Q&As in 2009

Oxford economist Dieter Helm co-edits a new book, The Economics and Politics of Climate Change, due out next month. Anna Barnett caught up with him in London to get his take on a long-term strategy for reducing emissions.

Glaciologist Lonnie Thompson has spent more time above 20,000 feet than any other human being. In collecting a vast library of ice samples from mountain peaks, he has developed a unique view of past and present-day climate change. Anna Barnett caught up with him at the American Geophysical Union's Chapman Conference on Abrupt Climate Change, held 15–19 June at Thompson's own Ohio State University.

Climate change represents the biggest health threat of the twenty-first century, according to a new report published 16 May in The Lancet. Olive Heffernan talks to lead investigator Anthony Costello, director of the Institute for Global Health at University College London.

A climate congress in March aims to update the assessment of global warming. Olive Heffernan talks to the meeting's chair about the tasks that lie ahead.

Due to launch 24 February, NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) will measure carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere with a precision high enough to detect the origin and fate of carbon emissions. Principal investigator David Crisp talks to Anna Barnett about hopes and expectations for the programme.

The new Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at the London School of Economics and the University of Leeds launches 27 January. Andrew Gouldson — who will co-direct the centre with Judith Rees, under chairman Lord Nicholas Stern — argues that researchers should be zooming in on regional change and talking to local stakeholders while the world makes the push for a global climate deal. Interview by Anna Barnett.