© Photography by Cop30 Brasil Amazônia on Flickr Words by Bella Zanin (Knowledge Exchange Associate) At the annual UN climate talks, Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) still sits in the shadows of the big headlines around fossil fuels and finance.…
Placing people at the heart of UK and global climate action: Reflections on the UK’s carbon plan and hopes for COP30
© Photography by Prof Lorraine Whitmarsh Words by Prof Lorraine Whitmarsh MBE (CAST Director) & Ruth Townend (PhD Researcher) As COP30 kicks off in Belém, Brazil, we take stock of the UK Government’s new carbon plan, signals from the UK’s…
What does the 2025 CCC Progress Report say about CAST’s ‘sticky issues’?
Words by Bella Zanin (Knowledge Exchange Associate) The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) Progress in reducing emissions – 2025 report to Parliament reveals that the UK is making progress on climate action, but the scale and pace of change are still…
Listening to the public on fairness: 5 key insights for climate policymakers and practitioners
Words by Dr Christina Demski, CAST Deputy Director CAST Deputy Director, Dr Christina Demski, shares five key insights on fairness for climate policymakers and practitioners, drawn from her work on engaging the public with climate change. People care deeply about…
Building a Net Zero future: CAST’s response to the CCC’s Seventh Carbon Budget Report
Words by Bella Zanin (Knowledge Exchange Associate) The CCC’s latest advice to the Government on how to achieve Net Zero in its Seventh Carbon Budget report shows that a future where the UK meets its climate targets, boosts economic resilience…
Starmer at COP29: Can the UK really cut emissions without behaviour change?
Words by Bella Zanin (Knowledge Exchange Associate) As the Government consults the Climate Change Committee on delivering the UK’s new emissions reduction target, CAST offers its perspective. While the goal is bold and necessary, Keir Starmer’s assertion that we can…
The 2024 UK election and the uncertain mandate for rapid climate action
Words by Dr Chantal Sullivan-Thomsett, Senior Research Associate After Labour’s landslide victory, there was an audible sigh of relief from many environmental advocates. E3G, for example, deemed it a ‘super strong mandate for ambitious climate action and green investment’, with…
4 ways social science can help us reach Net Zero, according to the CCC’s 2024 Progress Report
Words by Bella Zanin (Knowledge Exchange Associate) The UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) has just published its 2024 Progress Report to Parliament, which takes stock of the Government’s efforts to tackle climate change. In summary: we need to significantly increase…
Why better insights on ethnicity are important for climate communication
Photo Credit: The Active Well-Being Society (formerly Big Birmingham Bikes) / Ashden (Words by Climate Barometer team, originally posted on the Climate Barometer blog) It’s well established that the UK climate sector is very unrepresentative in terms of ethnic diversity…
CAST responds to the Prime Minister’s new approach to Net Zero: How will this impact the UK meeting its climate targets?
Words by Dr Dan Thorman, Professor Wouter Poortinga and Dr Katharine Steentjes CAST researchers respond to the Prime Minister’s ‘new approach’ to Net Zero and discuss how this announcement will impact the UK meeting its climate targets. The Government’s U-turn…