14 December, 2015
Over the past two weeks, talks at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, also known as COP21, have worked towards the first truly global agreement to tackle climate change.
The world’s nations have come to an agreement on a new plan to reduce fossil fuel emissions and minimise the effects of climate change.
Over the past two weeks, talks at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, also known as COP21, have worked towards the first truly global agreement to tackle climate change.
The universal agreement’s main aim is to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Climate change affects everyone in some way, but is predicted to have especially negative impacts in developing countries. As a result, climate change is a priority area for a number of UKCDS member organisations.
The dangerous effects of emissions were made all too apparent with the issuing of an air pollution red alert in Beijing last week. NERC and the Medical Research Council are supporting UK researchers to work with scientists from China and India to understand how to tackle the problem of air pollution and its effects on human health.
Climate science research from the Natural Environment Research Council helped inform discussions at COP21 by providing expert opinion through the Fifth Assessment Report, as well as through side events and presentations. The report, by the UN’s climate panel, details the physical evidence behind climate change, helping policymakers pave the way for a global, legally binding treaty on reducing carbon emissions.
At the same time as the COP21 talks, the UK and US united in trying to bring energy to Africa. The two countries’ development agencies, DFID and USAID, formed a landmark partnership between the UK’s Energy Africa campaign and US’s Power Initiative, to try and bring access to clean energy to millions of people across Africa.
Eariler this year, the Wellcome Trust launched a new initiative, “Our Planet, Our Health“, which will explore how changes to the world are affecting global health. The Economic and Social Research Council also funds a range of climate-related research, looking at how society can adapt to a warmer climate and limit the impact.
For more information see the UN website.