The Rest is Climate Podcast

This Rest is Climate podcast presents a framework for attributing systemic risk in urban environments to specific drivers like climate hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and societal responses. It argues that urban crises, such as the Cape Town "Day Zero" drought, are shaped not only by extreme weather but also by governance delays, unequal household capacities, and infrastructure design. By calculating a proportional "risk budget", the framework helps decision-makers identify which factors most influence a crisis and where adaptation investments should be prioritised. The author emphasises that human responses and socio-economic inequalities often contribute as much to systemic failure as the physical hazard itself. Ultimately, the research supports a more strategic and equitable approach to urban risk management by making complex interdependencies governable. This methodology encourages shifting focus from retrospective disaster analysis toward proactive, evidence-based policy interventions.

 

This Rest is Climate podcast draws on recently published research from the Climate Risk Lab: Simpson, NP., 2026.Attributing proportionality to climatic impact-drivers of systemic risk, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, [Systemic Risk Conference 24/09/2025 - 26/09/2025, Hamburg, Germany] https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1668/1/012001

This episode outlines the development of a crowd-sourced global directory designed to identify grey literature for systematic reviews of climate solutions. Recognizing that critical evaluation evidence is often produced by governments, NGOs, and private organisations outside traditional academic channels, the researchers propose a living database to address the limitations of existing, static search guides. The project employs a community-contribution model to aggregate local knowledge from a diverse network of international experts, aiming to capture insights from the Global South and Indigenous-led initiatives that are frequently underrepresented. By combining targeted market research with public submissions, the directory seeks to improve the comprehensiveness and equity of evidence identification in climate policy research. Ultimately, this open-access resource will provide a structured framework for categorising literature sources, ensuring that researchers can more effectively locate the real-world data necessary to address global climate risks.

It is based on a recent paper from the Climate Risk Lab: Fenton Villar, P., & Simpson, N. P. (2026). Protocol for a Crowd-Sourced Living Global Directory of Grey Literature Sources for Systematic Reviews of Evaluations of Climate Solutions. Campbell Systematic Reviews: Better Evidence for a Better World, 22(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/18911803261486366

This podcast highlights urban areas are essential hubs for integrating environmental policy with public health, potentially preventing millions of deaths by addressing the intersection of climate change and human well-being. This research identifies eight action domains, including sustainable food systems and nature-based solutions, that provide immediate, local advantages alongside long-term global cooling. By focusing on synergistic interventions, such as active travel and energy-efficient housing, cities can achieve significant improvements in air quality and physical health while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This approach transforms health benefits from a secondary consideration into a primary motivation for climate investment, offering a practical framework for meeting international sustainability targets. Ultimately, the authors advocate for integrated research and policy to capitalise on these near-term gains, ensuring that urban development prioritises both a stable climate and a thriving population.

It draws on recently published paper from the Climate Risk Lab: Eight urban action domains for improved climate-health outcomes. Nature Health (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44360-026-00198-8

This episode focuses on a review that examines the evolution of traditional, indigenous, and local knowledge as vital evidence for climate change adaptation between 2000 and 2025. The research identifies a significant surge in academic interest after 2015, highlighting a transition from merely observing environmental shifts to actively implementing governance and resilience strategies. By categorising 1,693 articles into five thematic clusters, the authors explore how these unique knowledge systems support food security, biodiversity, and disaster management. The study emphasises that while these categories overlap, Indigenous Knowledge carries specific rights-bearing implications that require distinct ethical safeguards and sovereignty protections. Ultimately, the source advocates for a plural-evidence approach that connects community-based insights with scientific modeling to create more legitimate and effective climate responses.

The episode is based on a recently published paper in the journal Advances in Climate Change Research entitled Traditional, indigenous and local knowledge for climate adaptation: trends, themes and governance implications (2000–2025), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2026.07.019

The Glo-CoH dataset is a comprehensive new digital resource designed to map the precise boundaries of UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in vulnerable low-lying coastal regions. Developed by a multidisciplinary team, the project digitised 1,250 individual areas across the globe that sit less than 20 metres above sea level to better assess risks from climate-driven sea-level rise. Researchers used high-resolution satellite imagery and official site plans to create these detailed spatial records, addressing a previous lack of accessible, high-quality data. A rigorous validation process confirmed the high accuracy of the mapping, ensuring it is a reliable tool for future environmental planning and preservation efforts. This open-access dataset allows for sophisticated geo-spatial analysis to protect cultural, natural, and mixed heritage locations from increasing threats like erosion and flooding. The authors intend to update the collection annually to reflect new inscriptions and evolving environmental conditions.

This Rest is Climate Podcast draws on the recently published paper from the Climate Risk Lab: Mapping the global distribution of coastal World Heritage Sites: Glo-CoH, a new Global Coastal Heritage dataset. Scientific Data. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07758-3.