Stories

This blog posts showcases the Initiative Summaries of the shortlisted concept notes from the 2022 Carbon Challenge (now named the Climate Challenge). It also highlights which projects were runners up and winners in the final pitching and judging event.

Cambridge Zero Fellow Ramit Debnath suggests we tackle climate change misinformation through computational social science. He is a co-signatory to a letter in Nature Human Behaviour on how we do this - reducing misinformation, removing scepticism and restoring trust.

A big thank you to everyone who came along to the Climate Challenge 2023 Launch Event in the Entopia Building last Friday. CISL’s newly renovated Canopy workspace for innovation was buzzing with enthusiastic young people exchanging ideas on how they could use their skills to find innovative solutions to tackle the myriad challenges of climate change.

Cambridge Zero is pleased to be partnering with the University of Cambridge Careers Service on delivering the University’s third Green Careers Fair and second Green Careers Festival.

In collaboration with the Student Union, we have thought carefully about how to deliver a Green Careers Fair that supports all students to find jobs leading the change.

Are you interested in innovation to solve global problems? Do you want a just transition? Join the Climate Challenge, a climate-focussed entrepreneurship competition for postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

Sebastian Mitchell, a University of Cambridge student and the UK's youngest negotiating delegate, reflects on his day-to-day experiences at COP27 in Egypt.

Learn more about the many ways you can get involved with Cambridge Zero - and climate change and sustainability at the University of Cambridge - through programmes, challenges, workshops and leadership opportunities.

As COP15 draws to a close with a deal we invited Cambridge Climate Society President, Laura Lock, to reflect on her experiences at COP27.

As COP27 wound down in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Cambridge kept its focus on action to reach emission goals set in Paris and Glasgow. Throughout the conference, Cambridge Zero, the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and a host of researchers from across the University of Cambridge played their part in trying to move the agenda. Take a look at Cambridge at COP27.

While this year’s conference did not set a new record, it was definitely one of the lengthiest COPs in the UNFCCC’s history – both literally and figuratively speaking. Almost one week since the close of COP27 last Sunday, Freddie looks back at what gave the most hope and where this COP fell short.

From satellite mapping of the rainforest to plastics in food packaging, from energy-intensive ICT to upskilling micro-entrepreneurs in emerging markets: find out more about the new developments in research presented at Cambridge Zero's Symposium on Economic & Societal Change which took place at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.

Here, days 11+1 and 2, as COP extends to Sunday morning for the final negotiation wrap-up and closing plenary. With some successes in Loss and Damange funding, there is still lacking in mitigation and fossil fuel phase-out.

Today is the final 'official' day of COP27, although negotiations will likely last through at least Saturday if not Sunday. Freddie shares with us a moving 'plea for heroes' at the informal stocktakings today as well as an update on the state of negotiations in fossil fuels and loss and damage.

The building sector is one of the most important and challenging to decarbonise because it involves a complex overlap of people, places and practices that creates a barrier to designing just emission reduction policies. In a new study led by Cambridge Zero Fellow Ramit Debnath, researchers found that social media engagement with climate policy events is vital to reducing building emissions and ensuring environmental justice.

It’s Thursday of Week 2 here at COP27, which means it’s crunch time for everyone - not only for parties, but also for civil society actors whose voices are getting louder and louder as more and more draft cover decision text emerges. Many went to the press conference rooms today to, once again, make publicly clear why we need an L&D funding mechanism here and now.

In the two weeks of COP27, people across the world have flown to Sharm El-Sheikh to discuss action on climate change. Aviation is a crucial way to bring us together to tackle this challenge, but at the same time it is a major contributor to the problem. Flight must become climate neutral, and the Aviation Impact Accelerator is at the forefront of solving this challenge. Here we demonstrate how our Journey Impact Simulator (JIS) is used to explore different options.

Today the high-level segment statements concluded amidst an atmosphere of rising tensions and urgency in the negotiation rooms. The focus remains on those many countries who cannot wait any longer, living with ever-present dangers from climate change. Some progress is being made, as parties reached an agreement on the institutional arrangements to operationalise the Santiago Network.

Humanity crossed the historic milestone today of the 8 billionth human being born - with roughly a decade since the 7 billionth birth. With our growing population comes an ever-growing responsibility: how do we preserve our planet for the sake of itself and for the sake of our collective future well-being?

Week 2 of COP27 begins, with much work to be done still. Today Freddie highlights events from the themes of Water and Gender, including tropical glacier loss, mass displacement from climate change, and empowering African women and girls.

Today Freddie provides a look back at the first week of COP27, with some of the ups and downs the week has brought. COP has been described as an enabling space - for engaged and passionate people across professions and backgrounds to connect and talk. But it also needs to deliver on the speed and urgency of solutions and action needed, so we will see how week 2 pulls these commitments together.

The importance of Indigenous voices at COPs, the desperate situation of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like the Marshall Islands, and challenges with assessing impacts on vulnerable regions - Freddie presents some of her highlights from Thursday and Friday.

Today, the premiere screening of a short film produced by Cambridge Zero and IPR at University of Bath showing the lived experiences of young people, their hopes and fears in the face of climate change, and the associated losses and damages. ActNowFilm2 is intended to visualise how the fight against climate change cuts across ages and generation; how it unites us in our common need to take action.

At COP26 in Glasgow, national governments committed to revisit their Nationally Determined Contributions the following year. With COP27 underway, Emily Farnworth, Director of the Centre for Climate Engagement (CCE) at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, sets out the opportunity for locally determined climate action to support the national agenda.

Back for another day, Freddie sits in on IPCC Working Group events and visits the LGMA Multi-level Action Pavilion for 'A year in action: Loss and Damage from COP26 to now' featuring First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon; Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD); and Frances Way, Executive Director of the UN High-Level Champions.