Publications | Page 3 | Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research

Adaptive Capacity of Transboundary Basins in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Sahel

Climate change will have a dramatic impact on the timing and flows of water across the globe. Responses to climate change in a transboundary river basin depend not on national and sub-national capacities alone, but also on the ability of co-riparian nations to communicate, coordinate, and cooperate across their international boundary so as to prevent as well as to take advantage of any benefits that may accrue from coordinated action. Evaluating transboundary river basins in light of their transboundary adaptive capacity sheds lights on likely ‘hotspots’ or areas of concern, as a lack of

The potential for thermal storage to reduce the overall carbon emissions from district heating systems

A report by researchers at Tyndall Manchester demonstrates that significant carbon emissions savings can be achieved through the addition of thermal storage to combined heat and power with district heating systems (CHP-DH). This study complements previous research which established the case for adding thermal storage to improve the viability of CHP-DH systems.

The Green Climate Fund and Lessons from other Global Funds’ Experience

Exploring the Measurement of Sustainable Development in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

This paper explores the consistency of a proposed method of measuring sustainable development in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), with particular reference to the Gold Standard, a premium CDM label. The research applies a sustainability matrix to 40 CDM and 40 Gold Standard projects to explore the relative influence of different drivers of sustainable development. The study finds that Gold Standard accreditation and project host country are the primary drivers of whether CDM projects have potential to promote a range of sustainable development benefits in this sample.

Towards a culture of low-carbon research for the 21st Century

The research community has highlighted for several decades the implications of greenhouse gas emissions for climate change. In response, world governments have agreed to limit global temperature change to 2°C, which requires drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In advanced economies, a commitment to a 2°C limit generally represents a reduction of emissions of between 80-95% from the 1990 baseline. Despite this, emissions from international aviation increased by 53 % between 1990 and 2011 in those countries.

The challenge of communicating unwelcome climate messages

With the probability that global temperature rise can be kept below the 2°C target continuing to diminish, citizens as well as economic and political decision makers need to engage with knowledge about the likelihood and implications of severe future impacts, and the scale of mitigation required to avoid them, the likes of which few want to hear. This working paper reflects on the challenges and offers guidance for the way ahead.

The global-scale impacts of climate change: QUEST-GSI (project completed)

Climate change impacts studies to date typically consider particular regions and sectors and use a wide range of socio-economic and climate scenarios.

This makes it difficult to assess impacts at the global scale and to compare impacts for different socio-economic and climate futures. Furthermore it makes it difficult to assess the effectiveness of proposed policy measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and so reduce the impacts of climate change.