Climate in Society – IUCA website

UCT study calls for climate services rooted in local knowledge

NikkiMorse — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 10:53:22 +0000

A new study led by Dr Petra Holden of the African Climate & Development Initiative (ACDI) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) compared priorities for strengthening existing climate services for nature-based solutions in sub-Saharan Africa with priorities for entirely new climate services. A clear finding was the strong demand for meaningful integration of scientific knowledge with indigenous and local knowledge in climate-service co-production.

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Most Australians doubt health system is ready for climate-related emergencies, national survey finds

NikkiMorse — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:59:13 +0000

Most Australians recognise climate change as a serious national issue, and many believe it poses a serious risk to their personal health, according to major new research led by the Australian Institute of Health Innovation (AIHI) at Macquarie University published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

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Aluta-Rore Elevates Women’s Indigenous Knowledge in Pacific Climate Resilience

NikkiMorse — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:01:02 +0000

For generations, women across the Pacific have stood as the unsung architects of food security. Through traditional gardening, reef gleaning, fishing, and food preservation, their inherited ecological wisdom has sustained households through shifting weather patterns, climate-related issues, and socio-economic pressures.

This philosophy forms the bedrock of Alice Clara Aluta-Rore’s academic mission as a Doctor of Philosophy candidate in Pacific Studies at The University of the South Pacific (USP). Under the prestigious Norway-Pacific Ocean-Climate Scholarship Programme (NPOC), a bi-institutional initiative between USP and the University of Bergen, Norway, Rore is documenting how rural Solomon Islands women utilise local knowledge systems to build climate-resilient futures.

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Climate risk is changing where banks lend – before disaster strikes

NikkiMorse — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 12:49:14 +0000

As a finance researcher at the UNSW Sydney Business School, and Senior Deputy Director of the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response, A/Prof. Romero Cortes says climate change is increasingly a financial problem.

She is the co-author of a new study, suggesting banks are adjusting their behaviour in anticipation of physical climate risk, before storms, floods or fires translate into financial losses.

“The finance side of climate risk isn’t just ‘disaster happens, then bank suffers’,” A/Prof. Romero Cortes says.

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“E-walleting the sun”: Challenges of affordability and justice for South Africa’s energy transition

NikkiMorse — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 12:30:09 +0000

South Africa’s energy transition has gained significant momentum in recent years, driven by the urgency of load shedding and growing investment in renewable energy. The electricity crisis easing has catalysed questions about whether the country can balance climate commitments, energy security, affordability and social justice.

These, among other critical questions, shaped the sixth instalment of the Collective Conversations: On Science for Society, a dialogue series hosted by the University of Cape Town (UCT).

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University of Leeds launches ambitious new Framework for Environmental and Social Responsibility

NikkiMorse — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 11:12:39 +0000

The University of Leeds has launched its new Framework for Environmental and Social Responsibility 2026–2030, setting out a bold, integrated vision to embed sustainability and social impact across all aspects of university life.

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USP Opens Landmark Sustainable Energy Training Centre for the Region

NikkiMorse — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:09:08 +0000

The University of the South Pacific has officially opened its new Sustainable Energy Training Centre, a purpose-built facility designed to support hands-on training in solar technology, energy efficiency, battery storage and other emerging clean-energy fields.

As USP Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council, the Right Honourable Siosiua Utoikamanu noted, “This is a significant investment, not simply in a building, but in the people and skills that will support the sustainable energy future of Fiji and the Pacific.”

The Centre was officially opened by Fiji’s Minister for Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport, Honourable Ro Filipe Tuisawau, who highlighted the vital role renewable energy skills will play in supporting sustainable development and climate resilience across the region.

Developed through strong partnerships with government, industry and regional stakeholders, the Centre will help equip students, technicians and professionals with the skills needed to support the Pacific’s growing renewable energy sector and sustainable development goals.

USP also acknowledges and sincerely thanks The Philanthropic Foundation from the United States, whose generous support helped make this facility a reality.

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Professor Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe Delivers Inaugural Lecture on Climate Change, Indigenous Knowledge and Health

NikkiMorse — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 14:02:57 +0000

Professor Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe, Professor of Population Studies at the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS) and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Development, has delivered his Inaugural Lecture at the University of Ghana. The Lecture, titled “Reading the Skies and Healing in the Land: Climate, Indigenous Knowledge and Health”, examined the relationship between climate change, indigenous knowledge and health, drawing on Professor Codjoe’s research in communities across Ghana.

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Shaping global climate education

NikkiMorse — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:15:48 +0000

A new children’s book is bringing indigenous knowledge to the heart of global climate education, while preserving a threatened language.

Tualang Honey, developed through the School of Education’s ‘Voices of the Rainforest’ project, tells the story of the Jahai Orang Asli community in Malaysia and their deep connection to the rainforest they call home.

Written by Dr Syafiq Mat Noor, Lecturer in Climate Change Education at the University of Leeds, the book is one of the first published children’s texts in the endangered Jahai language, and is part of an effort to rethink climate education.

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Adapting to climate change

NikkiMorse — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:51:18 +0000

Climate adaptation is not primarily a technical problem that can be solved with information alone. It’s a social, political and developmental process. Transformative climate adaptation requires understanding vulnerability, navigating trade-offs across scales and bringing different capacities and knowledge together to effect change. Professor Gina Ziervogel, the director of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), based in the Faculty of Science, discusses this further.

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