A Document's Geography: The United Nations Climate Change Conference as the Local Site of Global Policies

This paper examines the persuasive rhetoric used in political speeches at United Nations Climate Change Conferences. It addresses the significant global challenge of climate change and the pivotal role of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) and related events like the United Nations Climate Action Summit and World Earth Day in formulating policies and action plans through international cooperation. The study focuses on the rhetorical techniques employed in these speeches which not only enhance the persuasive impact of the speeches but also contribute to their artistic and expressive quality. Despite extensive research on political speeches within the UN context, there’s a noticeable research gap in examining persuasive rhetoric beyond the UN platform. This paper seeks to bridge this gap by providing a comprehensive analysis of persuasive rhetoric and discourse analysis in political speeches on climate change in various international and national contexts. The methodology includes a thorough review of related literature on rhetoric, communication, discourse analysis, and writing strategies. The study employs qualitative research methods, focusing on discourse and rhetorical analysis of speeches by world leaders from the seven continents at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The research aims to understand the structures, key elements, and dominant rhetorical appeals used in these speeches. It also seeks to develop an instructional plan to enhance skills in writing persuasive texts, with significant implications for policymakers, communication specialists, and researchers in the field of climate change. In summary, this paper provides valuable insights into the persuasive strategies used in climate change speeches, offering guidance for effective communication and policy-making in addressing the challenges of climate change.

Many countries pledged to take necessary measures and limit the global temperature rise to 2&#x2009;&#x00B0;C, or better yet, 1.5&#x2009;&#x00B0;C, at the United Nations (UN) climate summit in Paris. However, according to a survey from <i>Nature</i>, many scientists think global temperatures may reach a disastrous 3&#x2009;&#x00B0;C above preindustrial levels, and around 60&#x0025; of experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expect average global temperatures to reach that point by the end of the century if governments do not markedly slow the pace of global warming <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">[1]</xref>. That dynamic played out again during the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, United Kingdom, in November 2021. The prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, declared that 2&#x2009;&#x00B0;C of temperature rise would be a &#x201C;death sentence&#x201D; for island countries. On 13 November 2021, COP26 concluded with nearly 200 countries agreeing to the Glasgow Climate Pact, which aims to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5&#x2009;&#x00B0;C and finalize the outstanding elements of the Paris Agreement.

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the fact that any anthropogenic load or economic activity has an impact on the functioning of natural ecosystems, as demonstrated by the widespread practice of oil palm expansion. The purpose of this study was to develop methods for assessing strategies that play an important role in strengthening measures to protect biodiversity and ecosystems in Africa and Latin America, considering the impact of the decisions of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The study considers the materials of various international organisations on the problems of biodiversity related to climate crises, inefficient territorial planning, expansion of land for growing crops that deplete the soil or reduce the area of land needed to accommodate biota. The paper presents a sequence of steps to assess the impact of the decisions of the United Nations Climate Change Conference on biodiversity and ecosystems. The aspects of conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems in the context of the expansion of palm plantations are substantiated. The indicators of the ratio between the available land area for palm oil cultivation and the area threatening to reduce the biodiversity of Africa are analysed. Environmental solutions are substantiated, which correspond to the provisions of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in the context of biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, taking into account the expansion of large areas for palm plantations in Colombia. The practical significance of this study lies in the development of a methodology for the economic and mathematical assessment of the decisions of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which affect the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, and are the driving mechanism in creating an effective control system for tracking oil palm plantations, territorial development with the least environmental losses and high economic efficiency

The climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and communication around it has evolved into a “booming industry” over recent decades (Nerlich et al., “Theory and Language” 97). Language, in particular, influences how individuals perceive and respond to environmental challenges. Specific linguistic constructions– such as temporal framing – shape perceptions of urgency, responsibility, and impact, particularly as they relate to the climate crisis (see Weinrich). Thus, this chapter explores the complex relationship between climate change communication, language, and temporal perspectives, focusing on representations of the concept of futurity in media coverage surrounding the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) and the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). Through an analysis of English-language media outlets across diverse regions, this study seeks to uncover patterns in how language, particularly with respect to futurity, may shape public perceptions of the ongoing climate crisis. Despite its relevance, the topic of how the climate crisis is represented has only recently attracted attention within ecolinguistic research, a field traditionally centered on human-nature relationships within language (Fill and Penz). Therefore, this chapter aims to bridge that gap by examining the role of future-oriented discourse in climate communication. By investigating how temporal language is used to frame climate issues in media, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how ecological and linguistic perspectives intersect. This analysis is crucial not only for advancing climate change communication within ecolinguistics but also for enhancing public understanding of environmental issues. By examining how language frames climate discourse, this interdisciplinary approach demonstrates how strategic linguistic choices in media can encourage a more informed and proactive public response to the climate crisis.

The United Nations (UN) has proposed two actions against climate change between 2015 and 2021: “combat” in Goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and “adaptation” in the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (the Conference of the Parties COP 26). This chapter aims to highlight pathways and actions for addressing and adapting to climate change at higher strategic levels and urban planning and design at the local level. In 32 authoritative texts, the snowball technique and content analysis were used to discover the interactions between people, nature, and climate change adaptation. The findings revealed that lower-level adaptation methods, such as urban design techniques, were ineffective in responding to people's actions in public areas. In terms of SDGs and COP 26, epistemological awareness of normative variables crucial to the relationship between people and nature in public spaces adds significantly to this endeavor.

In this article, we examine how young climate activists make use of the United Nations (UN) constituency system to give voice to children and youth in global climate governance. Our study is based on a mapping of accredited youth nongovernmental organizations (YOUNGO) as well as fieldwork at two UN Climate Change Conferences, where we conducted interviews, observed events, and analyzed plenary interventions. Informed by constructivist accounts of political representation, the article pays attention to the performative relationship between institutionalized means of youth representation and “the represented.” When analyzing our material, we asked who speaks for youth, how youth are spoken of, and how institutions shape representative speech. Our study identifies three subject positions that offer competing interpretations of who youth are as a political community and what they want. Rather than taking youth’s demands and interests as a starting point for representative politics, the article illustrates how the UN constituency system actively constructs youth and effectively molds young climate activists into professional insiders.

E-government discourse implicates state-produced Websites to enable opportunities and citizen spaces on policy issues, subject to demands to be inclusive, engaging, and free from commercial interests. Policy-making for a global issue like climate change takes place at the inter-governmental United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC). It becomes critical to examine if and how the governments hosting this restrictive global policy-making space may engage citizens through their online presence—host country conference outreach Websites. The chapter explores relational underpinnings between states and citizens in such Websites by examining the values privileged by designers using mixed methods. Among UNCCC Websites from 2007 to 2009, the Danish government Website's enhanced features may have contributed to potential inclusivity for the inter-governmental process online compared to previous government's efforts. However, findings have shown such interactive Website's inherent design aspects may potentially shape the manner that climate conversations are limited in an assumed democratized space online.

Climate change has always been an important issue requiring international attention. The 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change was held on October 31st, 2021, in Glasgow, Britain. Mainstream media can reflect countries' attitudes towards climate change. This paper analyzes China Daily reports on the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) from functional linguistics, focusing on the change in attitude people have to COP26 and climate change. The study found that COP26 was regarded as an opportunity to handle the challenge of climate change. However, agreements are hard to reach because of conflicts of interest. Although countries eventually reached a compromise after COP26, active measures should be taken to improve climate change. This paper tries to discuss the attitude change based on Systematic Functional Grammar.

The decisions made at the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Nusa Dua Bali, have the potential to influence environmental policies in countries around the world, particularly policies to reduce global carbon emissions. This paper analyzed how the Indonesian media portrayed climate change issues during the Conference and the whether the Indonesian media and political actors have the same perspective on climate change issues. After examining approximately 160 news articles and press releases from political actors it was clear that the media and political actors, particularly environmental NGOs, paid careful attention to climate change. However, we found that the Indonesian government did not seriously manage this issue in the media, despite having the responsibility and authority to make environmentally friendly policies. Abstrak 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference diNusa Dua Bali merupakan even yang sangat penting, bukan hanya bagi Indonesia sebagai tuan rumah konferensi, tetapi juga bagi umat manusia di dunia, karena keputusan tentang pengurangan emisi karbon global akan dapat memengaruhi kebijakan tentang lingkungan hidup diseluruh negara dibumi ini. Penelitian ini menjawab pertanyaan tentang bagaimana media diIndonesia menyajikan isu masalah perubahan iklim kepada audiensnya danmencari tahu bagaimana aktor-aktor penentu kebijakan lingkungan mempunyai pemahaman tentang masalah perubahan iklim. Metode analisis dilakukan dengan analisis framing dengan menganalisis 160 artikel media dan pressrelease dari harian KOMPAS, REPUBLIKA, Kementrian Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia, WALHI, dan GREENPEACE Indonesia selama-sepanjang-setelah even 2007 UNCCC diselenggarakan danhasilnya menemukan bahwa media dan NGO menganggap sangat serius issue perubahan iklim ini, namun pemerintah Indonesia tidak menganggapnya serius, sehingga pemerintah Indonesia tidak serius dalam mengorganisasikan issue masalah perubahan iklim ini, padahal mereka adalah penentu kebijakan utama pengurangan emisi karbon.

Nowadays, climate science communication is an issue not only discussed within a country but more like a global urgent task that needs wide perspective. This study investigated the prevalence of news frames in Climate change news coverage from the Guardian and China Daily during the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Five news frames, attribution of responsibility, human interest, economic consequences, morality and conflict were applied to 59 Chinese news stories and 71 British news articles. By applying deductive framing analysis, the results showed that with slight variation, the proportion and pattern of reports on Copenhagen Climate Summit were similar across the two countries. This outcome extends the knowledge of developing and developed countries’ news coverage on climate change. Keywords: Climate change; UK; China; newspaper; Copenhagen

Water sprays from an open fire hydrant in Brooklyn, New York, in the midst of a July 2010 heat wave that affected much of the eastern United States.In 2007 the New York City Department of Environmental Protection first teamed up with Alianza Dominicana, a Washington Heights community organization, to educate city residents about the appropriate use of fire hydrants and other ways

‘A whole new world’: using new technologies to develop women's leadership in Kyrgyzstan by Joanna Hoare In the areas of both new technology and leadership, women everywhere tend to be under-represented. In this piece, we hear about an innovative programme in Bishkek, capital of the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, which combined these fields, developing women's skills, and enhancing community development in the process. To help Haiti, upend aid habits, and focus on its women by Elaine Zuckerman On 12 January 2010, a devastating earthquake struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti, killing tens of thousands of people. Those who survived are now struggling to rebuild their lives and their country. In this blog piece, originally posted in February 2010 on the website of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Elaine Zuckerman argues that it is imperative for Haiti that its women are directly involved in the reconstruction process. The 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference and beyond: an interview with Celeste McKay December 2009 saw the holding of the long-awaited United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen – officially, the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – where government delegates sought to reach agreement on new measures to combat climate change post-2012, building on the Kyoto Protocol. G&D wanted to know about how strongly the issue of gender featured in the talks, so we asked Canadian environmental activist and campaigner Celeste McKay, who attended the Climate Change Conference, to give us her impressions, and to tell us more about her work with the Native Women's Association of Canada. Where is the money for women's rights? 2009 research highlights and reflections by Sarah Rosenhek and Cindy Clark Without adequate funding, effective work on women's rights becomes impossible. Over the past few years, The Association for Women's Rights in Development has been conducting research into the funding environment in which women's rights organisations are currently operating, and here, they share their findings with us.

Expanding influence of social media platforms on the internet has led to an increase in online public discourse and perception regarding varied crucial subject matters. Climate change and climate-related news are some of the most significant discourses online and we have established our work on the conversations in online forums. In this paper, we have analysed the online interaction among groups having differing perceptions and opinions regarding the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference(COP26). We have considered both sentiment analysis and stance detection of the posts for our perception analysis using homophily and polarisation. We have proposed a novel metric for determination of homophily score in the different interaction networks extracted from the social media platform Twitter. We observed that interaction in retweet network exhibits higher homophily and polarisation. The quote tweet network and reply-to networks shows less homophily with relatively higher interaction with users having alternate views.

For about 2 weeks, thousands of official delegates attended the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition, thousands of protesters and law enforcement officers were active in the streets, often at odds with each other. The confrontation between these two groups was sad to view, as both sides are on the same side of history. Their primary goal was to get the governments of the world to create a plan for a sustainable atmosphere. Yet, minimal agreement was reached. Watching from afar via television, the conference appeared to resemble organized chaos more than a high-level, enlightened, humanitarian consideration of our global climate change crisis. It was clear that many delegates were only concerned with the here and now, not with the future of the Earth's biosphere and humankind. According to Lester Brown, the human reasons for concern about climate change varied widely for the 193 national delegations who gathered in Copenhagen. Delegates from low-lying island countries were principally concerned about rising sea levels. For countries in Southern Europe, climate change means less rainfall and more drought. For countries of East Asia and the Caribbean, more powerful storms and storm surges are of growing concern. The climate change conference was about all these things and more. In a more fundamental sense, it was about food and water security for a population still growing at 80,000,000 people per year. It should have been, about human overpopulation, the single most important driving force responsible for all of our environmental concerns. The archaic and outdated format of this meeting often seemed like an exercise in bargaining, trading, compromises, and deal making. More world leaders attended this meeting than any meeting since the formation of the United Nations. Anyone who has ever organized or attended a large meeting knows that putting thousands of delegates in a conference room, with each delegate trying to promote his or her own agenda, is not the best way to organize and manage such a meeting. A much better approach would have been to have a significant portion of the work completed before arrival, with common ground already established between groups with common concerns. This usually requires organizational skills and coordination of efforts on behalf of these countries so that maximal impact can be achieved. When the delegations arrived at the meeting, they should already have had the relevant accurate data, knowledge, and policy positions on the major and Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 207:1–3 DOI 10.1007/s11270-010-0336-x

As we write this editorial in early December 2023, the 28th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP28), is underway. In the run-up to this event, the UN published its first Global Stocktake report [1]. This summarises the progress made towards the mitigation of global warming since the Paris Agreement of 2015 [2]. It tells us that while this international treaty has had positive impacts on the rate of greenhouse gas emissions, the rate of progress is likely insufficient to avoid global surface temperatures > 1.5°C above pre-industrial averages, at which point it is thought our capacity to adapt to climate change will be overwhelmed [3]. Many of the recommendations of the report describe various kinds of support that will be needed to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including increased financial investment; more transparent reporting of emissions; and measures to support transition away from fossil fuels [1]. Underpinning much of this transformation is a need for research. In some cases, this relates to the development of new solutions. In others, it relates to finding the best ways to implement existing solutions more widely, with particular attention drawn to the need to ensure that low- and middle-income countries are not left behind. Finally, there is a need to better understand the impacts of current practices and how these can be mitigated. In this environmental supplement of Anaesthesia, 11 commissioned articles offer readers an overview of the latest information about sustainable practices in peri-operative care. Two threads that bind these articles together are: an urgent need for action, considering that we are amid a worsening environmental crisis; and an acknowledgement that our understanding of sustainable peri-operative care remains limited. This puts colleagues in a difficult position; we don't have the option to do nothing, but in the absence of a more complete understanding – and given the complexity of healthcare systems – it is possible we may end up doing the wrong thing or missing an opportunity to do something better. Research into sustainable peri-operative care will reduce the risk of this occurring and given that the environmental crisis constitutes a health emergency [4], this should be a priority for researchers, healthcare professionals and broader society [5]. In this editorial, we summarise the research needs identified by the authors in our supplement, explain the factors that mark out high-quality sustainable healthcare research and direct readers to some of the resources and opportunities to support research in this area. We focus here on the UK, but many of the principles will be applicable worldwide. The environmental impacts of any item or process should be considered in terms of its entire 'life cycle', from extraction of raw materials through to disposal. In terms of the impacts on climate change, this is typically expressed in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, often converted into carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) using a metric called global warming potential (GWP) which integrates how much infrared radiation a gas absorbs and re-emits, and how long it persists in the atmosphere. As such, the GWP is expressed over a certain timeframe – usually 100 years (GWP100). Anaesthesia is one of a relatively small group of healthcare practices in which greenhouse gases are emitted at the point of use. In their articles on the climate science of anaesthesia, Nielsen and Sulbaek Andersen [6] and Slingo and Slingo [7] offer differing views on how we should assess the climate impacts of volatile agents, which are relatively short-lived greenhouse gases. Both articles acknowledge that volatile agents have very small overall climate impacts compared with carbon dioxide, but differ on whether GWP100 is a suitable metric to inform practice and whether choice of volatile agent is a worthwhile target for mitigation. This debate illustrates that there remains uncertainty about how to assess and report the climate impacts of anaesthesia and, perhaps, about where best to focus our efforts. Kanal and Fang remind us that climate change is not the only aspect of the ongoing environmental crisis that requires attention, noting, for example, that simply focusing on CO2e doesn't account for ecotoxicity or plastics pollution [8]. The Stockholm Resilience Centre defines nine 'Planetary Boundaries' (one of which is climate change), within which we must remain if humanity is to be able to meet the needs of generations to come (Fig. 1) [9]. While there are examples of assessments of the environmental impacts of anaesthesia that move beyond greenhouse gases [10], there is a clear need for research that acknowledges the complexity of the planet's systems and avoids so-called 'carbon tunnel vision', focusing only on greenhouse gas impacts because of their (relative) simplicity of quantification. While the environmental impacts of some industries (e.g. steel, aviation) are deemed 'hard to abate', meaning that environmentally responsible transformation would be prohibitively difficult or costly [1], healthcare is generally thought to be open to innovation. Perhaps the most obvious example of innovation is the development of new technologies which aim to reduce waste or improve efficiency. In their review, Ghandi et al. consider volatile capture technology [11], a group of devices that adsorb volatile agents from waste anaesthetic gases. The fluorinated compounds can then be desorbed, purified and (potentially) re-administered to patients. The obvious benefits of this approach include reduced material use to produce volatile anaesthetics and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, while the ability to deactivate energy intensive active scavenging systems may be less obvious but no less valuable [11]. But there may also be downsides; White and Montgomery raise the concern that volatile capture technology may be a distractive intervention that could promote maladaptive behaviours (e.g. if the volatile is being captured, why worry about low flows?) [12], and Ghandi et al. note that while volatile capture technologies all appear to perform efficiently in the laboratory setting, impacts in clinical practice are variable [11]. They outline the 'ideal characteristics' of a volatile capture technology system, and in doing so illustrate that the current technologies fall somewhat short of this aspirational standard. They also propose a series of research priorities which focus on investigating volatile capture technology in real-world scenarios, which would aid understanding of how these technologies could be deployed responsibly. Perhaps less controversial than the adoption of new technologies is optimising the use of established ones. Nitrous oxide has been part of the anaesthetic armamentarium since the mid 1800s, and its role in hastening the onset and offset of slow-acting volatile agents means that it was piped into many operating theatres built when these agents were commonplace. However, since the development of low-solubility volatile agents in the 1990s, and with the rising popularity of total intravenous anaesthesia [13], the clinical use of nitrous oxide has declined. This renders its delivery by complex (and often leaky) manifold and pipeline systems grossly inefficient, with portable cylinders more appropriate in many cases. Chakera et al. report the experiences and impacts of undertaking the Nitrous Oxide Project in three different institutions [14]. Discussion of the challenges encountered illustrates that even when the right thing to do is obvious, there is often a gap in understanding how to encourage individuals and institutions to use drugs, technologies and techniques more responsibly [15]. Perhaps the most positive aspect of making healthcare more environmentally sustainable is that it often results in superior (or, at least, no worse) outcomes for patients, and may also have financial advantages. The so-called 'triple bottom line', comprising environmental, social and financial considerations, is often used as a theoretical model to assess the value of interventions. For example, White and Montgomery point out that the most effective intervention would be to 'move medical funding away from reactive disease-care, towards personalised, preventative healthcare' [12]. If realised, this would result in fewer anaesthetics because healthier people need less surgical healthcare; this is clearly a 'win-win' but is also notoriously difficult to achieve. Perhaps more within our current capabilities is the call by van Hove et al. to invest in 'Getting It Right First Time' (GIRFT), and design out unwarranted variation in healthcare to reduce complications, cancellations and unexpected admissions to critical care, all of which are harmful to patients and the planet [16]. The authors note, however, that there is currently a dearth of information about 'carbon hotspots' in surgical procedures, which hampers our ability to standardise care in an environmentally responsible way. Considering the role of surgical teams in sustainable peri-operative practice, Ledda et al. use the Behaviour Change Wheel model to consider how teams respond to capabilities, opportunities and motivations [17, 18]. They note that behaviour is seldom simply a rational response to information and go on to describe a programme of research informed by behavioural change theory which will focus on three pillars: re-usable operating theatre textiles; anaesthesia; and waste reduction. The Behaviour Change Wheel model has been used recently to help understand why anaesthetists may adopt more sustainable practices, emphasising the growing research interest in the application of behavioural theories in accelerating change towards sustainable peri-operative care [15, 19, 20]. What do patients think about the ongoing efforts to promote sustainability in anaesthesia? In a review written by a team of patient representatives who draw on their own experiences in combination with key policy documents [21, 22], Knagg et al. explain that the sustainable healthcare agenda remains unknown to many patients and members of the public, who, quite understandably, tend to focus on getting better when they encounter healthcare services. But it is also clear that the environment matters to patients and the public, and leaves no doubt that patients expect to be represented in the processes (including the conduct of research) that may lead to changes in their healthcare [23]. A recent report from the World Health Organization highlights the urgent need for research to tackle unanswered questions in climate and health research and, given the required pace of change, to ensure that research carried out in this area is implemented into policy and practice [24]. For sustainability research to be implementable, it should take into consideration healthcare infrastructure and care pathways, as well as resource and logistical constraints [25]. The scalability of research and considering the potential for widespread adoption and application in diverse settings, populations and communities is also integral to the adoption of changing practice. Research conducted in sustainable healthcare should fully incorporate the principles of the triple bottom line. From an environmental perspective, it should reflect not only greenhouse gas emissions, but also the wider complexities of healthcare on the planet. From a social perspective, it should account for the well-documented intersectionality between environmental harms and other health inequalities [26, 27]. Designing research with equality and diversity at its heart is integral to developing meaningful outputs that can be translated to policy decisions and clinical practice. Bringing the patient and public voice into the sustainability agenda for clinical research is also vital in ensuring not only that interventions are acceptable, but that the public are empowered to engage on this topic and become drivers for positive change [5, 23, 28, 29]. There is increasing acknowledgement that the complexities of sustainable healthcare require research that transcends sectors and leverages expertise across disciplines. Interdisciplinary research is therefore a hallmark of quality [30, 31]. Engineering solutions, computer science and behavioural science are all examples of where engaging across sectors to deliver on new interventions in sustainable healthcare research has proven benefit. In addition to the above, the environmental cost of undertaking healthcare research is an important consideration. Adshead et al. estimated the carbon cost of clinical trials registered on the ClinicalTrials.gov database to be 27.5 million tCO2e, equivalent to just under one-third of the total annual carbon emissions of Bangladesh [32]. We must ensure that unnecessary environmental impact is not added through research which, like the rest of healthcare, must strike a balance between environmental responsibility, affordability and quality. General approaches to make research more sustainable include making efficient use of existing evidence and incorporating lower-carbon study design as described in the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Carbon Reduction Guidelines [33]. There is a growing body of literature examining sustainability in specific types of research such as the work on low carbon clinical trials and laboratory sustainability [32, 34]. A comprehensive approach to environmentally responsible research would be akin to a life cycle assessment and should encompass the entire research pathway from concept to dissemination. A report commissioned by the Wellcome Trust shows the growing amount of resource and support available to researchers [35]. From communities and networks to carbon footprint calculators, there is a wealth of information for researchers to access. Major UK funders of health research are engaged in the topic and the Medical Research Council, Wellcome and NIHR, among others, have signalled their interest in this area through multiple calls and a desire to increase the knowledge base in this area [36-38]. There is no shortage of research gaps in sustainable anaesthesia research, and multiple resources exist to help researchers identify them. Specific to peri-operative care, the Greener Operations James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership set out the top 10 questions according to patients, carers, the public and clinicians, and these have been highlighted and expanded in the recent Greener Surgery Report [5, 39]. Support exists too for specific research design queries. The new NIHR research support service provides advice to developing funding applications within the remit of the NIHR. In addition to general advice on study development and delivery, a new research support service hub delivered by Lancaster University and Partners offers specific advice on sustainable healthcare research and integrating sustainable healthcare principles into research practice. Support for researchers is summarised in Figure 2 (links to resources available in online Supporting Information, Appendix S1). It is clear from the articles in this special supplement that there is no shortage of passion among clinician-researchers, no shortage of opportunity to conduct research and no shortage of positive impacts that can be made. Nevertheless, there is much to do in sustainable peri-operative research with numerous challenges and contradictions: urgent action is needed but information is incomplete [6, 7, 11]; rapid progress has been made and yet operating theatres remain highly resource-intensive [8, 12]; implementation is challenging even when solutions are obvious [14, 16, 17]; 'easy' things can draw focus when sometimes 'difficult' things matter much more [7, 8, 12]; and all of this must be achieved without harming patient care [23]. The Global Stocktake report emphasises the need for investment in research [1] and it is heartening to see that taking place; not just in terms of funds, but in terms of development of expertise and sharing of resources through formal and informal networks. Closing the gaps in sustainable peri-operative research will rely on these collaborative efforts. It is increasingly recognised that sustainability is a 'core outcome' of everything that we do and we encourage researchers to consider the unmet research needs; collaborate across disciplines; and take the opportunities to undertake funded high-quality research in sustainable anaesthesia and peri-operative care. CS is Executive Editor of Anaesthesia Reports, a co-opted member of the Association of Anaesthetists Environment and Sustainability Committee, and the Sustainability Theme Lead for the NIHR Research Support Service Hub delivered by Lancaster University and Partners. SL was previously seconded to NHS England as Chief Sustainability Officer's Clinical Fellow. No external funding and no other competing interests to declare. Appendix S1. Links to online resources to support sustainable healthcare research. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.