Amy Hall, a Masters of Climate Change Student interested in nature-based solutions for climate change problems reflects on her experience attending COP 28 virtually. She explores themes of biodiversity and regenerative agriculture as key efforts needed to progress on global climate action goals.
Jose DiBella, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Geography and Environmental Management and Waterloo Climate Institute delegate attended COP28 in Dubai in-person and shares his reflections regarding the success of the proceedings. A sprawling venue and over-subscribed pass system presented barriers for delegates to collaborate, however, Jose DiBella shares that COP28 remains a key element in a transition to low-carbon future
The first Tourism and Climate Change Stocktake report has been released by the Tourism Panel on Climate Change (TPCC) timed with the UN COP-28 Climate Conference. Its 24 key findings aim to support policymakers and the tourism industry in accelerating planning and investment toward low-carbon and climate-resilient global tourism.
University of Waterloo climate change and sustainable tourism expert Professor Daniel Scott was the co-lead, along with Professor Susanne Becken of Griffith University in Australia. The TPCC is a network of over 60 leading international tourism and climate experts from over 30 countries.
Shahan Salim, a PhD a PhD candidate in the School of Public Health Sciences and a member of the Waterloo Climate Institute’s COP 28 delegation, has designed a platform to use data from low-cost air quality sensors to monitor and predict adverse outcomes related to air pollution exposure in low-income countries.
Waterloo’s Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation and the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change are partners in the collaboration and will work closely with the institute to achieve its objectives. IC3 member and head of the Intact Centre, Blair Feltmate, will be a member of the new institute's Adaptation Expert Panel.
IC3 Member, Jason Thistlethwaite, joins fellow climate scientists on The Agenda with Steve Paikin to discuss the psychological impacts of studying climate change. Jason shares his expert opinion on the emotional toll of climate change research, the solutions to mitigate climate anxiety, and how to cope and feel empowered to take action.
In December 2018, IC3 and the Univeristy of Waterloo sent six students to the 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties (“COP24”) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COP24 was held in Katowice, Poland, bringing togeher international leaders to discuss climate change and the next steps in implementing the Paris Agreement.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C. The IPCC, a group of scientists convened by the United Nations to guide world leaders, explores the detrimental impacts of climate change on the world, such as food shortages, increase in wildfires and a mass die-off of coral reefs, which could take place as soon as 2040.
Of all extreme weather events in Canada, flooding is currently the costliest, causing millions of dollars in property damage. Nonetheless, the impact of basement flooding on the mental health and lost time from work of impacted homeowners has been only superficially explored, until now.
Studies led by the University of Waterloo, with a group of multinational researchers, have identified that climate change is threatening the future of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Temperatures are rising with the increase of global green house gas emissions, affecting the ability to reliably host the winter games across the globe. The average February daytime temperature of the Olympic Winter Games locations is steadily increasing - from 0.48C in the 1920–1950s, to 3.18C in the 1960–1990s, to 7.88C in games held in the twenty-first century - intensifying the need for weather risk management strategies.