Carbon Management Society

The Carbon Management Society and the Edinburgh Centre on Climate Change are proud to present the following two short films. These films are the result of the hard work of many people but most of all, of our star producers: James O’Toole, Gyles Scott-Hayward and Justin M. Whalen.

The videos can also be found by clicking on the “Partners” tab.

Enjoy.

A short, but sweet, article was published in the April 2010 edition of the Aluminate, the University of Edinburgh Business School’s alumni magazine. Congrats and thanks to Alex Abrahams for putting it together.

Jeremy Kemp, Richard Milne and Dave S. Reay have written a short commentary on the topic of climate change sceptics and deniers.

Click here to read this article on Nature’s website.

Dr. David Reay, Programme Director for the MSc Carbon Management, has been nominated for the Price Waterhouse Coopers Teaching Employable Skills Award. Click here for more details.

The winners of the awards will be announced at a lavish Ceremony on the 24th March in Teviot Debating Hall and can be watched live on the website from 8pm at Teaching Awards Ceremony.

Jerry Kemp, a CMS member, was recently referenced in an article on “scientific denialism” in Skeptical Science.

The 5 characteristics of scientific denialism

A fascinating paper well worth reading is Denialism: what is it and how should scientists respond? (Diethelm & McKee 2009) (H/T to Jeremy Kemp for the heads-up). While the focus is on public health issues, it nevertheless establishes some useful general principles on the phenomenon of scientific denialism. A vivid example is the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, who argued against the scientific consensus that HIV caused AIDS. This led to policies preventing thousands of HIV positive mothers in South Africa from receiving anti-retrovirals. It’s estimated these policies led to the loss of more than 330,000 lives (Chigwedere 2008). Clearly the consequences of denying science can be dire, even fatal.

Read more…

The Times Online recently featured an article on the increasing number of courses on Carbon Management/Climate Change in the UK. An excerpt from the article:

“.. The aim of both courses is to prepare students to help governments, businesses and individuals to move towards low carbon economies and a more sustainable way of living. Teaching has an interdisciplinary focus, and students should develop a thorough understanding of climate change science, economics and policy.. “

The entire article can be found here.

Charlie Henderson from Climate Futures has a tremendous opportunity for a Carbon Management or Software Design MSc dissertation that would consist of designing community carbon footprint software.
Click here for more details.

The Scottish Climate Change Impacts Partnership (SCCIP) asked us to post a link to some of their upcoming events, including one with a focus on ‘Health & Highlands’.

Click here for more info.

The end is in sight! Not the end of the world, we hope, but of the
COP15 negotiations.  As we enter the second half of the last week,
tensions are growing.  The limit on the number of delegates allowed
into the Bella Centre has caused much confusion, frustration and
frostbite; and has been disappointing given the level of organisation
usually evident in Scandinavia.  One can’t help but wonder what we
came all this way for, only to be turned away at the door…

But there is another side to the story: being unable to get into the
Bella Centre has let us explore the events occurring elsewhere in the
city.  Every advertisement has something to do with climate change,
every square has an exhibition on, and there is such a range of events
that I hardly know where to start!

Yesterday, I spent the morning in IETA (International Emissions
Trading Association), mingling with smartly dressed businessmen
engaged in discussions about the structure of various voluntary
emissions trading schemes, and the effects of climate change on their
business activities and stakeholder values.

The afternoon was then spent at the Klimaforum09, the largest
exhibition space out with the official UN conference. Here, there is a
focus on the humanitarian issues associated with climate change, and
open spaces encourage the discussion of mitigation and adaptation to
climate change through art and intimate brainstorming sessions.

The beauty of this conference is in its diversity: climate change is
something that will affect us all, and no matter what your interest
you will almost certainly find a way to get involved.  Although it is
a shame that not all of us can make it into the Bella Centre, I am
glad that it gives us the chance to explore the plethora of activities
occurring elsewhere throughout the city.

Hilda Galt

Jeremy Leggett brings years of experience on both sides of the climate negotiations, as a former geologist for Big Oil and then Greenpeace Campaigner.

Click here for an extremely valuable insight on the daily progressions (or regressions) of the COP15 negotiations.