• SFU Climate Research Lab
NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s Program

Congratulations to MSc. student, Pierre Etienne Banville, who was awarded an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master's Program. Well done, Pierre!

Geoffrey Harper joins Climate Research Lab

Welcome to new M.Sc student, Geoffrey Harper! Geoffrey will explore the effects of the land-use change caused by large scale deployment of carbon removal portfolios.

Environmental Research Letters: Reviewer of the Year Award

Congratulations to Msc. student, Christine Leclerc, who won Reviewer of the Year at the 2023 Environmental Research Letters Outstanding Reviewer Awards. Great job, Christine!

Workshop on Assessing TCRE and ZEC

PhD. student, Rachel Chimuka, presented her research at the Workshop on Assessing TCRE and ZEC held in Bristol, UK. The goal of the workshop was to assemble current knowledge on Transient Climate Response to cumulative carbon Emissions (TCRE) and Zero Emissions Commitment (ZEC) in the context of carbon budgets and to create a plan to move forward towards an assessment over the next 1-2 years.

MONOVA Nerd Nite: Art & Ale

PhD. student, Rachel Chimuka, gave a talk titled "Carbon Xchange: A Climate Rap Battle" at the Art & Ale Nerd Nite organized by the Museum of North Vancouver (MONOVA).

2023 American Geophysical Union Meeting (AGU) Fall Meeting

Lab director, Kirsten Zickfeld, along with lab members Alexander MacIsaac and Christine Leclerc presented their research at the 2023 American Geophysical Union Meeting (AGU) Fall Meeting.

New Publication: Net-zero approaches must consider Earth system impacts to achieve climate goals

Lab director, Kirsten Zickfeld, recently published a paper with PhD. student, Alex MacIsaac, on “Net-zero approaches must consider Earth system impacts to achieve climate goals” in Nature Climate Change.

MSc. Thesis Defence: Takuma Mihara

Congratulations to Takuma Mihara who defended his MSc. thesis on “Reversibility of permafrost carbon pool changes under temperature overshoot scenarios”. Great job, Takuma!

2023 Chatham House Climate Change Workshop

Lab director, Kirsten Zickfeld, gave a talk at the 2023 Chatham House Climate Change Workshop in London. The two-day workshop focused on accelerating progress on climate and biodiversity goals.

2023 Environmental Research Conference

Lab director, Kirsten Zickfeld, convened the Earth system effects of carbon dioxide removal session at the 2023 Environmental Research Conference. She also gave a talk titled "Net zero frameworks must consider Earth system effects of carbon dioxide removal to achieve climate goals" during the session.

2023 World Climate Research Programme Ocean Science Conference

Lab director, Kirsten Zickfeld, and PhD. student, Rachel Chimuka presented their research virtually during the 2023 World Climate Research Programme Ocean Science Conference (WCRP OSC).

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship – NSERC

Congratulations to Ph.D. student, Rachel Chimuka, who was awarded an NSERC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship!

New Publication: Delaying methane mitigation increases the risk of breaching the 2°C warming limit.

Former lab member, Claude-Michel Nzotungicimpaye, recently published a paper with lab director, Kirsten Zickfeld, and PhD. student, Alex MacIsaac on “Delaying methane mitigation increases the risk of breaching the 2°C warming limit” in the Communications Earth and Environment journal.

Climate Ambassador with Climate Interactive

To compliment her climate solutions research, Christine Leclerc recently became a Climate Ambassador with MIT Management affiliated Climate Interactive. As an ambassador for the En-ROADS Integrated Assessment Model, Christine will build upon knowledge gained in completing the “Mastering En-ROADS” training program and deliver climate solutions workshops.

New Publication: Quantifying land carbon cycle feedbacks under negative CO2 emissions

PhD. student, Rachel Chimuka, recently published a paper with lab director, Kirsten Zickfeld, and former lab member, Claude-Michel Nzotungicimpaye, on “Quantifying land carbon cycle feedbacks under negative CO2 emissions” in the Biogeosciences journal. The article was also selected by the journal as a highlight paper and featured by SFU's Faculty of Environment.

HOW TO KEEP EARTH COOL: A climate solutions modelling workshop

Msc. student Christine Leclerc co-hosted 'HOW TO KEEP EARTH COOL: A climate solutions modelling workshop' at the 2023 Burnaby Festival of Learning. The workshop focused on exploring how solutions can be combined to keep Earth cool in an equitable way using the En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator.

Young Earth System Scientists Community Elections

Congratulations to MSc. student Christine Leclerc who was recently elected as a Young Earth System Scientists (YESS) Community representative. Well done, Christine!

#DanceYourPhD2023 Entry on Carbon Cycle Feedbacks

PhD. student, Rachel Chimuka, created a fun and easy to understand video entry for the #DanceYourPhD2023 global competition focusing on carbon cycle feedbacks and urging the world to collectively act on climate change and to act now. The video features a story-time animated segment, a rap battle, a contemporary dance, and a UN-style speech.

Report on nature-based climate solutions in Canada

Group leader, Kirsten Zickfeld, was part of an expert panel contributing to a new report investigating the potential contribution of nature-based climate solutions (NBCS) to meeting Canada's climate targets.

2022 Graduate Climate Conference

MSc. student Takuma Mihara presented his poster on the reversibility of permafrost carbon loss under temperature overshoot at the 2022 Graduate Climate Conference.

Prospective students

The Climate Research Lab in the Department of Geography at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), led by Dr. Kirsten Zickfeld, is seeking Master’s and Doctoral students interested in pursuing research on climate change using Earth System models