A global coalition of leading climate research universities has urged world leaders to act now to avoid catastrophic environmental consequences. The International Universities Climate Alliance, which includes Leeds, represents a quarter of the world’s top 100 environmental research universities. The group has now issued its first declaration ahead of the G20 Summit this weekend, during which…
According to a new study, including paleoclimate data in the development of climate models could help scientists predict scenarios for future climate and propose strategies for mitigation. An international team of climate scientists, including Dr Benjamin Mills from the University of Leeds, suggest that numerical models predicting future climate change should include simulations of past…
Meltwater lakes that form at glacier margins cause ice to recede much further and faster compared to glaciers that terminate on land, according to a new study. But the effects of these glacial lakes are not represented in current ice loss models, warn the study authors. Therefore, estimates of recession rates and ice mass loss…
Rising nitrous oxide emissions are jeopardizing climate goals and the Paris Accord, according to a new international study. The growing use of nitrogen fertilizers in the production of food worldwide is increasing concentrations of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere—a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide—which remains in the atmosphere longer than a…
The transition to net-zero cannot be sustainable if it creates or exacerbates social inequalities, warns a group of academic experts from the COP26 Universities Network. The group is made up of more than 45 UK universities, including the University of Leeds. In a new policy briefing, the authors emphasise that the impacts of climate change…
