Peat, also known as turf, is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers 3.7 million square kilometres (1.4 million square miles) and is the most efficient carbon sink on the planet, because peatland plants capture carbon dioxide (CO2) naturally released from the peat, maintaining an equilibrium. In natural peatlands, the "annual rate of biomass production is greater than the rate of decomposition", but it takes "thousands of years for peatlands to develop the deposits of 1.5 to 2.3 m [4.9 to 7.5 ft], which is the average depth of the boreal [northern] peatlands", which store around 415 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon (about 46 times 2019 global CO2 emissions). Globally, peat stores up to 550 Gt of carbon, 42% of all soil carbon, which exceeds the carbon stored in all other vegetation types, including the world's forests, although it covers just 3% of the land's surface. Sphagnum moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most common components in peat, although many other plants can contribute. The biological features of sphagnum mosses act to create a habitat aiding peat formation, a phenomenon termed 'habitat manipulation'. Soils consisting primarily of peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding or stagnant water obstructs the flow of oxygen from the atmosphere, slowing the rate of decomposition. Peat properties such as organic matter content and saturated hydraulic conductivity can exhibit high spatial heterogeneity.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Concordats set out agreed frameworks for co operation, between it and the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, which have devolved responsibilities for these matters in their respective nations.
Food miles is the distance food is transported from the time of its making until it reaches the consumer. Food miles are one factor used when testing the environmental impact of food, such as the carbon footprint of the food.
Barbara Mary Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, was a British economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries. She urged Western governments to share their prosperity with the rest of the world and in the 1960s turned her attention to environmental questions as well. She was an early advocate of sustainable development before this term became familiar and was well known as a journalist, lecturer and broadcaster. Ward was adviser to policy-makers in the UK, United States and elsewhere.
The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is an independent policy research institute whose stated mission is to "build a fairer, more sustainable world, using evidence, action and influence in partnership with others." Its director is Dr Andrew Norton.
Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) is an independent, not for profit policy studies institute, a green think tank and a leading centre for the analysis and development of environmental policy in Europe and beyond. It has a strong reputation among national and European policy-makers and non-governmental organisations. The Institute is based in Brussels with a branch office in London and a network of partners in other countries, which are particularly strong in the member states of the EU. These include universities, environmental and professional associations in a range of sectors, research institutes and consultancies. IEEP brings a non-partisan analytical perspective to policy questions, engaging in both pressing short-term questions and long-term strategic studies.
Sunita Narain is an Indian environmentalist and political activist as well as a major proponent of the Green concept of sustainable development. Narain is director general of the India-based research institute for the Centre for Science and Environment, director of the Society for Environmental Communications, and editor of the fortnightly magazine, Down To Earth.
Camilla Toulmin FRSE is a British economist and former Director of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Her career has focused on policy research about agriculture, land, climate and livelihoods in dryland regions of Africa. She became a senior fellow of IIED in late June 2015, and is Professor of Practice at the Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University.
Danielle J. Nierenberg is an American activist, author and journalist.
The contributions of women in climate change have received increasing attention in the early 21st century. Feedback from women and the issues faced by women have been described as "imperative" by the United Nations and "critical" by the Population Reference Bureau. A report by the World Health Organization concluded that incorporating gender-based analysis would "provide more effective climate change mitigation and adaptation."
Mike Shanahan is a British biologist and writer whose work focuses on rainforests, climate change, biodiversity and related issues. He studied at the University of Leeds, where he received a BSc in biology, MSc in biodiversity and conservation and PhD in rainforest ecology. Between 1997 and 1999, he undertook research in the rainforest of Lambir Hills National Park, in Sarawak, Borneo, and on an island volcano: Long Island, Papua New Guinea. His research focused on figs and the animals that eat them.
Caroline King-Okumu is an international development opportunities manager for the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. She was formerly a senior researcher for the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Her major areas of research are dryland ecosystems, economic and environmental assessment, and climate change. She is considered an international expert on land and water management, particularly drylands agriculture. King-Okumu is based in Kenya but is involved in research and projects throughout the world.
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, and conservation strategist. She is the founder and president of Ocean Collectiv, a consulting firm that helps find ocean "conservation solutions grounded in social justice", and the founder of Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for climate change and ocean conservation policy in coastal cities.
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation.
Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger is a full professor, senior executive, an international expert in policy, law and governance on climate change, biodiversity, human rights, trade, investment and financial law and the world's Sustainable Development Goals. She currently serves as Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge, UK; executive secretary of the global Climate Law and Governance Initiative (CLGI) and senior director of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL). She is also a Fellow in Law & LLM/MCL Director of Studies at the Lucy Cavendish College; fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law; visiting fellow at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy and Fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Energy, Environment & Natural Resource Governance. Further, she is full professor at the University of Waterloo School of Environment, Enterprise and Development in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where she is also senior fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) and senior advisor to the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC3). She serves as chair of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Biodiversity Law & Governance Initiative; rapporteur for the International Law Association Committee on Sustainable Natural Resources Management; co-founder member of the board of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) of Canada; member of the International Law Association (ILA) Board of Canada; co-founder and councillor of the World Future Council.
Lee Constable is a science communicator, television presenter, children's author, and biologist. She is best known for her work as a presenter on Scope between 2016—2020, Network Ten's science show aimed at children aged 7–13.
Aliénor Rougeot is a Canadian-French climate justice activist.
Maria Emma Horne is a Ugandan climate activist and entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Better Living Initiatives Global, a not for profit that works to improve environmental conservation and access to health and education through capacity building. Through BLI Global she has collaborated across the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia on environmental projects including the Saving Dolphins project with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bangladesh in 2019. She is also the co-founder of BLI Global Capital, an investment management company focused on impact investing that has started three funds to increase finance flows into impact driven businesses.
Tamara Toles O'Laughlin is an environmental activist, climate strategist, and the CEO and President of the Environmental Grantmakers Association.
Scarlett Westbrook is a British climate justice activist and journalist. She is the youngest person in the world to have an A Level in Government and Politics, and is particularly noted for her work in climate and education policy, which has seen her become the youngest regular policy writer in Parliamentary history. She is a spokesperson and coordinator with the UK Student Climate Network and head of political engagement at Teach the Future, as well as a prominent figure in the Fridays for Future movement.
