School of Climate Change Michaelmas Term 2025 review: A course punching above its weight
No entrance exam, but don't be fooled; this climate change course shows Oxford at its very best. For anyone serious about climate change, this course truly delivers. This course is helping to change prevailing doom-mongering, mass media-driven narratives on climate change by highlighting solutions-based approaches, latest climate science, and clearer communication strategies.
From day one of the School of Climate Change (SoCC), it was clear that we were embarking on a course offering real solutions and fresh perspectives on climate change. After reading the SoCC student handbook, containing the profiles of some of the world's most highly renowned climate scientists, academics, and communicators, it is no exaggeration to say I was in awe.
The first lecture, given by Professor Myles Allen, looked at the work of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), on which he has served, and looked at the findings and recommendations from the report(s). Allen then went on to talk enthusiastically on carbon capture and geological storage. This involves compressing CO2 emissions and injecting it deep underground in suitable permanent geological storage sites. Allen’s talk was followed by a lively and informative Q&A session with the participants. To end the night, the SoCC group were all invited to a friendly ‘pub social’, giving everyone the opportunity to connect with new people in relaxed surroundings. I personally benefitted enormously, after feeling quite nervous at this first session.
The second lecture was on AI and machine learning and its relevance for climate modelling. During the talk, we were taken on a historical tour of numerical weather prediction, going all the way back to the early 1900s. Professor Klöwer introduced the basics of Chaos theory and the famous “butterfly effect.” Klöwer also discussed artificial neural network architectures which are being used to enhance complex climate system models. AI data centres, huge buildings housing massive data processing capabilities (in the form of state-of-the-art microchips), were discussed with input from the participants.This lecture left me wanting more, more, more!
Week three started with an introduction to the UNFCCC and the history of COPS from Alexis McGivern. We learnt about grass roots activism and the sometimes fractious relationship between COP delegates and the political powers representing the fossil fuel industry. McGivern then talked about the (then) upcoming COP30 and what we could expect from the summit.
Nature Based Solutions (NbS) was the focus in week four. We learnt that NbS play a crucial role in combating climate change but are no substitute for a rapid phasing out of fossil fuels . Participants were placed into groups during the session to consider a real-life case study involving coastal mangrove forest depletion. We discussed the benefits (e.g. tidal surge mitigation) and possible unintended consequences of restoring this habitat. After this session we had a delightful ‘pizza social’ with the intention of meeting our respective capstone group members. In a chosen ‘scenario’ we were put in teams of four or five students. My group’s project looked at communicating climate change in the face of governmental climate denialism and political obstruction (sound familiar?).
Week five explored climate change in the courts and the increasing number of litigations against corporate actors causing major environmental harm to the environment, hosted by Professor Ruper Stuart-Smith. We looked at the correlation of GHG emissions and a large percentage of heat related deaths ‘attributed to climate change across 43 countries’ (Vicedo-Cabrera et al. (2021). In week six, we looked at communicating climate change to the general public with Ayesha Tandon of Carbon Brief. My takeaway point was that when translating science, one should make sure you “don’t bury the lead”;a very engaging talk and discussion..
In week seven we considered the question: can economics solve the climate crisis? A number of economic models were discussed including the radical vision theorised by ‘Ecological Economics’, which advocates for combining a top-down state interventionist approach with recognising our finite environment. Week eight was about “urban futures.” Professor Chatterton spoke about his desire for the ‘decommodification’ of housing. He lives in Lilac Grove, a housing cooperative in Leeds comprising approximately twenty houses that have walls built of straw and are net-zero properties. He felt that we needed to “change the story” on climate change, and that we can save our cities by “living well within the limits of the natural world.“
Written by Dean Farrell (MT25 Participant)
Edited by Eleanor Hamilton Clark (SOCC Co-President)