Carbon-omics & Global Health
Cambridge Zero to host two research symposia to discuss critical climate change challenges
1 | Governance, Law and Economics of Climate Change and Energy Transition
Tuesday 21 November 1-6pm
David Attenborough Building, Main Seminar Room
In collaboration with Cambridge's Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance (CEENRG) and the Conservation Research Institute (CRI).
On 21 November, Cambridge Zero will host its Governance, Law and Economics of Climate Change and Energy Transition symposium.
The symposium, in collaboration with Cambridge's Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance (CEENRG) and the Conservation Research Institute (CRI), will feature keynote speakers Professor Laura Diaz Anadon, Professor Andreas Kontoleon, Dr Joanna Depledge and Professor Harro van Asselt, from the Department of Land Economy.
Speakers will discuss the context and controversies that surround global governance challenges, from carbon credits to fossil fuel litigation, in our transition to a net-zero world.
The discussion will include insights and case studies from experienced climate-policy researchers across the University, including a Lead Author from the latest mitigation assessment report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and an Editor-in-Chief of top peer-reviewed environmental law journal Review of European Comparative International Environmental Law (RECIEL).
Additionally, the symposium will hear from a multidisciplinary cohort of early career researchers to share cutting-edge research.
The session will include a "lightning round" of two-minute talks, where speakers will explore topics such as "ecocide" laws, which could help to regulate the role of corporations in the ecological and climate crisis.
Photo by Benjamin Ashton on Unsplash
Photo by Benjamin Ashton on Unsplash
At the symposium Professor Andreas Kontoleon will be speaking on the future of carbon credits, which allow companies to offset greenhouse gas emissions by funding climate action projects, such as peat restoration or tree planting, which draw carbon-dioxide from the atmosphere.
Global regulation of carbon credit markets is in its infancy, yet trade in carbon credits is becoming increasingly important for reaching international net zero targets.
Questions have arisen over the uneven quality of carbon credits. Forest conservation projects can be particularly difficult because the amount of associated credits generated may be greatly over-exaggerated.
In his keynote talk, Professor Kontoleon will discuss this dilemma and consider the future of carbon credits as a tool for reaching net zero.
Read the full programme for our Governance, Law and Economics of Climate Change and Energy Transition symposium here.
In collaboration with Cambridge's Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), Global Food Security, and Cambridge Public Health
2 | Planetary Health
Wednesday 29 November 1-6pm
Alison Richard Building, Room SG2
On 29 November, Cambridge Zero will host a Planetary Health symposium.
The symposium, in collaboration with Cambridge's Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), Global Food Security, and Cambridge Public Health, will hear from keynote speakers across the University, including Professor Tolullah Oni, Dr James Smith, Dr Nadia Radzman, Dr Ronita Bardhan, and Professor James Woodcock.
Among the keynote speakers, Dr Sarah Whitmee from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has been invited to discuss the benefits of climate mitigation to human health, based on her involvement in the Pathfinders Initiative.
Across the course of the afternoon, attendees will hear from our speakers about the arguments for tackling climate change and public health in unison, from the risks of climate-related hazards to the instability of global food supplies.
Bite-sized 10-minute talks will be presented by early career researchers. These include Land Economy's Phoebe McElligott on how Plastic is a Virus, and Dept of Medicine's Johanna Jung' on Heat Stress and Immunity, how rising temperatures can impair the body's ability to fight infections.
Read the full programme for our Planetary Health symposium here.
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Published 17 November 2023
The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Cambridge Zero is the University of Cambridge’s ambitious climate change initiative, harnessing the power of research to tackle climate change at one of the top global research universities in the world.
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