Publications
What will global annual emissions of greenhouse gases be in 2030, and will they be consistent with avoiding global warming of more than 2°C?
Countries agreed at the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP20) in Lima, Peru, in December 2014 to set out their “intended nationally determined contributions” (INDCs) … read more »
Reflections on the current debate on how to link flood insurance and disaster risk reduction in the European Union
In this paper we investigate if and how current EU policies influence flood insurance. read more »
Why did the knowledge transition occur in the West and not the East? ICT and the role of governments in Europe, East Asia and the Muslim world
The invention of a new ICT, the printing press, may have been a fundamental turning point in knowledge transition. But did Gutenberg’ s printing press succeed in Europe because of, … read more »
Assessing the Relationship Between Human Well-being and Ecosystem Services: A Review of Frameworks
Focusing on the most impoverished populations, we critically review and synthesise key themes from dominant frameworks for assessing the relationship between well-being and ecosystem services in developing countries. This requires … read more »
Climate stories: why do climate scientists and sceptical voices participate in the climate debate?
This paper explores the polarised debate between climate scientists and sceptical voices. It concludes that focusing on overlapping rationales, such as a sense of duty to publicly engage and recognition that political factors are a key topic of disagreement, as well as encouraging individuals to think critically about their own beliefs, may help to encourage constructive discussion and reduce polarisation. read more »
Crop productivity and adaptation to climate change in Pakistan
This paper investigates whether there are productive benefits for farmers who adapt to climate change in Pakistan. read more »
Why are we waiting? The logic, urgency, and promise of tackling climate change
Nicholas Stern argues that the risks and costs of climate change are worse than estimated in the landmark Stern Review in 2006—and far worse than implied by standard economic models. read more »
Novel and improved insurance instruments for risk reduction
In the context of natural disaster insurance and risk reduction this paper looks at how to assess existing insurance offerings and how to design new schemes. read more »
Climate change priorities for the next UK Government
The next UK Government after the General Election on 7 May should reform the UK’s overly-complex energy taxation and create new institutions to depoliticise infrastructure investment, particularly in the energy sector. These recommendations are among several new measures outlined in the Institute’s latest policy brief ‘Climate change priorities for the next UK government’. read more »
Understanding climate adaptation and transformation challenges in African cities
This critical assessment of climate adaptation and transformation challenges, agendas and actions across Africa draws on the principal findings and analyses of the papers in this special issue of COSUST. read more »
