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Leslie Mabon

Lecturer in Environmental Systems, The Open University
I'm a Lecturer in Environmental Systems in the School of Engineering and Innovation at the Open University. I am an Associate Member of the First Minister's Environmental Council in Scotland, and am a Future Earth Coasts Fellow as well as a former European Crucible participant. I'm also on the Editorial Board for the journal Sustainability Science.

The big question I’m interested in is: whose knowledge counts – and why – within environmental management and policy? I explore these issues through three sub-areas of research:

(a) climate change adaptation governance at the city or regional scale, especially the integration of equity and justice concerns within techncially-led processes for climate risk reduction;

(b) risk, environmental infrastructure and the coastal and marine environment. I am especially interested in how environmental change may impact upon socially and culturally meaningful activities, and what the effects of this may be;

(c) ‘just transitions’ for high-emitting and carbon-intensive regions, where climate imperatives may have to be balanced with local concerns over employment and economic sustainability.

My research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy, the Wellcome Trust, the Japan Foundation, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh among others. Outputs from my work on environmental policy and governance have been published in journals including Landscape and Urban Planning, Global Environmental Change, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and World Development.

I'm also a big fan of football, and support Raith Rovers in Scotland. My enthusiasm for football has recently led me to expand my research interests into understanding what climate change means for football.

Economy

New Zealand Cuts RBNZ Budget by 25% Amid Public Sector Austerity Drive

New Zealands government will reduce the Reserve Bank of New Zealands (RBNZ) annual operating budget by around 25% in the upcoming fiscal year, capping it at NZ$150 million (US$88.5 million) annually over the next five...

Asian Markets Tumble as Trade Tensions and Chip Curbs Cloud Economic Outlook

Asian markets dropped Wednesday as Nvidia shares plunged following U.S. restrictions on AI chip exports to China, fueling fears of an expanding U.S.-China tech war. The news wiped out $160 billion from Nvidias market cap,...

China’s Q1 2025 GDP Beats Forecasts Despite Trade War Pressures

Chinas economy expanded more than expected in the first quarter of 2025, with GDP growing 5.4% year-on-year, surpassing market forecasts of 5.2%, according to official data released Wednesday. The stronger performance was...

Oil Prices Steady Amid Trade War Fears and Slowing Global Demand

Oil prices held steady early Wednesday as uncertainty over escalating U.S.-China trade tensions and their potential impact on global economic growth kept markets cautious. Brent crude futures edged up 5 cents to $64.72 per...

Dollar Stabilizes Ahead of Powell Speech and China GDP Data

The U.S. dollar held onto modest gains early Wednesday as markets paused after weeks of sharp selling and ahead of key economic events. Investors are watching for updates on U.S.-China trade talks, while attention also...

Politics

Biden Slams Trump Over Social Security Cuts in First Major Speech Since Leaving Office

Former President Joe Biden made a high-profile return to the political stage Tuesday, criticizing the Trump administrations deep cuts to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Speaking in Chicago to disability...

Trump Proposes Cash Incentives for Voluntary Immigrant Departures

U.S. President Donald Trump revealed plans for a new immigration initiative offering financial incentives to undocumented immigrants who choose to leave the country voluntarily. In an interview aired Tuesday on Fox...

Trump Administration Limits Wire Service Access to White House Press Pool

The Trump administration has removed wire services including Reuters, Bloomberg, and the Associated Press (AP) from their permanent positions in the White House press pool, altering decades of precedent and raising...

Australian Politicians Received $147K in Sports Tickets Amid Anti-Gambling Ad Lobbying

Australian lawmakers were gifted approximately A$245,000 (US$147,000) worth of sports tickets over 21 months by the countrys top sporting leagues, as part of an effort to lobby against a proposed ban on online gambling...

Pentagon Adviser Dan Caldwell Removed Amid Leak Probe

Dan Caldwell, a top adviser to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was escorted from the Pentagon and placed on administrative leave following an investigation into an unauthorized disclosure, according to a U.S....

Science

Kennedy Sets September Deadline to Uncover Autism Causes Amid Controversy

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a bold plan to identify the cause of autism by September 2025. Speaking at a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Kennedy declared a global...

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy

Ice cores in freezers, dinosaurs on display, fish in jars, birds in boxes, human remains and ancient artifacts from long gone civilizations that few people ever see museum collections are filled with all this and more....

Technology

U.S. Imposes New Export Curbs on Nvidia and AMD AI Chips to China

The U.S. Commerce Department announced new export licensing requirements on Tuesday targeting Nvidias H20 and AMDs MI308 artificial intelligence chips, along with equivalent models, restricting their shipment to China. The...

TSMC Nears Breakthrough in Advanced Chip Packaging to Power AI Growth

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the worlds leading contract chipmaker, is nearing completion of a cutting-edge chip packaging technology to meet surging demand for high-performance AI chips, according to...

Blue Origin Boosts Space Tourism with Katy Perry on Historic All-Female Flight

Pop star Katy Perry and five other trailblazing women successfully completed a historic suborbital spaceflight aboard Blue Origins New Shepard rocket on April 14, marking the first all-female space mission in over 60...

AMD Ready to Begin Chip Production in Arizona Amid AI Server Expansion

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) CEO Lisa Su confirmed on Tuesday that the company is prepared to begin chip production at its Arizona facility. Speaking at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Su emphasized AMDs...

Nvidia to Manufacture AI Supercomputers in the U.S. with TSMC and Foxconn

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) announced plans to manufacture AI supercomputers entirely in the U.S. for the first time, marking a major shift in its production strategy. The company has secured over one million square feet of...