Why drilling in the North Sea won’t bring down UK energy prices Trump, Farage, the Tories and the right-wing press are all calling for it, but here's why experts say extracting oil and gas from the North Sea can't bring down UK energy prices

Oil price spikes after strikes on Tehran have revived calls to “drill baby drill” in the North Sea.

But Prof Robert Gross says it’s a “red herring”: UK oil and gas won’t lower bills or improve energy security as prices are set globally and new fields are too small to matter.

#Energy #OilPrices

Imperial researcher recognised with Georgia Mace Prize for tidal energy research An Imperial College London alumna has been awarded a prestigious early career prize for research exploring how tidal energy could deliver clean power...

CEP alumna Sylvia Ascher has won the British Ecological Society Georgia Mace Prize 🏆 for her research on tidal energy 🌊⚡

Her study shows how clean power can be developed while protecting marine ecosystems, helping balance climate action with nature. 🌍

Turning science into action with BES Fellows, Dr Caroline Howe and Niru Dorrian

What does it take to turn ecology into real-world impact? 🌍

In this episode, Dr Caroline Howe (CEP, VP of the BES) and Niru Dorrian (UN Ocean Decade Ambassador) share their very different journeys to becoming BES Fellows, and a shared passion for turning science into action for conservation 🎧

How Paris swapped cars for bikes – and transformed its streets Under Anne Hidalgo – mayor for 12 years until last week – the French capital added bike lanes, cut traffic and reclaimed public space, but not without resistance

Paris shows what’s possible when cities prioritise people over cars 🚲

As Dr Audrey de Nazelle notes, what’s often missing isn’t solutions, it’s courage.

A decade of bike lanes, greener streets & bold leadership has transformed how Parisians move.

Early-career researchers reflect on influential papers - Nature Climate Change As Nature Climate Change celebrates its 15 year anniversary, we look back at some of the journal’s published works. In this Viewpoint, seven early-career researchers discuss how these papers influence...

As Nature Climate Change marks 15 years, researchers reflect on papers that shaped their work

For Dan Tong, Niall Mac Dowell et al. (2017) on carbon capture and utilisation was a turning point, shifting focus from tech readiness to whether solutions can scale, deploy fast & work in the right places

Planting trees to remove carbon can harm the environment – or protect it: study highlights trade-offs Carbon removal strategies may conflict with biodiversity conservation, but careful choices could bring benefits.

🌍 Cutting carbon emissions isn’t enough – we also need carbon removal. But planting trees or energy crops at scale can clash with biodiversity.

Careful planning is key, says Professor @joerirogelj.bsky.social and colleagues. 🌱

#ClimateAction #Biodiversity #CarbonRemoval #Sustainability

Sewage overflows may pose greater threat to England’s rivers than previously thought Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) could be contributing far more pollution to England’s rivers than previously recognised, according to new resea...

Sewage overflows may be a far bigger threat to England’s rivers than we thought 💧

New research led by Professor Nick Voulvoulis finds combined sewer overflows (CSOs) can release pollution loads matching, or exceeding, treatment plants, with nearly half of systems posing high risk.

Indigenous participation in water governance remains limited, Imperial study finds A new study led by researchers at Imperial College London reveals that Indigenous Peoples remain marginal in dominant water governance systems worldw...

A new study led by Laila Kasuri & @dralexcollins.bsky.social finds Indigenous Peoples remain marginal in water governance worldwide.

Participation is patchy, rarely evaluated, & often ignores Indigenous knowledge. #WaterGovernance #IndigenousRights

The Weather Is Getting Wilder, and Some See a Dire Signal in the Data

Scientists are debating whether global warming is accelerating, but one thing is clear: climate impacts are intensifying faster than expected.

As Professor @frediotto.bsky.social notes in @nytimes.com, extreme events are increasingly outside human experience. 🌍

Professor Fredi Otto (@frediotto.bsky.social) has been awarded Germany’s highest civilian honour, the Cross of the Order of Merit.

Her pioneering work in attribution science is transforming how we link extreme weather to climate change.

Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition 👏

Cutting meat by 30% ≈ flying 70% less ≈ 1/6 of cars electric ≈ decarbonising nearly all cement plants. 🌍

Dr @iain-staffell.bsky.social and Dr Nathan Johnson show ~20 such ‘climate wedges’ are needed to limit warming to 1.5°C. #ClimateAction #NetZero

Postgraduate Virtual Open Day | Centre for Environmental Policy Join the Virtual Open Day for the Centre for Environmental Policy to learn more about the courses and the specialist options. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about applying to and studyin...

Join us for our Virtual Open Day! Learn about the MSc Environmental Technology and MSc Conservation Science & Practice, meet staff, and get your questions answered in a live Q&A.

Key details:

📅 Thursday, 19 March 2026

⏰ 12:00 – 13:30 GMT

📍 Online (Teams Webinar)

Register below 👇

We're delighted to announce the UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Dame Angela McLean DBE FRS, will deliver the Grantham Institute Climate Research Showcase special lecture alongside our expert panel 🧵

Register to attend now: ow.ly/yCWK50Yf02i

Electric cars deliver 'no proven carbon savings' in UK, scientists say In a new study, described as a 'sanity check' for Britain's Net Zero ambitions, researchers from Queen Mary University say that the push towards EVs is fundamentally misguided.

Do EVs really cut emissions in the UK? ⚡🚗

A new study from Queen Mary University claims EVs deliver no proven carbon savings while the grid remains fossil-fuel heavy

But Dr Iain Staffell calls the headline “misleading,” arguing EVs still cut emissions vs petrol/diesel, even on today’s grid.

US repeals key ‘endangerment finding’ that climate change is a public threat Overturning the 2009 decision will lead to billions of extra tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions over the next three decades.

The US EPA’s reversal of the endangerment finding undermines decades of climate regulation, with billions of tonnes of extra emissions expected.

Scientists, inc. @wwattribution.bsky.social's @frediotto.bsky.social warn it defies basic physics, while the rest of the world moves toward clean energy.

Toxic! - Swept Under the Rug - BBC Sounds Sifting through the dust, Mark Miodownik discovers the toxins polluting our living spaces.

Dr Tilly Collins (polytilly.bsky.social) and Professor Leon Barron joined BBC Radio 4’s Toxic! to explore the hidden presence of parasiticides in our homes.

Flea-treating producer Mel’s cat reveals surprising risks for human health and the environment when these chemicals are used en masse. 🐾⚠️

Some of world’s oldest trees hit by climate-fuelled wildfires in Patagonia Wildfires that left 23 people dead were made about three times more likely by global heating, researchers say

🔥 Deadly wildfires in Chile & Argentina killed 23, destroyed homes and devastated ancient forests.

The @wwattribution.bsky.social team found climate change made the extreme hot, dry, windy conditions 3x more likely. #ClimateCrisis 🌍

Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

We’re celebrating some of the women in our community whose work spans climate, biodiversity, infrastructure and policy - shaping research and real-world impact. 👇

#WomenInScience #IDWGS #EveryVoiceInScience

Annual Graham Woodgate Lecture on Interdisciplinarity - 5 May 2026 At the Nexus: tackling biodiversity loss and climate change through the lens of equity and justice by Dr Caroline Howe

Join us on 5th May for our 'Annual Graham Woodgate Lecture on Interdisciplinarity'. The guest speaker is Dr Caroline Howe of @ic-cep.bsky.social and the focus is the task of addressing environmental change through the lens of justice and equity. Registration required.

www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...

Climate change worsened rains and floods which killed dozens in southern Africa, study shows Researchers say human-induced climate change worsened recent torrential rains and floods in southern Africa

Human-caused climate change intensified devastating floods across southern Africa, killing 100+ people and displacing over 300,000. 🌧️

@wwattribution.bsky.social researchers found a year’s worth of rain fell in just 10 days, a once-in-50-years event made far more severe by a warmer climate.

This week biodiversity experts, academics and policymakers have come to Manchester for one reason: biodiversity.

Specifically, they’ve come to #IPBES12 to set the global agenda for how businesses measure and integrate nature into their plans 🧵

Wholesale gas costs blamed for rises in household energy bills Energy prices have eased since the height of the energy crisis in 2022-23 but pressure is still on the Government to tackle high bills

📈 UK households have seen electricity bills rise £169 since 2021 – 2/3 of that due to volatile wholesale gas prices, says new @ukerc.bsky.social analysis.

More renewables & fixed-price contracts could cut reliance on gas and stabilise bills. #EnergyPolicy #UKEnergy⚡

The New Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology The New Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology offers a state-of-the-art exploration of contemporary political ecology, grounded in the field’s radical foundations and its longstanding connections to...

📘 New publication!

The New Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology, edited by Dr Jessica Hope, Dr Elia Apostolopoulou & Dr Ariadne Collins, brings 52 chapters from Global South & North scholars on decolonisation, activism & socio-ecological systems.

Q&A: What UK’s record auction for offshore wind means for bills and clean power by 2030 - Carbon Brief A record-breaking amount of new offshore wind capacity has been secured at the UK’s latest auction for renewable energy projects.

Record offshore wind win for the UK: 8.4 GW secured in the latest CfD auction, enough to power 12 m homes 🌬️⚡

Professor Robert Gross notes opposition claims on gas costs are “unrealistically low” - renewables remain cheaper than new gas plants. #CleanPower2030 #OffshoreWind

Afghan women in the UK: amplifying their voice – a photo essay Over four years have passed since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. Claudia Janke’s photographic series features seven Afghan women who have found safety in the UK after escaping at great…

Our MSc graduate Aqlima Amiri is one of 7 Afghan women featured in Claudia Janke’s photo series.

Using the Taliban-era Instant Box Camera, they reclaim their voices and show that education & courage can’t be silenced.

#AfghanWomen #RefugeeVoices

Australia’s worst heatwave since black summer made five times more likely by global heating, analysis finds Extreme heat ‘is getting worse and whether we like it or not … there’s ultimately a limit to what we can actually physically cope with,’ scientist says

Human-caused climate change made Australia’s January heatwave 5x more likely, new @wwattribution.bsky.social analysis finds

Heatwaves already cause more deaths than any other natural hazard in Australia

Prof @frediotto.bsky.social warns extreme heat is “changing very fast with global warming” 🌡️🔥

‘Wavy’ jet stream dumps record snowfall on Russia Extreme weather paralyses region as Arctic blast sweeps across Asia

Russia’s Far East has seen its heaviest snowfall in 60 years, burying parts of Kamchatka under metres of snow.

The same Arctic cold surge hit China and Japan, bringing rare snowfall to Shanghai.

Dr Theodore Keeping says a weakened polar vortex and “wavy” jet stream are to blame. ❄️

Dr Caroline Howe appointed Fellow of the British Ecological Society Dr Caroline Howe, Vice President of the British Ecological Society (BES) and Associate Professor in Environmental Social Science at Imperial College...

Congratulations to Dr Caroline Howe, Associate Professor at CEP and Vice President of @britishecologicalsociety.org, on being appointed a Fellow of the Society (FBES).

A prestigious recognition of her international leadership in ecology, policy and transdisciplinary research. 🌿👏

On the Sofa with the Centre for Environmental Policy YouTube video by Imperial College London

Curious what it’s like to study at CEP? 🎓

PhD student Georgia Ray & Senior Teaching Fellow Maria Vinograd discuss hands-on projects, global fieldwork & expert-led teaching that prepare students for real-world environmental impact 👇

#Sustainability #EnvironmentalPolicy #ImperialCollege

10 African scholars to watch in 2026 Spanning governance, security, economics, science and artificial intelligence, The Africa Report profiles 10 academics shaping conversations in Africa and far beyond this year.

Congratulations to Dr Jessica Thorn, named one of 10 African Scholars to Watch by The Africa Report.

A Namibian environmental scientist and Assistant Professor at CEP, her work spans food security, climate adaptation, biodiversity and environmental justice, shaping policy across Africa and beyond.