Tag: University of Exeter

New £10m centre to tackle the health impacts of climate change

Stuart Mitchell

A new Centre focused on delivering research on climate change and its impacts on health that will address climate-environment-health inequalities across each life stage is being created by the University of Exeter. Together with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the National Trust, Forest Research, the Met Office and other partner organisations, the £10m Centre for Net Positive Health and Climate Solutions is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The centre will focus on finding net positive solutions to the well-established negative impacts of the climate crisis and associated…

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Solar industry at ‘critical juncture’ with circular economy crucial to government target

Stuart Mitchell

A new report on the solar industry warns ‘the time is now’ to implement circular economy measures that help it meet government Net Zero targets.  The report “From Linear to Circular: Evidence from the UK solar sector” highlights a number of circular economy initiatives that are leading the way, including a project where used car tyres could play a role in manufacturing solar panels, and another where old solar panels have been revived for use in the reconstruction of Ukraine. The report outlines and addresses environmental concerns over the amount…

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Pension funds need net-zero ‘paradigm shift’

Stuart Mitchell

Pension fund net-zero transition plans are dramatically underestimating the risks and opportunities presented by climate change, experts say. A new report from the Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition (EEIST) project, led by the University of Exeter, argues for fundamental change in the way the investment industry thinks about climate change. The report calls on pension funds and other asset owners to adopt “decision-useful climate scenarios” – using plausible real-world narratives to develop and implement bespoke transition plans. This would protect assets and support the net-zero transition – so…

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Customer experience a vital but overlooked component to successful circular business models, report argues

Stuart Mitchell

Businesses looking to adopt circular economy business models are failing to focus on customers, a new report reveals. The report, An Exploration of Customers and the Circular Economy, finds that business models where products and materials are kept in circulation through processes such as reuse, repair, remanufacture and recycling, can only succeed with better support and communication with customers. Researchers from the Exeter Centre for Circular Economy and consultancy Clarasys, embarked on a year-long investigation focusing on providers of food, drink, retail and household appliances, which involved a literature review…

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Limiting global warming to 1.5°C would save billions from dangerously hot climate

Stuart Mitchell

Current climate policies will leave more than a fifth of humanity exposed to dangerously hot temperatures by 2100, new research suggests. Despite the Paris Agreement pledge to keep global warming well below 2°C (compared to pre-industrial levels), current policies are projected to result in 2.7°C warming by the end of the century. The new study, led by researchers at the Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, associated with the Earth Commission, and Nanjing University, assessed what this would mean for the number of people living outside the “climate niche” in…

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