UEA has an enviable reputation for the range, scope, high quality and longevity of its climate research.
At the UN Climate Change Conference, COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the university played a crucial role in developing and sharing new climate-related research in support of the negotiations.
Media Enquiries
UEA has a large pool of world class climate researchers available for media work. Please connect with colleagues directly, see contact details below and on our Media Advisory, or get in touch with Cat Bartman, News and Media Manager.
For all other COP enquiries, please contact ClimateUEA at climate@uea.ac.uk.
UEA COP27 Engagement
UEA Engagement: Dr Rupert Read, School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication, spoke at two events during the conference.
Wednesday 19 October - 20:00 - Ready for the whole truth? The surprising rewards of facing up to climate breakdown
Friday 21 October - 18:00–20:00 – Discussion What Is to Be Done?: Climate Crisis and Political Activism
Dr Rupert Read, Associate Professor in the School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication.
Area of Expertise: Philosophy of language, Wittgenstein, Kuhn, Philosophy of Literature and Film, Philosophy of Psychology, Eco-philosophy.
UEA Event Coordinator and researcher: Professor Heike Schroeder, Professor of Environmental Governance, School of International Development
Area of Expertise: Carbon Emissions, International Politics of Climate Change, Climate Change, Climate Change Governance, International Development
At COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the IASS offered for the third time a space for facilitated informal conversations. For COP27, most sessions had a thematic focus to the role of trust and fear at the COP. In addition to that Partners were invited to co-create science dialogues.
UEA Speaker: Dr Robert Nicholls, Director of the Tyndall Centre and Professor of Climate Adaptation
This event focused on low likelihood/high impact sea-level rise (LLHI SLR) and coastal adaptation. The target audience was policymakers and planners. Highlighting insights from the IPCC AR6 Working Group I and II reports, experts discussed the latest projections, where to find and how to interpret data, and how practitioners can understand LLHI SLR projections and their use in adaptation.
UEA Speakers: Dr Mark Tebboth and Dr Rachel Carmenta
Huge challenges remain for African and Asian countries to achieve development within the constraints of meeting increasing stringent mitigation goals and simultaneously adapting to current and future (climate) risks. The speakers synthesised their research in Kenya, Namibia, Indonesia, India to extend IPCC’s AR6 Ch.18 on Climate Resilient Development Pathways. They spotlighted risks and contexts including fire, hazard, blue carbon agriculture, and governance lessons towards socially-just and climate-resilient development.
Dr Mark Tebboth, Associate Professor in the Environment and International Development, School of International Development
Area of Expertise: climate change impacts/ adaptation to the impacts of environmental change / Migration in response to environmental change / Resilience and vulnerability/ Framing of contentious environmental issues/ Political ecology
Dr Rachel Carmenta, Lecturer in Climate Change and International Development, School of International Development
Area of Expertise: Political ecology/ tropical fires/ environmental justice/ bio-cultural approaches to natural resource management/ environment and human-wellbeing/ conservation and development
UEA Engagement: Dr Katie Jenkins, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and School of Environmental Sciences.
Area of Expertise: Integrated assessments of climate risks, social and economic impacts, and adaptation strategies. Key aspects include developing a range of methodologies and modelling tools to assess social and direct and indirect economic impacts of climate change, including impacts related to extreme weather such as high temperatures and heatwaves as well as the role of adaptation strategies to reduce risks and enhance resilience. More recently I have been involved in the development of a global climate impacts inventory and a UK adaptation Inventory to support evidence-based climate policy.
The panel discussion brought together leading experts from around the world to discuss how weather and climate services can inform adaptation action. Panellists shared best practice and real-world examples of how governments, regional actors and civil society can use scientific evidence to improve adaptation planning and build resilience at all levels. Examples of best practice featured included the Climate Services for a Net Zero Resilient World (CS-N0W) initiative and Weather and Climate Information Services (WISER) programmes.
An annual update of the global carbon budget and trends.
UEA Engagement: Prof Corinne Le Quéré, FRS and Royal Society Research Professor of Climate Change Science. Research/expertise: Interactions between climate change and the carbon cycle; the strength of the ocean uptake of carbon dioxide and how it evolves in a changing climate; emissions of CO2 and their socio-economic drivers; the impact of COVID-19 on carbon emissions.
UEA Speaker: Professor Heike Schroeder
Professor Heike Schroeder, Professor of Environmental Governance, School of International Development
Area of Expertise: Carbon Emissions, International Politics of Climate Change, Climate Change, Climate Change Governance, International Development
In times of climate anxiety, amid feelings of insecurity and disorientation, trusting relationships are an invaluable resource in developing effective collaboration, and collective leadership and action. Recent global crises have shown that, to respond most effectively, countries need to act collaboratively. While it may be argued that mistrust is a significant barrier, it is not insurmountable. Experts with extensive experiences in global governance, scientific analysis, international sustainability projects and applied spiritual wisdom joined together in a dialogue to share their perspectives and facilitate new insights.
Resilient Futures for All - Advancing Nature-Based Solutions Through PPP for Climate Resilience and Healthy Ecosystems
Panel talk by Kat Bruce (founder of Nature Metrics) at key side event of COP27.
Nature Metrics also launched a white paper on Nature Based Solutions prior to event.
UEA Engagement: Nature Metrics, a company closely affiliated to the UEA who conduct DNA based monitoring in pursuit of better biodiversity data.
UEA Engagement: Prof Trevor Davies, School of Environmental Sciences, Prof Jago Cooper, Director of the Sainsbury Centre and Mr Gennadiy Ivanov, Norwich-based artist in the Transitions Art-Science project.
Save our Water Towers, a joint Global Water Futures-UNESCO event was held on COP27 Water Day November 14th. It is an art-science perspective on climate change threats to the vast high latitude and high-altitude cold regions of the world that are the "water towers" that provide freshwater to over half of humanity.
Prof Trevor Davis, Emeritus Professor, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Environmental Sciences. Areas of Expertise Climatology; climate variability; air pollution; composition of precipitation; snow and snowmelt; meteorology; climate change.
UEA Engagement: Dr Rupert Read, School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication and Professor Kevin Anderson discussed where climate action/activism goes from here. The event was hosted at Westminster.
Dr Rupert Read, Associate Professor in the School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication.
Area of Expertise: Philosophy of language, Wittgenstein, Kuhn, Philosophy of Literature and Film, Philosophy of Psychology, Eco-philosophy.