Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial

We were delighted to welcome our new MSc students at @ic-cep.bsky.social this week! excited to teach and learn with them on Urban Sustainable Environments, exploring how cities can become healthier.
Applications are now open for next year, join us! 👉 campaigns.imperial.ac.uk/postgraduate...

Ibiza floods: Everything we know including impacted travel The Spanish island has been placed under a red warning for rain, the maximum alert level

Torrential rain has hit Ibiza, turning streets into rivers and flooding the airport 🌧️

Over 180mm fell in 12 hours - the remnants of Hurricane Gabrielle are to blame.

“No doubt about it, these explosive downpours were intensified by climate change,” says Professor @frediotto.bsky.social.

New report highlights help SMEs need to reduce their carbon footprint | Imperial News | Imperial College London Global industrial technology leader Schneider Electric asks Imperial experts to explore the barriers to decarbonisation for SMEs

SMEs drive the UK economy but also produce 36% of domestic emissions. 🚨

A new report, led by Dr Gbemi Oluleye and Imperial colleagues, for Schneider Electric explores the barriers to decarbonisation and the policies & finance needed to unlock solutions. 🌍⚡

#NetZero #SustainableBusiness

UK Conservative Party Vows to Scrap the Climate Change Act The UK’s opposition Conservative Party plans to scrap the Climate Change Act if it returns to power, the latest indication that the longstanding political consensus on climate action in Britain has sh...

🚨 The UK Conservative Party plans to scrap the Climate Change Act if it returns to power.

CEP researcher, Luke Hatton, warns ditching net-zero targets won’t protect consumers from volatile fossil fuel prices.

#ClimatePolicy #NetZero

Tourism puts Zanzibari reserve at a crossroads The moist broadleaf forests located on the coasts of Tanzania and Kenya and on nearby archipelagos such as Zanzibar are highly fragmented hotspots of plant and animal diversity (1). On Pemba, the 988-...

Out in @science.org today. The Ngezi forest of Zanzibar is likely the most intact oldgrowth tropical dry forest in East Africa, if not the continent; it also houses tons of endemic species and gives resources to thousands of people. Bulldozers are waiting at its edge

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🎉 Congratulations to Dr Gbemi Oluleye on her promotion to Associate Professor in Sustainable Market Mechanisms!

This promotion recognises her outstanding contributions in research and teaching ✨

Read more 📖: tinyurl.com/2ahwh9ac

#ResearchImpact #WomenInSTEM #LowCarbonFuture

Delivering for Climate & Health: insights from UK decision-makers Climate action can deliver co-benefits for public health. This webinar will explore how can we strengthen the consideration of health in climate-related decision-making.

Event: Delivering for climate & health: insights from UK decision-makers

Join us and @ic-cep.bsky.social to explore how the health benefits of climate action are thought about by decision-makers in government 🧵

📍Online
⏰12.00-13.00
📅16 October

Sign-up today: ow.ly/Ll4W50X04V4

Floods force 100,000 out of their homes – and the water in this city is still rising People fleeing the rising waters around Lake Tanganyika in Burundi are fighting for space and humanitarian care with refugees escaping civil war. Donald Trump’s slashing of international aid money has...

🌊 Lake Tanganyika is rising, 3m higher in a decade, drowning homes, schools & livelihoods in Burundi. Over 100,000 have been displaced.

Dr Joyce Kimutai warns climate change is a “multiplier of threats” in a region already hit by conflict.

#ClimateCrisis #Burundi

Human-made global warming ‘caused two in three heat deaths in Europe this summer’ Researchers from Imperial College London say 16,500 deaths caused by hot weather brought on by greenhouse gases

Human-made global heating caused 2 in 3 heat deaths in Europe this summer - 16,500 lives lost.

“The causal chain from fossil fuel burning to rising heat & increased mortality is undeniable,” says @frediotto.bsky.social

#ClimateCrisis #Heatwave #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #PublicHealth

Diagnosing scaling bottlenecks in 10 community conservation initiatives in southern and eastern Africa Scaling area-based conservation, including initiatives led or comanaged by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, is a flagship goal of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Conserva....

Massive cross-institutional paper out today, bringing in almost 40 co-authors across 20 institutions and 9 countries 🌍. Led by @tom-pienkowski.bsky.social.
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Scientists trace heat waves back to individual fossil fuel companies, with potentially sweeping courtroom implications | CNN For the first time, scientists have quantified the causal links between worsening heat waves and global warming pollution from individual fossil fuel and cement companies, pushing the boundaries of ex...

A landmark @nature.com study links fossil fuel & cement giants to worsening heatwaves worldwide.

But as @clairbarnes.bsky.social warns: the true impacts are probably much worse - many heatwaves in Africa & South America go unreported. 🌍🔥

#ClimateCrisis #GlobalWarming #ClimateScience

The effectiveness of community-based conservation under climate-induced shocks has now been quantified thanks to research by Dr Matthew Clark (@ic-cep.bsky.social) & Dr Adam Sykulski (@imperialmaths.bsky.social)

Supported by @TurnerKirkTrust

Watch the video⬇️

www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Ne...

Polar geoengineering dismissed as ‘unimaginably expensive’ and ‘dangerous’ Underwater curtains and artificial ice thickening divert attention from cutting fossil fuel use, says group of climate scientists

“Unimaginably expensive” & risky geoengineering schemes at the poles are a dangerous distraction from tackling fossil fuels, warn 42 scientists incl. @joerirogelj.bsky.social.

Cutting emissions remains the fastest, safest way to curb the #ClimateCrisis.

We may have 10 times less carbon storage capacity than we thought Storing carbon dioxide underground is seen as a way to mitigate climate change, but the world could run out of safe storage space within 200 years if we keep on burning fossil fuels

@joerirogelj.bsky.social warns the world’s underground CO₂ storage could run out by 2200 🌍💨

Practical capacity may be 10× smaller than thought, just 1,460 Gt instead of 14,000.

Rogelj argues that we should use carbon storage sparingly & focus on zero-emission energy.

#ClimateAction #NetZero

Spain and Portugal wildfire weather made 40 times more likely by climate crisis, study finds Wildfires were 30% more intense than would have been expected without global heating, scientists say

🚨 Wildfires in Spain & Portugal were made 40x more likely by climate breakdown, says @wwattribution.bsky.social

“The sheer size of these fires has been astonishing,” adds CEP’s Clair Barnes (@clairbarnes.bsky.social) 🌍🔥

#ClimateCrisis #Wildfires

Climate Change Made Turkey, Greece Wildfires 10 Times More Likely Hot, dry and windy conditions in the eastern Mediterranean will happen more often in a warmer world.

🌡️ Scientists from @wwattribution.bsky.social say this summer’s wildfires in Greece, Turkey & Cyprus were 22% more intense & 10x more likely due to climate change.

Events that were once 1-in-100-year now happen every 20 years. 🔥

#ClimateCrisis #Wildfires

Honoured to be interviewed for @imperialsci.bsky.social
2025 end-of-year magazine as @ic-cep.bsky.social PhD researcher & share my #sciencepolicyinterface experience as #UNFCCC,@unep.org & #UNDESA delegate to highlight #knowledgexchange on #techinnovation 4 #climateaction & #sustainabledevelopment.

YouTube video by Sky News FYI: Can deleting photos really help with the UK's drought? | Weekly News Show

💧 Can deleting photos really help with the UK’s drought?

Yes, says Claire Hunt on Sky News FYI: storing 10,000 photos uses as much water as you'd save with a water butt or turning off the tap while brushing your teeth.

Small actions add up! (🎥 From 2:04)

#SaveWater #WaterCrisis #EcoTips

UK wasp numbers soar after unusually warm and dry spring The scourges of picnics have arrived early and in greater numbers amid ideal conditions for colonies to thrive

🐝 Wasps are booming in Britain this year thanks to a record warm spring.

Bad news for your picnic 🍦🍺 - alcohol & sweet treats are magnets, says Dr Tilly Collins (@polytilly.bsky.social).

But don’t panic: wasps are vital pest controllers & pollinators 🌱

Renewables Battling Climate Change Now Need to Insure Against It Solar and wind projects are betting on a novel insurance product to help offset losses from erratic weather.

As climate extremes intensify, renewable energy projects are turning to parametric insurance for rapid payouts.

Dr @iain-staffell.bsky.social warns that such unpredictability increases the equity needed to fund projects, posing a barrier to development.

#RenewableEnergy #ClimateRisk

Imperial researchers take leading role in major IPCC climate report | Imperial News | Imperial College London Imperial has more authors contributing to a crucial report on climate change than any other organisation in the world.

🌍 Leading the charge on climate action

@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social has 11 IPCC AR7 authors - the most of any institution!

CEP’s Joeri Rogelj, Friederike Otto, Robin Lamboll & Jarmo Kikstra are shaping the science behind global policy.

#IPCC #ClimateAction

Blaming disasters solely on climate change can be as misleading as blaming 'nature,' says @frediotto.bsky.social.

What turns weather into catastrophe is human choices - building in risky places, weak planning, poor warnings.

Accountability matters.

#TexasFloods #ClimateResilience

Great to see CEP alumna Kate Hofman sharing her expertise 🙌

Kate studied an MSc in Environmental Technology with us before founding GrowUp Farms and co-founding Pesto.

Inspiring advice for early-stage startups on raising investment ⤵️

Don’t miss the FoNS Research Showcase!
A full day of inspiring talks & innovative ideas!

10:05–10:35 CEP Showcase:

🌱 Dr Caroline Howe – Restoring biodiversity and tackling climate together
🤝 Karl Scheifinger – Co-creating climate action with the public

🎥 Watch a preview from Karl below ⬇️

🌡️Climate change made ‘relentless’ Nordic heatwave at least ten times more likely, according to research by @wwattribution.bsky.social.

The two-week heatwave led to sightings of reindeer in urban areas in Norway, Sweden and Finland, alongside wildfires, overcrowded hospitals and algal blooms 🧵

Chris Wright Touts Energy Department Report’s Misleading Climate Claims The report’s conclusion that climate change isn’t influencing extreme weather is at odds with mainstream science and a growing body of real-world evidence.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright claims climate change isn’t making extreme weather worse.

However, scientists, incl. CEP’s Ben Clarke, say the evidence is clear: greenhouse gases are driving dangerous extremes, destroying lives & livelihoods. 🌍

#ClimateCrisis #ExtremeWeather

Pakistan’s deadly monsoon floods were worsened by climate crisis, study finds | CNN Heavy rainfall that triggered floods in Pakistan in recent weeks, killing hundreds of people, was worsened by human-caused climate change, according to a new study.

A new @wwattribution.bsky.social study shows climate change made Pakistan’s recent heavy rains 10-15% heavier, fuelling devastating floods that killed 300+ people and destroyed thousands of homes.

It’s time to build resilient homes and slash emissions before it’s too late 🌍 #ClimateCrisis #Floods

people on a stage holding a book

people on a stage holding a book

people on a stage holding a book

Really amazed by the turnout for our launch of 'Mangroves of Pemba' in Stonetown this past weekend, including the head of the heads of Zanzibar's of the Ministry Natural Resources and Dept. of Forests
See: shorturl.at/zwMYN
@ic-cep.bsky.social @imperiallifesci.bsky.social @imperialsci.bsky.social

The US is sitting out the most consequential climate summit in a decade. It may offer a victory to China | CNN The elimination of the State Department’s Office of Global Change leaves the world’s largest historical polluter with no official presence at COP30 in Brazil later this year.

🚨 The US has fired its last climate negotiators, leaving no official presence at #COP30.

Professor @joerirogelj.bsky.social warns this “dangerous vacuum” may let China’s voice be heard more loudly, shifting the global climate balance.

#ClimateCrisis

1.5m-year-old ice core to reveal how humans almost died out Analysis may show how our ancestors dwindled to a mere 1,000 individuals during a period of extreme climate change

🌍❄️ A 1.5-million-year-old ice core, Earth’s oldest, has arrived in the UK from #Antarctica

Inside are ancient air bubbles that could reveal why ice ages began to last longer and how early humans survived extreme climate change

Prof @joerirogelj.bsky.social calls it “a window on our planet’s past”