News

In an article written for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Stephen Lezak talks about how the cobalt mining industry should learn from coffee producers when it comes to operating sustainably and ethically. 

In this commentary for the LA Times, Doyne Farmer writes about the rapid cost reductions of solar and wind technologies, and reminds the reader that we are "improving and adopting technologies that can wean us from fossil fuels just when we really need them." 

Gireesh Shrimali and Ben Caldecott comment on transition finance and green transition plans. 

In this commentary for Responsible Investor, Ben Caldecott writes that introducing legal requirements for companies to achieve net zero could dramatically accelerate climate action, and explores the crucial role of financial institutions. 

As the climate crisis accelerates, the Net Zero Stocktake 2024 identifies a commitment gap across cities, states and regions, which is holding back the necessary economy-wide transition. Dr Steve Smith commented: "Fewer than 5% of all the pledges by cities, regions and companies meet all our criteria for integrity. That number has risen by just 1% since last year. But there are a few bright spots of leadership around the world. Ambitious and honest action is possible. We point to examples in our report, with the hope that there will be many more in the near future."

Ben Caldecott, founding Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group and the Lombard Odier
Associate Professor of Sustainable Finance, explores the 'necessary and inevitable' transition from voluntary to mandatory climate commitments in this op-ed for Business Green. 

The University of Oxford and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will host the 2025 Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit. The event will bring together renowned experts and leaders, policymakers, technologists and academics, including Professor Mette Morsing, Dr Radhika Khosla and Dr Ben Franta, to advance climate justice through human rights solutions to the climate crisis.

Vanity Fair Italia reports on Imaginarium, an annual event at the headquarters of the Riccardo Catella Foundation, where Smith School HRA Giulio Boccaletti delivered a talk against “blue washing” - commercial practices that exploit the issue of water sustainability.

Dr Sugandha Srivastav told Science Business that cheap solar power could have come much sooner, if it weren't for a lack of investment in previous decades. The article cites her thought experiment on George Cove, the early 20th century solar entrepreneur who was allegedly kidnapped and told to cease his operations.  

Nature India examines results of recent studies on climate change perception, including comment from Radhika Khosla.