By Christina Toenshoff, Assistant Professor of European Politics and Political Economy, Leiden University
Representatives of the world’s governments are gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan, to negotiate international climate policy at the Cop29 summit. Of the more than 30,000 participants, thousands will be representatives of companies or business associations – so-called “corporate lobbyists”.
There’s nothing especially new about this. The business community has sought to influence climate policy since global warming first came onto the political agenda in the…
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By Alison Carrol, Reader in European History, Brunel University of London
Three decades ago, the first Eurostar train carrying paying passengers set off from London’s Waterloo station for Paris. While many of the headlines on November 14 1994 focused on the historic journey, others speculated about what the tunnel would mean for business and trade. Eurostar was “set to steal the airline show”, with ferry companies “bracing for the fight”. And there were hopes of a trade boost for the UK.
The predictions were part of a long history of imagining a tunnel under the English Channel and what it would mean for both Britain and France. (The first proposal was reportedly…
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By Bleddyn Bowen, Associate Professor in Astropolitics and Space Warfare, School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA), Durham University
P.J. Blount, Assistant Professor in the Durham Law School, Durham University
What can be expected of a second Trump administration on space policy? In short, a mixture of continuity and change. There will be much continuity across military, civil and industrial space policy as these rarely diverge between political parties. Changes usually involve minor or incremental bureaucratic shifts.
Nevertheless, Trump’s swooning speech embracing Elon Musk, along with the SpaceX founder’s appointment…
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By Óscar Zurriaga, Profesor Titular. Dpto. de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública (UV). Unid. Mixta Investigación Enfermedades Raras FISABIO-UVEG. CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Universitat de València
Ángela Domínguez García, Catedrática Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Departamento de Medicina, CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Universitat de Barcelona
Eduardo Briones Pérez de la Blanca, Médico epidemiólogo, especialista en Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Junta de Andalucía
Federico Eduardo Arribas Monzón, Jefe de Servicio de Evaluación y Acreditación Sanitaria. Dirección General de Asistencia Sanitaria, Departamento de Sanidad de Aragón
Maria João Forjaz, Investigadora en salud pública, Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Pello Latasa, Responsable de Vigilancia en Salud Pública, Osakidetza - Servicio Vasco de Salud
Pere Godoy, Medical Doctor, Professor Public Health, Universitat de Lleida
Susana Monge Corella, Científica Titular. Grupo de epidemiología y vigilancia de virus respiratorios. Centro Nacional de Epidemiología., Instituto de Salud Carlos III
On 29 October, the unthinkable happened to thousands of people in the province of Valencia – in a matter of minutes, they went from going about their daily lives to being submerged or swept away by floodwaters, with many losing everything they own. A massive area of both countryside and densely populated town centres, home to around 300,000 people, has been ravaged by the floods.
Almost two weeks after the disaster, with cleanup and recovery…
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The Albanese government will develop and legislate a “Digital Duty of Care” to place the onus on platforms to keep people safe and better prevent online harms.
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By Germán Orizaola, Profesor Titular de Zoología / Associate Professor of Zoology, Universidad de Oviedo
Pablo Burraco, Investigador postdoctoral Juan de la Cierva Incorporación, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC)
Almost 40 years ago, reactor number four exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Since then, the surrounding area has become, to the surprise of many, one of Europe’s largest nature reserves. Over the last eight years, we have been working to find out how this infamous environmental disaster has affected the area’s fauna.
Radiation can damage cells and, with high exposure, can kill organisms. However, Chernobyl’s situation has changed…
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By Diane Elson, Professor of Sociology, University of Essex
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change includes a Gender Action Plan, adopted in 2017. The plan aims to “enhance the gender responsiveness” of climate policy and climate action. It outlines specific actions and strategies to promote gender equality and the participation of women in climate change mitigation.
This is in line with the mainstream approach to gender and climate change, which focuses on “including women” in the:
sectors that are the focus of transition to carbon neutral…
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By Debra Benita Shaw, Debra Benita Shaw is Reader in Cultural Theory in the School of Architecture and Visual Arts, University of East London
Samantha Harvey’s Orbital has won the 2024 Booker prize. What it so skilfully and ambitiously exposes is the human cost of space flight set against the urgency of the climate crisis.
While a typhoon of life-threatening proportions gathers across south-east Asia, six astronauts and cosmonauts hurtle around Earth on the International Space Station. Their everyday routine of tasteless food and laboratory work is in stark contrast to the awesome spectacle of the blue planet, oscillating between…
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By Saher
As migrant deaths in the Mediterranean go unreported, local organizations often handle recovery alone, reflecting the region's silent crisis and a system that fails those fleeing hardships.
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By Roy Green, Emeritus Professor of Innovation, University of Technology Sydney
Productivity is the greatest structural problem in our economy, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers. He says there is “no higher priority for reform”.
Announcing a A$900 million productivity fund to be shared with the states, the treasurer told a meeting of the Australian Business Economists on Wednesday Australia’s productivity challenges would take time to turn around.
The boost comes on top of measures in the ambitious…
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