Climate change is a defining issue of humanity's development, both now and into the coming centuries. It is an issue that touches every part of society, from politics to personal identity, affecting everything from one's health to restricting where people can live all around the world.
There is no business as usual scenario; regardless of an organisation’s stance on the climate crisis radical changes will be experienced, either as social and economic prosperity if innovative leadership is taken in transitioning to a net-zero world, or negatively due to the deterioration of the social and environmental landscape in the wake of unmitigated climate breakdown.
We have seen that it is not enough to know scientifically "what" climate change is, and "what" we need to do to solve it. For decades, escalating communication of "what" we need to do has seen frustratingly slow progress. Instead, rooted in the climate science, we need to know "how" to solve the climate crisis. For this, we need to better understand psychology (how rationally do people behave in response to risk and scale), social cultures (and their differing responses to climate damages), political theory (how might political systems handle such extreme changes), philosophy and art theory (to better understand how people relate to the environment, and to each other around the world), and so much more besides.
In fact, learning "how" to solve the climate crisis requires a radical and completely interdisciplinary approach. OCS seeks to de-silo research and thought patterns, educate across boundaries, and create networks of diverse people to come together and create novel opportunities to steer towards a prosperous post-crisis future.
Weekly Public EventsWe host a programme of weekly events during term every Monday at 7.15pm, and sometimes during the vacations. These explore diverse interdisciplinary perspectives on climate change, ranging from feminism to international development, politics to psychology, science to social issues and much more.
These events are always free to attend, open to the public, and you can receive the latest updates by following us on facebook, and signing up for our newsletter. These are currently all streamed in our YouTube channel and also summarised in our blog. |
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Oxford School of Climate ChangeOver the course of nine weeks, the School brings together a diverse group of participants and provides them with a comprehensive education in the core issues underlying climate change, as well as the most promising solutions that have emerged across the world to address it. Participants will get the unique opportunity to learn from some of Oxford University’s most distinguished climate experts, engage in lively and candid group discussions, and become part of our community of tomorrow’s climate leaders.
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Special EventsIn addition to our weekly public panel discussions and lectures, we host a number of other events throughout the year designed to grow participants' skills, encourage further interdisciplinary engagement, and and widen and strengthen the climate network at Oxford. These include, for example:
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BlogOur award winning blog is a platform providing reports and analysis of climate change in the news to promote global awareness of environmental issues, and providing explanations of key concepts in climate change so that people who care about the environment have the confidence to use them to argue for climate action!
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ZinesRISE is our artistic zine celebrating creativity in the age of climate change, and includes environmental engagement in forms including art, poetry, short stories and drawings (we have even had a symphony submitted!). The next issue’s theme will be 'Protecting the planet: politics and protest'. We further host socials and launch events, bringing everyone together for the warmer side of environmentalism with RISE!
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AnthroposphereAnthroposphere is our climate review, published in both print and digital copies. It covers climate change through a wide range of perspectives including natural science, economics, policy, and literature. Our vision is to make discourse on climate change accessible to all, and to highlight climate change's complex intersections with diverse aspects of society, cultural change, and everyday life.
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CampaignsDecarbonise Oxford
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Sustainability Action Guide
Sustainability on the Curriculum
This campaign is widening and improving coverage of climate change and sustainability on the curriculum. Oxford can't adequately prepare its students to provide leadership in the future until it comprehensively teaches on global and climate change. We work with students to augment reading lists, and also with subject committees to both integrate climate change into existing courses where opportunities naturally exist, and to develop new courses where necessary. In the past we have met with conveners of new courses, and co-hosted trial lecture series. We will also be collaborating closely with the SU on this over the coming year/s. |
Join Us!We are always looking to support passionate individuals and like-minded groups at Oxford!
You can join one of our many teams all year round, run for election to our core committee once per year, or use OCS as an accelerator or for strategic advice for your own new project! |
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