Category Archives: Policy

Different perspectives

Posted on December 7, 2019 by

I’ve been reflecting a little on some of the recent discussions I’ve had, mostly on Twitter, with those who have more expertise in emission scenarios, and energy systems, than in physical climate science specifically. I’ve found it a somewhat frustrating … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Climate sensitivity, ClimateBall, Philosophy for Bloggers, Policy, Scientists, The philosophy of science | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Stocks and Flows

Posted on December 4, 2019 by

Sitting at home waiting for a delivery, so just a quick post. There’s been a new narrative, on social media at least, that we may be heading for a plateau in global emissions. The suggestion, then, is that we are … Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Carbon tax, Climate change, Global warming, Policy | Tagged , , , , , | 110 Comments

Tipping points/elements

Posted on November 30, 2019 by

There has been quite lot of discussion recently about climate tipping points, or tipping elements. It’s mostly motivated by a recent Nature comment suggesting that Climate tipping points [are] too risky to bet against. The suggestion is that some the … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Global warming, Philosophy for Bloggers, Policy, Severe Events | Tagged , , , , , , | 182 Comments

Methane

Posted on November 23, 2019 by

I’ve always been a little confused as to why so much attention is paid to methane emissions. It’s short-lived, so isn’t it maybe somewhat less important that CO2 emissions, which are long-lived? One reason it is quite prominent is because … Continue reading →

Posted in Environmental change, Global warming, Policy, Research, Scientists | Tagged , , , , , | 229 Comments

Science and Technology Studies Podcast

Posted on November 20, 2019 by

I’ve been trying to listen to more podcasts, and came across a new one that might be of interest to my readers. It’s called The Received Wisdom with Shobita Parthasarathy and Jack Stilgoe. Both are researchers in Science and Technology … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy for Bloggers, Policy, Scientists, The philosophy of science, The scientific method, We Are Science | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Depolarising the debate?

Posted on November 7, 2019 by

I’ve always been a little puzzled by the (mostly) social scientists who seem to argue that to develop effective climate policy we should stop using labels, be depolarizing the debate, and should prioritise civil disagreements. It’s not that I object … Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Climate change, Environmental change, Policy, Science | Tagged , , , , | 172 Comments

Societal tipping points

Posted on October 24, 2019 by

Noami Oreskes and Nicholas Stern have a New York Times Opinion piece called Climate Change will cost us even more than we think. Some are very critical, others are a little more circumspect. I, on the other hand, think that … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, economics, Global warming, Policy, Politics, Severe Events | Tagged , , , , | 172 Comments