Date Published: 18.09.2019
Wadham Fellow Nathalie Seddon is launching a new science-into-policy tool to help tackle climate change through nature at the UN Climate Week in New York.
Following a major systematic review of studies testing the effectiveness of nature based solutions in dealing with the impacts of climate change, the Nature-based Solutions Initiative, Directed by Professor Nathalie Seddon, has created an online, interactive Effectiveness Evidence Tool.
Nature-based Solutions (NBS) involve working with and enhancing nature for societal good. The research consolidates evidence that such solutions can help protect us from climate change impacts while slowing further warming, supporting biodiversity and securing ecosystem services on which human well-being depends.
“The potential of nature based solutions to provide the intended benefits has not been rigorously assessed and scientific evidence for their effectiveness is dispersed and difficult to access so we wanted to address this problem,” commented Nathalie. The Evidence Tool on NBS effectiveness categorises studies investigating links between interventions and climate impacts. It will provide a key resource for policymakers, practitioners and researchers in helping develop science-based targets for nature in climate change policy and practice.
Working with experts from across the University of Oxford and beyond, and in collaboration with partnerships across the globe, the NBS Initiative consolidates and communicates evidence for the power of nature in tackling global challenges. Its mission is to enhance understanding and awareness of NBS and to help increase their implementation.
“We apply leading-edge thinking from across multiple disciplines to shore up the scholarship around the socioeconomic and ecological effectiveness of NBS in a warming world,” added Nathalie.
“We collate scientific information on nature-based climate change adaptation and make this more accessible to decision-makers through this platform. We also assess the role of NBS in climate change policy, with a focus on the plans of all signatories of the Paris Agreement. The goal is to facilitate the process by which climate pledges are revised and to scale up ambition for nature.”
Working with Wadham MPhys student Oliver Driver, Hannah has demonstrated that state-of-the-art high-resolution atmospheric simulations are able to mimic the fractal dimensions of clouds, copying their behaviour.
Fellow Nathalie Seddon to co-direct Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery
