Current Projects
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Adaptation to Climate Threats (IMPACT)
The IMPACT project brings together a global team of 57 experts from academia, government agencies and community groups, working across 10 case studies, with the aim of building mental health resilience by mainstreaming equity into all climate policies and decisions.
Within the project, I lead the UK (Black & South Asian communities) and West Africa (Urban youth in Ghana & Nigeria) case studies, where we are investigating how climate stressors pose cascading and compounding risks to mental health and attempting to characterise what constitutes a "severe" climate risk to mental health. IMPACT is led by Professor Sherilee Harper (University of Alberta) and funded by the Canadian Government through the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF). My work on this project is being conducted in collaboration with community partners, South Asians for Sustainability (UK) and youth-led non-profit, SustyVibes (West Africa).
Climate action and mental models of climate risk in Africa
The MECCA project (targeting MEntal models of Climate change risk to facilitate Climate Action) investigates the gaps between public perceptions and scientific projections of changing climatic conditions in Lagos and Lake Victoria. Learn more about our findings here.
Climate justice perspectives around the world
Climate justice has become the rallying call of climate activists around the world but it is unclear how the term is understood among the general public. This project examines public awareness of climate justice in 11 countries (Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Philippines, UAE, UK & USA) and how beliefs about climate justice relate to climate action and policy support. Learn more about our findings here.
Health and wellbeing in Nottingham during the 2022 heatwave
The UK witnessed record-breaking heat in summer 2022 with temperatures rising up to 40C in parts of the country. This project investigated the effects of the 2022 heatwave on the health and wellbeing of people living in Nottingham. Our focus was on determining how people's experiences of heatwave impacts were shaped by socio-economic inequalities and drawing insights from this to inform the development of socially just climate policies. The project was conducted in partnership with Nottingham City Council. Read the project report here. The project was further extended to examine the wellbeing impacts of the 2022 heatwave on the broader UK population. The findings from this extended analysis can be found here.
Psychological adaptation to climate change in the Pacific
People living in the Pacific island countries face risks from deteriorating environmental conditions, extreme weather, and climate change. This British Academy/GCRF-funded project investigates how young people in Fiji and the Solomon Islands are coping with, and psychologically adapting, to climate change risks. View the project page here.
Beyond plastic: UK public perceptions of anthropogenic litter in freshwater environments
Mismanaged plastic waste is a ubiquitous pollutant that has attracted growing public attention and action in recent years. However, non-plastic anthropgenic pollutants are just as common in the environment and the eco-toxicological impacts of these materials are much less understood. This interdisciplinary project examines UK public perceptions of anthropogenic litter in freshwater environments. It also aims to identify opportunities for leveraging concern about plastic to galvanise broader action on anthropogenic pollution.