Tag Archives: climate change

An Introduction to Carbon Literacy

Masters students Jonet Dunmore, Nina Perunovic and Verity Snow shared learnings from their Carbon Literacy Training in the final Responsible Business Centre Seminar of the summer term.

As the highest temperatures on record were reached in Britain during the July heatwave, we were reminded of the urgent challenge of addressing the climate crisis. While leadership is needed from government and business to address the crisis, many individuals are increasingly aware of climate change and looking to see what part they can play in combatting global heating.

For the past year, Birkbeck has been delivering Carbon Literacy Training to staff and students, helping our community understand key concepts and jargon and to commit to personal and organisational action to tackle the climate crisis.

On Wednesday 20 July 2022, Masters students Jonet Dunmore, Nina Perunovic and Verity Snow, who have each completed the Carbon Literacy Trust certified training, shared their learnings through the Responsible Business Centre seminar: Introduction to Carbon Literacy.

Global Warming – Key Terms

Jonet Dunmore began the discussion by explaining some of the key terms associated with climate change:

  • The Kyoto Protocol – The UN framework on climate change, which committed countries to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • The Paris Agreement – In 2015, at COP 21, a goal was set to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius.
  • Net Zero – A target to negate the amount of greenhouse gases produced by humans by balancing carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere with the carbon dioxide removed from it.
  • 2050 – The UK Government has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100% of 1990 levels.
  • COP26 – Governments were obliged to set out more ambitious goals for climate change under the Paris Agreement to “keep 1.5 alive”.

Which countries are most vulnerable to climate change?

Nina Perunovic highlighted the global injustice of the climate crisis. Developing countries, who are least responsible for carbon emissions, are at the frontline when it comes to the impact of climate change, from natural disasters, to food and water shortages. High polluting countries, such as China and the United States, will be slower to feel the effects of climate disaster than countries such as Yemen and Haiti, which are already living with the consequences. However, if no action is taken, the impact of climate change will soon spread across the globe.

How can Carbon Literacy help us take action?

Verity Snow concluded the seminar with a message of hope: by educating ourselves on carbon emissions, we can take the actions needed to make a change. Participants were encouraged to test their knowledge of climate change solutions using an interactive quiz.

The group also discussed the impact of personal activity such as diet, transport, energy use and lifestyle on carbon emissions. You can explore your personal carbon footprint using the WWF footprint calculator.

The Carbon Literacy Project aims to equip individuals and organisations with the knowledge and motivation to make a positive change for the environment. What small changes could you make to help the planet today?

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Birkbeck hosts ‘Environmental Finance for the Common Good’ Conference

The conference, organised by Dr Ellen Yu, was generously funded by the Money Macro and Finance Society and the School of Business, Economics and Informatics.

A group of people standing in the lecture theatre.

Birkbeck’s Department of Management was delighted to host the ‘Environmental Finance for the Common Good’ conference from 31 March – 1 April 2022.

More than 170 people registered for events during the two-day hybrid conference, which was organised by Dr Ellen Yu, Senior Lecturer in Finance.

Speakers included representation from international organisations and industry (the World Bank, Climate Policy Initiative, the US Conference Board, and the CFA Society of the UK), religious communities (the Vatican and the SGI UK), and academic peers from all over the world, who presented and shared ideas on environmental finance.

The conference aimed to understand the investment implications of environmental and social factors across different economies to achieve greater common good. Workshops over the two days included studies from industrial and middle- and low- income countries, providing a platform for all people working on environmental finance issues to discuss the latest insights and foster dialogue between academics and practitioners.

The diversity of speakers and attendees was highlighted at the evening keynote lecture, where representatives from industry, academia and religious communities came together to discuss pathways to a more inclusive, greener future.

The conference was funded by the Money Macro Society and the School of Business, Economics and Informatics.

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Science Saturdays: Coughing up a lung, pollutants in our air

In May, Birkbeck’s School of Science held ‘Science Saturdays’, a programme of free online talks every Saturday, open to a global audience. In this blog, Tina Wright, Birkbeck PhD student, gives an overview of the talk she attended about pollutants in the air and how they affect the physical wellbeing of humans.

The Science Saturdays talk, ‘Coughing up a lung: pollutants in our air’ delivered by Dr Katherine Thompson, Reader in Biophysical Chemistry, observed how the environment influences physical wellbeing, more specifically, how the atmosphere and its composition of gases and particulate matter, which includes pollutants, interacts with a monolayer of molecules (surfactant) at the air-water interface of the lung to cause respiratory problems.

The content of the talk was a boon to the global cause of tackling climate change and its subsequent effects on worldwide mortality and morbidity rates. It provided information on how to investigate exactly what is happening on a molecular level and systemically in our bodies.

Our atmosphere, pollution and photochemical smog

Our atmosphere predominantly consists of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O2) along with trace amounts of unnatural and naturally sourced gases, the former being sourced from human processes, for example, car exhaust fumes. These may be from petrol or diesel motors. Petrol motors release some water combined with lots of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons from incomplete combustion of fuel and nitrogen oxides (NOx) which includes nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Diesel motors burn fuel differently, therefore generate a different composition of exhaust gases, such as CO and hydrocarbons, but also release tiny particles that may be dangerous for human health, dependent on particle size.

As I’ve already mentioned, there are some natural sources of trace gases that add to our atmosphere and these include green plants that emit organic pollutants, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Photochemical smog is pollution present on sunny days and has a distinct character. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) features as a brown/orange gas, visible on the horizon on a clear day. A combination of this with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sunlight produces ozone (O3). It is vital for life to have O3 in the stratosphere as it absorbs short wavelengths of light that may damage our DNA, however, when present in the troposphere as a secondary pollutant, the VOC-NOx-O3 relationship keeps its concentration high during warmer months, therefore, adverse effects may occur, notably at the air-water interface of the lung.

Lung physiology, function and properties on a molecular level

The lung is composed of the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and finally, millions of alveoli, which are tiny sacs that increase the surface area of the lung for gas-exchange of oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

Our bodies are wet systems but if the alveoli were lined with pure water, the surface tension (cohesive forces between water molecules), would be too high for expansion of the lung after compression. This issue is resolved by the action of surfactants present as a film on the lung interface that are composed of lipids, proteins, and cholesterol. Its importance is reflected by premature, newborn babies that lack lung surfactant and consequentially, experience difficulties breathing.

Diagram of the human lung. Credit: Frontiersin.org.

What happens when pollutants reach the lung interface?

Dr Katherine Thompson’s research focuses on the interaction of pollutants with the lung. A single layer of molecules (monolayer) of lung surfactant, similar to when it is found on the surface of the lung, may be analysed by the reflection of light. For example, a technique known as Brewster Angle Microscopy, allows the observation of the organization of molecules at the surface or interface, a simile of the lung.

A monolayer is very thin, therefore, the wavelength of light chosen for the reflection experiments should be shorter than the thickness of the monolayer. The wavelength of x-rays (photons) are very short, therefore, it can be used to look at these reflections. Photons may hit a surface and ‘bounce off’ to a detector, comparable to a gymnast jumping and landing on a mat, then coming away. This will give information, in the case of the gymnast, on the thickness of the mat or in the experiment, the single layer of molecules.  These experiments may be undertaken whilst the lung surfactant is simultaneously exposed to ozone and a thinning of the monolayer can be observed from rearrangement, breaking and bending of molecules at the surface. Physiologically, this may lead to inflammation of the lung.

This research is of paramount importance in the modern world, where the extent of the damage to our environment, and the subsequent effect on human health, needs further investigation and awareness raised to all.

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Science Week 2017: understanding climate change

This blog was written by Giulia Magnarini, Birkbeck graduate in Planetary Sciences with Astronomy and PhD candidate in Earth Sciences at UCL.scienceweekclimatechange850x450To understand current climate changes, we need to understand past events. However, using our existing climate model is really difficult.’ This is how Professor Andrew Carter began his talk on Earth’s long-term climate. Professor Carter’s research focuses on studying Antarctica in terms of climate changes.

Despite some persistent denial, evidence for an increasingly warm climate is clear. To provide a visual idea of the impact that the total melt of ice in Antarctica could have, Professor Carter asked the audience to imagine Big Ben under water up to the clock. Thames barriers would be ineffective and it is increasingly obvious how important research on climate change to tackle its consequential threats is.

Geological evidence for the first appearance of the ice sheet in Antarctica resides in sediments that date from 33 million years ago. The question is: why did Antarctica freeze over? Two hypotheses are proposed. The first one involved plate tectonics; as Antarctica separated from Australia and South America (circa 50 million years ago), ocean circulation changed and the strong Antarctic Circumpolar Current emerged, causing thermal isolation of the continent.

The second one takes reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide into account. Historic data collected for ice volume, deep sea temperature and sea level all follow the same trend of the reconstructed amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

However, there are problems with both hypotheses. For instance, at the moment of the break, Antarctica was in a northern position and, although carbon dioxide was lower, overall temperature was warmer.

There are many difficulties in modelling over geological time. Nowadays, different models running for Antarctica show completely different results. Improving the quality of data is crucial because uncertainties are very high. On this point, Professor Carter has been conducting what is called ‘provenance analysis.’ This involves studying sand grains to locate their sources to better constrain past tectonic events and past environmental conditions. The grains that Professor Carter studies have typical shape due to ice erosion. Detrital zircons (very resistant minerals) are used to conduct U-Pb geochronological assessments to reconstruct the age distribution of the sediments. These ages are then compared with rocks from different areas for which age is known.

Oceanic drilling programs have been conducted within the ‘Iceberg Alley’. This is an area where icebergs are transported by currents and during the journey they deposit sediments. Results from sediment cores have shown that the grains come from other areas, meaning that they had been transported by icebergs, therefore implying that ice was already present on the continent at that time.

This new set of information can help improving tectonic models related to the opening of oceanic passages. Sampling the ‘Shag Rocks’, which are the only exposed part of the continental block within the Iceberg Alley, would be of benefit for this. Unfortunately, due to strong currents, this can be very difficult and dangerous.

Professor Carter concluded by pointing out the importance of better understanding the geology of this area because it was here that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current originated. This in turn had a significant implication on the global cooling of the planet. In fact, its influence reaches up to the northern hemisphere.

Therefore, more geological data can greatly improve the quality of climatic models. Better and more reliable climatic models will be fundamental to help future governments make important decisions.

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