Cooling: hidden threat for climate change and the SDGs

Growing international demand for cooling is set to drive one of the most substantial increases in greenhouse gas emissions in history – but the risks and benefits of sustainable cooling remain a global blind spot, according to research.

Filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is unlikely to significantly affect Egypt, but coordinated drought planning is essential

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), currently under construction, has strained relations between Nile countries.

Oxford Martin School researchers recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours

Study highlights climate mitigation potential of encouraging Earth’s forests to regenerate naturally

Allowing forests to grow back naturally should be regarded alongside other measures like large-scale tree-planting as a critical nature-based approach to mitigating climate change, according to a major new study that maps potential above-ground carbon accumulation rates for forest regrowth across the globe.

New report reveals two-thirds decline in wildlife populations on average since 1970

Global populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish have suffered an average two-thirds decline in less than half a century due in large part to the very same environmental destruction which is contributing to the emergence of zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19, according to the WWF’s Living Planet Report 2020.

EU-Mercosur Trade Deal fails to meet sustainability criteria on human rights, ecosystems and climate

An international group of researchers has concluded that an upcoming trade agreement between the EU and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (the Mercosur bloc) fails across sustainability criteria.

Immediate action needed to stem the flow of plastic into the ocean finds report

A new analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, University of Leeds, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Common Seas, found that the annual flow of plastic into the ocean could nearly triple by 2040.

Most national dietary guidelines are not compatible with global environmental and health targets, and are in need of reform

Adopting more stringent guidelines in UK could reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 70% and reduce diet-related deaths by more than 100,000 a year, study finds

Five new programmes will explore technological solutions to global challenges

The Oxford Martin School is pleased to announce the launch of five new programmes of research, identified through an open competition across the University.

Experts defend safety of reusables during COVID-19 pandemic

Academics including Professor Charlotte Williams, one of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Plastics’ lead researchers, have sought to reassure the public that reusable containers are safe to use during the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Planetary alignment for global Net Zero

Next year will see an alignment of three of the big planetary bodies of diplomatic summitry – the UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties (COP26), the G7 and the G20.

Cold chains can help mitigate the COVID-19 food crisis: key lessons from Uganda