By Lorraine Whitmarsh, Stuart Capstick, Hilary Graham, Claire Hoolohan, Briony Latter, Angela Minas, Caroline Verfuerth, Dan Thorman, Charlie Wilson Monday’s IPCC report makes clear that we are not on track to tackle climate change, and that profound societal change will…
Why is public engagement and participation with net zero so important?
CAST’s Deputy Director Christina Demski has been on a part-time secondment to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as Net Zero Public Engagement Advisor since 2020. As part of her role supporting research and policy teams to…
Climate emergency declarations: what do they tell us about universities response to climate change?
Words by Briony Latter This piece was originally published by the Place-based Climate Action Network (PCAN) and is reproduced here with their permission. The past two years have seen a sustained and high level of publicity around climate change in the…
How far did COP26 go on putting public action at the heart of the agenda? Reflections from CAST
Words by Dr Amiera Sawas Four weeks after the last gavel landed at COP26 in Glasgow, the team at CAST are reflecting on what the international negotiations mean for our work. CAST’s mandate is to research and advocate how societies…
Mapping the transformative turn: a systematic review of the academic literature on transformations for climate change mitigation
Words by Brendan Moore The past decade has witnessed a “transformative turn” in the social science literature on climate change mitigation as academics and policy makers increasingly use the concept of “transformations” to describe the rapid, fundamental societal changes needed…
How has Covid-19 affected low-carbon behaviours and climate attitudes?
Written by Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh Measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic are probably the most significant disruption to lifestyles in living memory. And while the pandemic has impacted lives and livelihoods globally, it has also created an unprecedented and…
Why the NHS holds the key to action on climate change
England’s National Health Service (NHS) is the world’s first health system to commit to becoming ‘net zero’ . This means cutting emissions of the gases driving climate change to as close to zero as possible and offsetting the rest, for…
Why the UK needs a diverse leadership team for COP26
By Lorraine Whitmarsh, Sam Fankhauser, Katharine Steentjes, Candice Howarth – CAST & the Place Based Climate Action Network (PCAN) Last week, the UK government announced the team of politicians and negotiators who will host the UN COP26 climate negotiations in…
Transdisciplinarity for Climate Change and Social Transformations
Words by Dr Claire Hoolohan The challenges that face society today are complex, requiring approaches and solutions that push the boundaries of individual disciplines and demand new models of research that are integrative and collaborative. CAST – the Centre…