was produced by student volunteers, Cambridge Zero and the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR), in partnership with GAUC. It showcases the views of 16-30 year olds, and is drawn from films submitted by over 140 young people from 32 countries.

This summer, Cambridge Zero’s Rosa Prosser produced six short films which showcase current and future careers necessary to achieve net-zero by 2050. With COP26 and associated protests ongoing in Glasgow, it is clear a green recovery is necessary, and that young people are motivated to be a part of it. Providing the right information is pivotal to ensuring those at the beginning of their careers feel empowered to make their employment contribute to tackling the climate crisis.

This summer, Cambridge Zero’s Rosa Prosser produced six short films which showcase current and future careers necessary to achieve net-zero by 2050. Each episode is organised by theme, highlighting roles ranging from nature-based solutions to public policy. Read here how to stream them from COP26, watch in person at Wolfson Hall or watch them virtually on youtube!

After a busy COP26 day 2, read highlights from world leaders' statements and negotiations. Also, hear Cambridge’s Professor Laura Diaz Anadon’s thoughts on the opening ceremony.