Here, queer and looking to volunteer – tales of an early-career climate enthusiast

When first starting out in the ecology and conservation space in 2019, I was concerned about a lack of representation of women, people of colour, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. I felt so far removed from the decision makers, and as though there were several barriers to my success in this field. But it turns out that I just wasn’t looking in the right places.

COP26 and Reducing Methane Emissions: Breeding, Feeding and Animal Health

The GMP commits one hundred countries to reduce their methane emissions by at least 30% (based on 2020 levels) by 2030. Although carbon dioxide (CO2) tends to get the headlines, methane is more potent (1 kg methane is equal to 27 kg of CO2 in terms of the warming it causes) and shorter-lived greenhouse gas (half-life of 12 years rather than centuries). The majority of global methane emissions stem from human activities: fossil fuels (35%), landfills and waste (20%), and agriculture (40%).

Exploring the potential of spatially referenced data to support the evolution of land-based policy in Scotland

The way we manage land and plan land-use change plays an integral role in the efforts for meeting climatic targets and for mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts. According to the current Land Use Strategy, the scale of future land-use change required is significant if we were to maximise the contribution of land towards a sustainable future for Scotland.

Nature-based Solutions – how should we plan and evaluate them?

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have been defined many times, but these definitions can be summarised as “solutions to societal challenges that are inspired and supported by nature”. Examples would be the restoration of peat bogs to return them to net sinks of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or re-meandering rivers to reduce flood risk. However, not all NbS are equal: the term can be applied to different interventions in quite varied settings, tackling varied problems.

A Virtual Tour around Scotland’s Innovative Climate Research

Designed by an interdisciplinary team of scientific experts, and funded by SEFARI Gateway’s Responsive Opportunity Fund, our Google earth tours feature climate research from across SEFARI’s consortium of globally renowned institutes, namely Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS), the James Hutton Institute, Moredun Research Institute, the Rowett Institute, Royal Botanic Garden E