Leading environmental psychologist and CAST Director, Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh, has been recognised in this year’s New Year’s Honours, announced by The Cabinet Office. Awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of work she has led on…
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…
Early career researcher to advise government climate change policy
Research Associate, Dr Caroline Verfuerth, has secured a major fellowship in Welsh Government to advise policy makers on reducing environmental and agricultural carbon emissions. Caroline, who works at the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) at Cardiff University, will carry…
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…
UK public willing to take significant action to tackle climate change
In time for Earth Day 2021 – a critical year for international environmental policy, with major deals in progress on climate, biodiversity, food and oceans – a new poll shows strong support from the UK public for climate action by…
People want a carrot (not stick) approach to low carbon food
This piece was originally published by Business Green and is reproduced here with their permission. Recent headlines that the UK government might slap a carbon tax on burgers and the great British banger have reignited controversy about what tackling the…
Tracking the human cost of climate change: The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change
The Lancet is a heavyweight medical journal – one of the world’s most influential and highly cited. It uses its political heft to make global challenges part of the remit of medical science. In recent years, it has published scientific…
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…
The transition to a post-carbon economy must uphold social justice
“The individuals, households and communities that stand to be most negatively affected by decarbonisation policies are often already losing out in existing socio-economic arrangements.” Dr Tom Pegram, UCL In a new policy briefing, the COP26 Universities Network warns that the…