By Ken Chitwood, University of Southern California | – As a scholar of global Islam, I teach an introduction to Islam course and include a discussion about Al-Aqsa as part of the syllabus. That’s because Al-Aqsa has deep religious significance for Muslims around the world. But it is also important to highlight its remarkable political […]
Climate Crisis: Recent Evidence suggests Economists have severely underestimated the Financial Hit
By Timothy Neal, UNSW Sydney | – Scientists say severe climate change is now the greatest threat to humanity. Extreme weather is expected to upend lives and livelihoods, intensifying wildfires and pushing ecosystems towards collapse as ocean heatwaves savage coral reefs. The threats are far-reaching and widespread. So what effect would you expect this to […]
Top 6 Reasons why Global Temperatures are Breaking all the Records
By Andrew King, The University of Melbourne | – The world is very warm right now. We’re not only seeing record temperatures, but the records are being broken by record-wide margins. Take the preliminary September global-average temperature anomaly of 1.7°C above pre-industrial levels, for example. It’s an incredible 0.5°C above the previous record. So why […]
Made in America: How Biden’s Climate Package is Fuelling the Global Drive to Net Zero
By Alan Finkel, The University of Queensland | – (The Conversation) – Just over a year since US President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, it’s becoming clear this strangely named piece of legislation could have a powerful impact in spurring the global transition to net zero emissions by 2050. But […]
Climate Crisis: How Weather ‘Blocks’ have Triggered more Extreme Heatwaves and Floods across Europe
Tim Woollings, University of Oxford | – (The Conversation) – On several occasions this summer, Europe’s weather seemed to get itself stuck, leading to prolonged heatwaves and floods. In the UK, a long hot and dry spell throughout May and June gave way to a similarly persistent cool and wet period. In September, Europe saw […]
Despite the Welcome Surge of Green Energy, the World is not on Track to keep Heating below 1.5C; We must do More
By Pep Canadell, CSIRO | – It was a rare bit of good news on climate. The International Energy Agency this week released its latest net zero roadmap, showing it was still just possible to hold global heating to 1.5℃. In the last two years, we’ve seen major global investment in clean energy, spurred on […]
Portuguese youths sue 33 European Governments at EU Court in largest Climate Case Ever
By Marta Torre-Schaub, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne | – (The Conversation) – A little over three years ago, a group of Portuguese youths filed a legal action against 33 European governments to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over what they say is a failure to adequately tackle global heating. Now, the Strasbourg court […]
What is an Abaya − and why does it cause such Controversy in France? A scholar of European Studies Explains
By Armin Langer, University of Florida | – (The Conversation) – Worn by some Muslim women, an abaya is a long, loose-fitting, robelike garment that covers the entire body, except for the face, hands and feet. Through the abaya, women can express their religious identity and dedication to following Islamic guidelines regarding modest attire. In […]
Our Move to Renewables is only the Latest of Many Energy Transitions; We can do it Again
By Liz Conor, La Trobe University | – In 2022, the burning of fossil fuels provided 82% of the world’s energy. In 2000, it was 87%. Even as renewables have undergone tremendous growth, they’ve been offset by increased demand for energy. That’s why the United Nations earlier this month released a global stocktake – an […]