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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

Indian Rupee Strengthens Sharply After U.S.-India Trade Deal Announcement

The Indian rupee strengthened sharply during morning trade on Tuesday after New Delhi and Washington announced a long-awaited U.S.-India trade deal, sparking optimism across currency and financial markets. The development...

India–US Trade Pact 2026: A New Highway to a USD 500 Billion Partnership

Announced on February 1, 2026, the new India-US trade pact is being touted as a significant advancement for bilateral economic relations. The pact aims to speed trade flows and drive total trade toward the USD 500 billion...

Gold, Silver, and Platinum Rally as Precious Metals Recover from Sharp Selloff

Gold prices climbed in early Asian trading on Tuesday, with silver and platinum also posting solid gains, as precious metal markets steadied after suffering two days of sharp selloffs. The rebound offered some relief to...

South Korea Inflation Hits Five-Month Low as CPI Reaches Central Bank Target

South Korean consumer inflation eased to a five-month low in January, reaching the Bank of Koreas official target and reinforcing signs that price pressures in the country are gradually stabilizing. According to data...

S&P 500 Rises as AI Stocks and Small Caps Rally on Strong Earnings Outlook

U.S. stock markets closed higher on Monday, led by gains in artificial intelligence-related stocks and a strong rally in small-cap companies, as investor confidence improved on solid earnings expectations and encouraging...

Politics

Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration Move to End TPS for Haitian Immigrants

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from revoking Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants living in the United States, preventing their potential deportation to a...

Trump Spoke With FBI Agents After Georgia Election Office Search, Report Says

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke directly with FBI agents one day after they searched an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, according to a report published by the New York Times on Monday. The report cited three...

Trump Calls for “Nationalizing” Voting, Drawing Backlash Over Election Authority

President Donald Trump sparked controversy after saying Republicans should nationalize and take over voting in at least 15 unspecified locations, repeating his long-standing and false claims that U.S. elections are plagued...

Japan Finance Minister Defends PM Takaichi’s Remarks on Weak Yen Benefits

Japans Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Tuesday defended Prime Minister Sanae Takaichis recent comments emphasizing the potential benefits of a weaker yen, saying the remarks were grounded in standard economic theory...

Trump Announces U.S.–India Trade Deal Cutting Tariffs, Boosting Markets and Energy Ties

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a major U.S.India trade deal on Monday that significantly reduces U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from a previous combined rate of 50%. The agreement, revealed after a phone call...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Acquires xAI in Historic Deal Uniting Space and Artificial Intelligence

Elon Musk announced on Monday that SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence startup xAI in a landmark deal that brings together his ambitions in space exploration and advanced AI technology. The acquisition combines...

Google Cloud and Liberty Global Forge Strategic AI Partnership to Transform European Telecom Services

Google Cloud, one of Alphabets fastest-growing divisions, has entered into a five-year strategic partnership with Liberty Global aimed at accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies across...

Palantir Stock Jumps After Strong Q4 Earnings Beat and Upbeat 2026 Revenue Forecast

Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: PLTR) delivered a strong fourth-quarter earnings report, beating Wall Street expectations on both revenue and profit while issuing a significantly stronger-than-expected outlook for 2026....

Sam Altman Reaffirms OpenAI’s Long-Term Commitment to NVIDIA Amid Chip Report

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly reaffirmed the artificial intelligence companys strong relationship with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), pushing back against recent reports suggesting dissatisfaction with the...

SoftBank and Intel Partner to Develop Next-Generation Memory Chips for AI Data Centers

SoftBank Corp (TYO:9434) has announced a strategic collaboration between its subsidiary Saimemory and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) to develop a new class of advanced memory chip technology aimed at powering the next...