BSc Environmental Science (University of York), MSc (Distinction) Climate Change (University of East Anglia), PhD Environmental Science (University of East Anglia)

Dr Rob Bellamy is Senior Lecturer in Climate and Society in the Department of Geography at the University of Manchester. He joined Manchester in 2018 after 5 years as James Martin Fellow in the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the social science of climate, nature, and technology, exploring how climate change and responses to it are perceived, evaluated, and governed. He has published widely on these issues in top interdisciplinary and disciplinary journals including Nature, Global Environmental Change, and Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. He is Editor-in-Chief of Dialogues on Climate Change, and Programme Director of the MSc in Climate Change: Science, Society and Solutions. He is Co-Investigator and Lead on Responsible Innovation for the UK’s national carbon dioxide removal directorate hub, CO₂RE, and for the Horizon Europe solar geoengineering research governance project, Co-CREATE. He was awarded a Presidential Fellowship at the University of Manchester from 2018 – 2022, and ‘Best Researcher of the Year’ 2021 for the University’s Faculty of Humanities. 

Current projects

Conditions for Responsible Research of SRM – Analysis, Co-Creation, and Ethos (Co-CREATE), funded by Horizon Europe, 2024 - 2026.

Visions Of, and Steps Towards, an Environmentally Sustainable Space Future, funded by UMRI, 2024 - 2025.

National Greenhouse Gas Removal Directorate Hub (CO2RE), funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, 2021 – 2025.

Previous projects

Mapping Assessments of Negative Emissions (MANE) project, funded by the University of Manchester Presidential Fellowship scheme, 2018 – 2022.

GReenhouse gas Instruments and Policies (GRIP) project, funded by the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation and the ClimateWorks Foundation, 2016 – 2019.

Premises for Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage in the Global Response to Climate Change project, funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, 2016 – 2018.

BRIdging the GAp for Innovations in Disaster resilience (BRIGAID) project, funded by the European Commission, 2016 – 2018.

Remaking Energy Participation project, funded by the UK Energy Research Centre, 2016 – 2018.

Climate Geoengineering Governance (CGG) project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, 2013 – 2015.

Integrated Assessment of Geoengineering Proposals (IAGP) project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council, 2010 – 2013.

Appraising Geoengineering project, PhD research funded by the Norfolk Charitable Trust, 2010 – 2013.

Interviewed by The New European newspaper for the article “Earth’s last rays of hope?” (2022).

Interviewed by the Science Museum for their blog “Wanted: Your Advice on Greenhouse Gas Removal” (2022).

Interviewed by Science|Business for the article “Should scientists study how to dim the sun?” (2022).

Interviewed by The Metro newspaper for the article “Snowpiercer: Could it really happen? The very real concerns with geoengineering explained” (2022).

Interviewed by The Independent newspaper for the article “The world-first experiment capturing CO2 from air and turning it to stone” (2021).

Interviewed by Chilean newspaper El Mercurio for the article “Announcements made about carbon neutrality and reduced methane emissions could lead to temperatures rising 1.8 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. However, specialists warn that this would not prevent climate damage” (2021).

Interviewed by New Scientist for the ‘Fix the Planet’ newsletter “Is this a turning point for removing CO2 from the air?” (2021).

Interviewed by New Scientist for the article “Inside the race to scale up CO₂ capture technology and hit net zero” (2021).

Interviewed by Euronews for the article “Capture and store CO2 to reach net-zero, says the IPCC climate report. It's easier said than done” (2021).

Interviewed by New Scientist magazine for the article “Controversial geoengineering scheme will dump iron in the sea” (2021).

Quoted by The Wire Science for the article “Top US body recommends funding for controversial solar geoengineering research” (2021).

Interviewed by The Independent newspaper for the article “From tree planting to CO₂-sucking machines: How could ‘negative emissions’ help to tackle the climate crisis?” (2021).

Interviewed by Science for the article “Bioenergy not a climate cure-all, panel warns” (2019).

Interviewed by the Carbon Brief climate change news website for the article “Negative emissions: Scientists meet in Sweden for first international conference” (2018).

Interviewed by the Carbon Brief climate change news website for the video “How can negative emissions become a reality at scale?” (2018).

Wrote “Should we engineer the climate? A social scientist and natural scientist discuss” for The Conversation academic news website (2018).

Interviewed by Norwegian public broadcaster NRK for the article “Fear no one will care about the world's biggest experiment” (2017).

Interviewed by the Daily Express newspaper for the article “Scientists plan to halt global warming by DIMMING the sun” (2017).

Interviewed by New Scientist magazine for the article “Dimming the sun could save corals from bleaching and hurricanes” (2017).

Wrote “Why you need to get involved in the geoengineering debate – now” for The Conversation academic news website (2017).

Wrote “How we can make good decisions about geoengineering” for the Carbon Brief climate change news website (2014).

GEOG20091 Climate Change: Science and Society (unit co-ordinator)

GEOG70931 Climate Emergency, Technology and Society (unit co-ordinator)

GEOG70472 Doing Environmental Research

GEOG60982 Space and Sustainability