UBC IRES

⚡With 40% of the world’s known geothermal reserves, Indonesia plans to become a “geothermal superpower.” Join Dr. Emily Yeh for her seminar on the political economy of geothermal development in Indonesia.
🔗https://ires.ubc.ca/march-12-2026-ires-faculty-seminar-with-dr-emily-yeh/
@colorado.edu

The law can help us adapt to the current climate crisis — by weaving itself with existing Indigenous laws and practices, and reining in companies that consistently underprioritize the landscapes around us.

Dayna Rachkowski on the Conference on Environment & Law:
ciaj-icaj.ca/en/2026/02/1...

Is India eyeing B.C.’s LNG and critical minerals?
And how did China come to dominate the global renewables market? ⚡🔋

CBC's @jasondsouza.bsky.social asked. IRES's Milind Kandlikar answered:
cbc.ca/listen/live-...

📚 Join us to learn more about UBC Library services and tips and tricks for finding environmental research and information that will save you time and energy.

ires.ubc.ca/march-5-2026...

Trump ditched the bedrock of US climate action — experts caution Canada not to follow suit The Trump administration's move to gut the bedrock of US climate legislation last week presents Canada with an inevitable choice: lower our standards to meet theirs and remain competitive in North…

Trump ditched the bedrock of US climate action — Dr. David Boyd and other experts caution Canada not to follow suit. Boyd explains that the repeal of the endangerment finding "is based on junk science and is probably unlawful. Canada must not follow suit.

www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/13/n...

Canada not on track to hit cli­mate tar­gets, study finds | The Hamilton Spectator OTTAWA A new study pub­lished Fri­day by the Cana­dian Cli­mate Insti­tute says Canada is not on track to meet any of its cli­mate tar­gets — not the 2026 interim emis­sions reduc­tion tar­get,...

Dr. Simon Donner responds to the Cli­mate Insti­tute report that says Canada is not on track to meet cli­mate tar­gets due to “a slack­en­ing of policy effort over the past year, marked by the removal or weak­en­ing of cli­mate policies across the coun­try”

🔗 www.pressreader.com/canada/the-h...

Creating Communities to Help Interdisciplinary Scientists Thrive - Eos Solving complex challenges often requires diverse expertise, but skepticism remains within traditional academic institutions and mindsets regarding interdisciplinary science and scientists.

Dr. Navin Ramankutty explains that as more researchers connect across disciplinaries, science will be better able to pursue solutions that address complex, urgent problems to secure livelihoods, food security and to safeguard our planet’s environmental health.

Learn more: eos.org/opinions/cre...

✊🏽 Join Dr. Sally Pusede for her talk on coal dust pollution and environmental justice.

ires.ubc.ca/february-26-...

A Reminder About The Food We Eat: "Every Seed We Place In The Earth Is An Act Of Trust" - CleanTechnica Being good stewards of this planet that so generously sustains us is the single most important thing we humans can do.

How can we reconcile our love of food with the reality that many are sourced in ways that are warming our planet? Research by Juan Diego Martinez and Navin Ramankutty explains how agricultural policies can make peace with the climate through different declarations.
cleantechnica.com/2026/02/09/a...

Dropping EV mandate for emissions standard 'a mistake' in Carney's auto strategy: Climate scientist Simon Donner, a climate scientist and University of British Columbia professor, told CBC Radio's The House that Prime Minister Mark Carney's new auto strategy is 'hamstrung by the fact that we work with...

🚗⚡Simon Donner shares his viewpoint about Mark Carney's new automotive plan, which he believes is 'hamstrung by the fact that we work with the North American automakers who are influenced by the U.S. government - and who are frankly behind on electric vehicles.'

🔗 www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

Student Column: Perspectives on the Environment and the Law | Environmental Justice, Trees, and the Law | Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice University of British Columbia PhD student Dayna Rachkowski highlights the key themes addressed during the third day of CIAJ’s 49th Annual Conference. In her post, she explores the role of law in adap...

[Student Column: Perspectives on the Environment and the Law] 🌱 Environmental justice, trees, and the law: how can we rebalance our systems in the face of the climate crisis?
Dive into the conversation with Dayna Rachkowski (@ires.ubc.ca) → ciaj-icaj.ca/en/2026/02/1...

Encouragement boosts people’s likelihood to take climate action The fight against climate change is often framed as a sacrifice: eat less meat and drive less often. But those actions could also be framed positively: eat more plants and ride bikes more often. A…

☺️🌍 The fight against climate change is often framed as a sacrifice, Jade Radke's study finds presenting environmental action in a proactive light makes people more likely to act. "Clear, actionable alternatives make it easier for people to engage," Radke explains.

news.mongabay.com/short-articl...

Reminder that there is no IRES Seminar on February 19 due to the Midterm Break (Feb 16 - 20, 2026). Wishing all the students at UBC a great reading week!

Will Canada's new auto strategy put as many EVs on the road as Car­ney says? | CBC Edition Des­pite wide­spread approval from provinces and auto man­u­fac­tur­ers, Prime Min­is­ter Mark Car­ney's auto plan might not accel­er­ate the trans­ition to elec­tric vehicles as fast as...

⚡🚘Mark Carney has unveiled the government's new auto strategy – which pulls the plug on the EV sales mandate, but includes measures to encourage Canadians to buy EVs. Simon Donner weighs in on whether the policy will result in more EVs on Canadian roads.

🔗 www.pressreader.com/canada/cbc-e...

Simon Donner, second from left, a climate scientist and professor at the University of British Columbia, stands with three other panellists behind a podium (CBC Kids News)

“I think the climate scientists and activists of my generation have done a great disservice to the next generation because we have scared the crap out of them...”

@simondonner.bsky.social stresses the importance of hope when it comes to climate change

buff.ly/UHMAeQl

© CBC/Radio-Canada 2026. All rights reserved.

LISTEN: Carney pulls the plug on the #EV sales mandate, but includes measures to encourage Canadians to buy EVs and companies to build and sell those cars here. @simondonner.bsky.social comments. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... via @cbcnews.ca @ubcgeography.bsky.social @ires.ubc.ca

Silvopasture Gains Momentum in the Amazon, but Can It Shrink Beef’s Footprint? Ranchers need extensive financial support with silvopasture; experts say that payments for ecosystem services or tax breaks could prevent people from switching back to more lucrative monocultures…

“Farmers may seem like the main decisionmakers, but actually macro-scale factors like policies and market conditions are what drive adoption" explains Tatiana Chamorro-Vargas who is featured in the Good Men Project for her research on silvopastoral systems.

🔗 goodmenproject.com/featured-con...

Your dinner may be heating up the planet: study shows that almost half the world's population needs to change their diet. A global study indicates that the dietary choices of 44% of the population already exceed the climate limit and are putting pressure on the 2°C target.

🌍🍔 IRES student Dr. Juan Diego Martinez's study shows that food systems account for more than a third of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity and encourages people to "vote with their forks."

🔗 en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br/Your-dinner-...

There's now clear scientific consensus that demand in rich countries pushes environmental harm elsewhere, says IRES's Naia Ormaza Zulueta.

Case in point: Canada recently reversed its ban on exporting many single-use plastics, letting producers ship them abroad even though they’re banned at home.

WATCH — We asked 100 kids how hopeful they are about their futures In a townhall meets game show, CBC Kids News asks 100 kids in Vancouver, British Columbia, about their futures. Are they hopeful?

Climate change blames individuals when it is big corporations at fault, say teens. @simondonner.bsky.social was one of the experts at the event. www.cbc.ca/kidsnews/pos... via @cbcnews.ca @ubcgeography.bsky.social @ires.ubc.ca

🌱⚡ Join us for our upcoming seminar, given by two IRES grad students! Topics: Can profit maps trigger win-win management solutions for the environment and farmers? and Socio-Economic Wellbeing in B.C.'s Energy Transition.

🔗 ires.ubc.ca/february-12-...

Silvopasture Gains Momentum in the Amazon, but Can It Shrink Beef’s Footprint? Ranchers need extensive financial support with silvopasture; experts say that payments for ecosystem services or tax breaks could prevent people from switching back to more lucrative monocultures…

Graduate student Tatiana Chamorro-Vargas was interviewed about her review paper, and was featured in an article on silvopastoral systems, which combine trees and pasture:

news.mongabay.com/2026/01/silv...

🧠🫶🏽 By integrating perspectives from positive psychology and public policy, this talk explores an approach to reimagine how societies can secure a high quality of life for everyone, beyond the limits of efficiency or consumption-driven paradigms

🔗 ires.ubc.ca/february-5-2...

Changing your diet could help fight climate change: report UBC’s Dr. Juan Diego Martinez discusses how changing your diet could help fight climate change with Your Morning Vancouver.

Debates around flying less and buying fewer luxury goods are valid, says IRES's Juan Diego Martinez.

We need to reduce emissions any way we can.

However, food emissions are not just a problem for the richest—we all need to eat, so we can all make a change.

www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/vi...

Why most Americans misjudge which personal decisions contribute most to climate change | Milwaukee Independent Select Page

🌍While most Americans misjudge which personal decisions contribute to climate change, @jiayingzhao.bsky.social explains how more readily available information can help people more accurately estimate which actions are most effective.

🔗 www.milwaukeeindependent.com/featured/ame...

🌱🦅 This talk explores the multiple meanings and effects of new nonhuman neighbours, and how to support more inclusive and transparent environmental decision-making.

ires.ubc.ca/january-29-2...

@aisrayne.bsky.social

Photograph depicting wave impact on the lagoon-facing shoreline in Bikenibeu, Tarawa, on February 24, 2005. Photo: Julia Mayer Not all waves are created equal. Analysis of #Kiribati’s Tarawa lagoon shorelines show future flooding risk will not be uniform across the atoll based on wave direction line up. https://oceans.ubc.ca/2026/01/21/not-all-waves-are-created-equal/ @simondonner #JuliaMayer @UBCGeog @ubcires

Not all waves are created equal. Analysis of #Kiribati’s Tarawa lagoon shorelines show future flooding risk will not be uniform across the atoll based on wave direction line up. oceans.ubc.ca/2026/01/21/n... @simondonner.bsky.social #JuliaMayer @ubcgeography.bsky.social @ires.ubc.ca

Canadian dietary habits need to change to address climate change, research shows Doctor Juan Diego Martinez has been researching how the food we eat is affecting the Earth at UBC's Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. Shailee Shah reports.

Changing our diets can help save the planet!

Dr. Juan Diego Martinez talks about the findings of his research at IRES:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=osIU...

We're cheering on IRES alumna Ilke Geladi, who recently joined @utahstate.bsky.social as an Assistant Professor of Biology!

Opinion: Alberta’s oil economy has 10 years before electric takes over. It’s time to invest in the future. Alberta’s oil economy has 10 years before electric takes over. It’s time to invest in the future.

Alberta needs some straight talk about the global oil market, writes @ires.ubc.ca
profs Drs. Milind Kandlikar and David Boyd

via @calgaryherald.com