We must change what we eat to solve the climate crisis, shows research

Even if fossil fuel emissions stopped immediately, emissions from the global food system alone could raise global temperatures by more than 1.5°C, new research from an international team led by the University of Oxford shows.

Professor Nick Eyre appointed Oxford City Council scientific adviser

Professor Nick Eyre, of Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, has been appointed as Oxford City Council’s first scientific adviser. The professor of energy and climate policy will support the Council and the city, as it continues to tackle the climate emergency and moves towards net-zero.

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

We need to stop the data economy, before humanity pays the ultimate price

If you've watched Netflix's documentary The Social Dilemma, you'll know that it paints a terrifying – and accurate – picture of the damage that digital technology is causing to individuals and societies.

Research emphasises need for COVID-19 vigilance in tight-knit communities

Small, close-knit communities are at high risk for rapid, intense COVID outbreaks, especially if they haven’t yet experienced outbreaks of COVID-19, shows a new study by the University of Oxford and Northeastern University, Boston.

Survival instincts for the planet: is human nature with us or against us?

Human nature is often blamed for many of the ills in society and politics, with seemingly devastating results. For example, the cognitive biases that we all share as human beings—such as overoptimism, loss aversion, or group bias—are argued to contribute to policy failures, crises, wars, and environmental ruin.

Reenergising antibiotic policy: hallmarks for a sustainable antibiotic future?

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.