News
A US Brain Drain Doesn’t Benefit Anyone
Bloomberg spoke to Oxford Smith School Director Mette Morsing for this report on the global consequences of American academics leaving their country in response to Trump administration policies.
'Times' Letter of the Day
"The Times recent leading article calling for the abandonment of the UK’s clean power target misunderstands the economic and strategic case for clean energy", writes Anupama Sen. "Far from being an 'ideological obsession', decarbonising the power grid is a practical necessity."
Can AI make corporations’ climate conduct more transparent?
Raconteur interviewed Dr Benjamin Franta on CLARA, an AI tool built by his team that can produce fast, accurate reports on fossil fuel company activities. “By increasing accountability, we hope AI can be a leveller – not just something big companies use for their own interests but also something people can use to hold corporations accountable," said Dr Franta.
How forging ahead with Net Zero could make Britain money
Shrinking the UK’s Net Zero ambition would only make energy prices higher and put British industry at a disadvantage, warns professor Doyne Farmer. We must create a sustainable system of tomorrow.
‘Doom loops’ are accelerating climate change – but we can break them
Radhika Khosla discusses the urgent need for sustainable cooling solutions as close to half of the world’s people have little defense against deadly heat.
Europe's CEOs are in a precarious position
An in-depth Danish language interview with Professor Mette Morsing, Director of the Oxford Smith School, in Danish weekly Mandag Morgan sets out the precaious position of European CEOs when it comes to sustainability. Professor Morsing warns that "neither market forces nor idealists can solve the task alone," but instead a strong business case for sustainability needs to be made.
Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance to ‘advance work’ on financing CO2 removal
Dr Ben Caldecott, Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, called for a global effort to establish a dedicated carbon removal budget to determine which CDR methods are feasible and how much emissions could be removed on a global scale to ensure that carbon removal supply is allocated fairly among countries, companies and financial institutions.
Family-friendly offices can create mother of all work cultures
A recent study found almost half of pregnant women and maternity leave returners had a negative experience at work. "There seems to be a ‘danger zone’ for women in their thirties, where parenthood can lead to reducing working hours, stepping back from leadership roles and making less money," said Lucy Erickson, Head of Strategic Communications at the Oxford Smith School. “Supporting mothers during this time has the potential for outsized impact, because it sets up their career trajectory and earning potential for the rest of their lives.”
Buying carbon credits to fight climate change? Here’s what to know
Achieving net zero means making "every effort to eliminate or reduce the burning of fossil fuels," said Kaya Axelsson in an article about carbon credits.
Spring Statement: Green groups and farmers urge Chancellor to protect sustainable farming budget
Dr Anupama Sen urged the Chancellor not to "fall prey to an unsubstantiated runaway narrative that net zero trades off with longer-term economic growth, security, and prosperity for UK households" in a comment ahead of the Spring Statement in Business Green.
Top climate standard-setter responds to carbon credit backlash
Kaya Axelsson commented on changing climate standards in the Financial Times. "There was a lot of concern from companies about how they were going to meet emission reduction targets", she said, adding that the Science Based Targets initiative has tried to meet some of these concerns.
Trump’s corporate critics fall silent
Corporate silence doesn’t necessarily mean every major tech company is abandoning its clean energy and climate goals, Kaya Axelsson told Politico. “People are pretty freaked out... Being loud and proud might be risky for companies right now.”