Researchers from Loughborough University have travelled to Dubai to take part in this year’s COP summit and showcase the projects they believe will help tackle climate change.
Among them is Carla Cannone, of Loughborough’s department of Geography and Environment, who has presented findings from a paper – published recently in the journal Energies – which highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts in tackling the challenges of climate change and energy planning in low to middle income countries.
The paper was written as part of Carla’s work for Climate Compatible Growth (CCG),– a UK Aid-funded initiative led by Loughborough – and presented at an event held in the COP28 Blue Zone SDG Pavilion.
The SDG7 Pavilion is hosted by the United Nations Department of Economic and Current Affairs (UNDESA), and brings together global experts and policymakers for discussions on how to accelerate action on climate change and the SDGs.
Alongside central events, CCG are also hosting a series of Side Events in and around the UNFCCC Blue Zone. Bringing together global experts and policy practitioners, the programme includes sessions on fossil fuels, transport sector decarbonisation and global green grids.
The CCG programme is led by the Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment and Resilience Centre (STEER) within Loughborough’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Researchers from STEER also lead the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme, an eight-year research programme funded by UKAid (FCDO), that is laying the foundations for an accelerated transition to clean, electric cooking on a global scale.
On 8 December, Professor Ed Brown, the co-director of STEER and MECS’ Research Director, will join a session in the Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) Global South Pavilion, which acts as the main hub at COP28 for discussing and showcasing how to unite global efforts on energy, climate and development.
The session, part of a series of activities MECS will be participating in at COP28, will bring together utilities, development banks and philanthropic organisations to explore how to accelerate the uptake of electric cooking globally under the new Global Electric Cooking Coalition (GeCCo).
Loughborough University's BA (Hons) Textiles Programme Lead, Jennifer Dranttel (pictured below), will also be showcasing her research focused on creating and using innovative materials to solve Mongolia's serious air pollution and other problems brought on by global climate change.
The research, conducted as part of her funded PhD at De Montfort University, is centred on creating a framework for making materials that prioritises sustainability and societal needs, while considering the availability of local resources.
It is hoped citizens will be able to use the framework – which will come in the form of an app and open-source teaching materials – to adapt their communities and homes themselves.
For example, waste streams and culturally significant materials such as Mongolian wool, fly ash and keratin can become the foundation for novel materials that can be used in short-term housing, material coatings, and other innovations.
The framework aims not only to assist Mongolia but also to be applicable in other developing countries, fostering grassroots efforts towards positive climate action.
ENDS