Climate justice: International Open Access Week 2022
#OAWeek…is now open! Open access to knowledge is essential for tackling the climate emergency. ‘Openness can create pathways to more equitable knowledge sharing and serve as a means to address the inequities that shape the impacts of climate change and our response to them’, says SPARC, the organisers of International Open Access Week 2022. Opening on the 24th of October 2022, this year’s theme is ‘Open for Climate Justice’. OA Week 2022 raises awareness of the importance of outreach – for unlocking the solutions to climate change.
Unlocking barriers to knowledge, Research Outreach is giving you open access to vital climate change research to support #OpenForClimateJustice. Open up your horizons, and discover fascinating research on how collaborative global approaches using renewable energy concepts could avert environmental catastrophe. Plus, find out about ways we can harness the power of the forest to combat climate change and revitalise climate services in the developing world.
Renewable energy concepts for addressing climate change
Climate change is real, is here, and it will not go away – unless we do something. Based on current scientific advancements on energy systems, energy storage, renewable energy options, and understanding of the Earth’s feedback mechanism, there is hope that global efforts could help avoid an environmental catastrophe. However, the action plan needs to be global, based on collective approaches, and implementing state-of-the-art science. Professor Michael Düren, from the Center for International Development and Environmental Research in Germany, shares his thoughts on the bigger energy picture and proposes actionable approaches for overcoming the most important challenge of our life.
Natural-capital-based societies in the tropics: Harnessing forest function to combat climate change
Natural capital – assets derived from the natural world – forms the basis of national economic systems. When natural capital is depleted without reinvestment, there is a net reduction in national wealth, resilience, and living standards. This issue blights the Global South. Professor Mitsuru Osaki of Hokkaido University, Japan, a COP26 symposium leader, studies natural-capital-based societies in the tropics. Natural-capital-based societies aim to be carbon negative. With forests critical to water–carbon interrelation, forestation is key to this endeavour. Osaki promotes the concept of ‘land-surface management’ and suggests the adoption of three culture systems: AeroHydro, Zero tillage, and HydroCycle.
ENACTS: Risk, Resilience, and the Revitalisation of Climate Services in the Developing World
To build resilience and national capacity to manage climate variability and adapt to change, governments and other bodies need robust and decision-relevant climate information at different levels. In many places, however, including most African countries, collection of climate data has been seriously inadequate, and even when available, poorly accessible. The Enhancing National Climate Services (ENACTS) initiative, led by Dr Tufa Dinku of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), Columbia University, USA, aims to address these challenges by improving the availability, access, and use of climate information for enhanced climate services. Since its launch in 2012, ENACTS has expanded to 19 countries, effectively building and delivering climate services for national and local decision-making.
We encourage you to take the time to read these articles and engage with this year’s theme of #OAWeek2022 – Open for Climate Justice.