Exeter research in Carbon Brief’s top media papers of 2023

Research from the University of Exeter features in Carbon Brief’s list of climate papers “most featured in the media” in 2023.

Exeter authors are listed on four of the top 25 papers, including two in the top 10.

The list is based on scores from Altmetric, which tracks how often research papers are mentioned in online news articles, blogs and social media platforms.

“We now have more than 1,500 people working on all aspects of the climate and environmental crisis,” said Professor Lisa Roberts, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive at the University of Exeter.

“The level of interest in climate science continues to grow, and we are delighted to see our research featured in Carbon Brief’s list.

“These papers all involved co-authors at other institutions, and we will continue to work with partners in academia, business, policymaking and beyond to drive climate action in this crucial decade.

“Exeter’s work in 2023 also included substantial impact at the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai, where our researchers published high-profile research and helped inform the agreement reached by world leaders.

“Our efforts are increasingly focussed on solutions – working with a range of partners to bring about a sustainable future.”

Last year, the University launched Green Futures Solutions, a business support initiative to help companies reach net zero, make smarter use of natural resources and seize opportunities in the growing green economy.

The Carbon Brief top 25 papers featuring Exeter authors are:

• 8^th: Quantifying the human cost of global warming (Nature Sustainability). Press release here. Exeter authors: Tim Lenton, Ashish Ghadiali, Jesse Abrams.
• 9^th: Safe and just Earth system boundaries (Nature). Press release here. Exeter authors: Jesse Abrams, David Armstrong McKay, Tim Lenton.
• 18^th: Indicators of Global Climate Change 2022: annual update of large-scale indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence (Earth System Science Data). Exeter author: Pierre Friedlingstein.
• 22^nd: Antarctic extreme events (Frontiers in Environmental Science). Press release here. Exeter author: Martin Siegert.

Another paper co-authored by Tim Lenton (The 2023 state of the climate report: Entering uncharted territory) would have been second on the list, but was excluded because it was a special report and was not formally peer reviewed.

Exeter work published at COP28 also received significant media coverage, with hundreds of reports of the Global Carbon Budget and Global Tipping Points Report.