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The global restoration agenda can help solve the biodiversity extinction crisis by regenerating biodiversity-rich ecosystems, maximising conservation benefits using natural regeneration. Yet, conservation is rarely the core objective of restoration, and biodiversity is often neglected in restoration projects targeted towards carbon sequestration or enhancing ecosystem services for improved local livelihoods. Here, we synthesise evidence to show that promoting biodiversity in restoration planning and delivery is integral to delivering other long-term restoration aims, such as carbon sequestration, timber production, enhanced local farm yields, reduced soil erosion, recovered hydrological services and improved human health. For each of these restoration goals, biodiversity must be a keystone objective to the entire process. Biodiversity integration requires improved evidence and action, delivered via a socio-ecological process operating at landscape scales and backed by supportive regulations and finance. Conceiving restoration and biodiversity conservation as synergistic, mutually reinforcing partners is critical for humanity's bids to tackle the global crises of climate change, land degradation and biodiversity extinction.

From the British debate on the depletion of coal in 1865 to the First World Power Conference held in London in 1924, scientists, engineers, industrialists, and politicians produced new interpretations of the past, present, and future in terms of the mobilisation of energy resources. This thesis identifies an emerging ‘energy developmentalism’, which called for maximising energy use to maintain or improve a nation’s place in international competition. Energy developmentalism was not a marginal worldview confined to ‘energeticists’, but a coherent set of claims, measurements, and arguments that informed energy governance on an international scale. Rather than focusing on a single resource, energy developmentalism applied a unified schema to all energy sources, including those like solar and tidal energy that were still mostly theoretical. Drawing on sources from across Europe, while staying grounded in political changes in Britain and France, makes it possible to understand how a general formula for transforming raw materials with maximum efficiency was applied differently depending on specific political contexts. This period saw the articulation of problems like the depletion of resources, the difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy, the intermittency of renewables, the overreliance on a single source of energy, and the centrality of energy to modern economies – problems that are often associated with later periods. Scientific measurements of efficiency, horsepower, and kilowatts became operators in political debates centred on questions of national standing and progress. Even as oil became increasingly important in the world economy, the delegates at the First World Power Conference transformed a vision of a renewable energy future into one of a general expansion of energy consumption as the basis of progress. In so doing, they downplayed the continued importance of fossil fuels and equated ‘conservation’ with the fullest possible use of all energy sources, renewable or not.

Climate change has been widely recognised as one of the most urgent and growing threats to natural and cultural heritage in the twenty-first century, and the indelible impact of humanity has led to the definition of a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Indigenous peoples are disproportionately affected by natural and human-induced changes to the environment. Their vulnerability is exacerbated by centuries of cultural and territorial disenfranchisement within settler-colonial nations. This dissertation aims at understanding Indigenous perceptions of heritage in the face of climate change and its intersection with the impacts of settler- colonialism. It analyses how these on-the-ground perceptions can, in turn, inform heritage organisations and contribute to safeguarding the many facets of tangible and intangible Indigenous heritage for future generations in the Anthropocene. This is accomplished through a comparative, transnational case study of two communities each from the Dehcho First Nations in the Northwest Territories, Canada, and the Aymara and Quechua peoples in northern Chile. I use a multi-method approach consisting of semi-structured interviews, oral histories and participant observation. The data is complemented by environmental and heritage legislation and grey literature at multiple organisational scales for both case studies. Three lines of enquiry are explored through an applied comparative thematic analysis: i) the perceptions of climate change and associated land loss/change among Indigenous groups and how this impacts each group’s notions of challenges to its cultural identity; ii) the intersection of the effects of post- colonialism, ongoing industrial activities and climate change on the intergenerational transmission of ancestral knowledge and notions of place attachment; and iii) how international, national and regional political and sociocultural rhetoric on environmental and heritage conservation affect local, grassroots considerations for safeguarding heritage. The similarities and contrasts of the Dehcho First Nations, Aymara and Quechua experiences of climate change across the North-South divide are related from the grassroots to arrive at redefining heritage practices in the Anthropocene. The results demonstrate that decolonising heritage is not only necessary, but that this decolonisation depends on building and actively engaging in intercultural empathy through the global threat of climate change. In order to understand how Indigenous practices, places, and items are valorised—attributed value—as heritage in the face of climate change, one must empathise with the cultural loss that exists in the temporal and cognitive spaces between Indigenous individuals’ moments of nostalgic reference and today.

The hydration of CO2 suffers from kinetic inefficiencies that make its natural trapping impractically sluggish. However, CO2-fixing carbonic anhydrases (CAs) remarkably accelerate its equilibration by 6 orders of magnitude and are, therefore, "ideal" catalysts. Notably, CA has been detected in ureolytic bacteria, suggesting its potential involvement in microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP), yet the dynamics of the urease (Ur) and CA genes remain poorly understood. Here, through the use of the ureolytic bacteriumSporosarcina pasteurii, we investigate the differing role of Ur and CA in ureolysis, CO2 hydration, and CaCO3 precipitation with increasing CO2(g) concentrations. We show that Ur gene up-regulation coincides with an increase in [HCO3-] following the hydration of CO2 to HCO3- by CA. Hence, CA physiologically promotes buffering, which enhances solubility trapping and affects the phase of the CaCO3 mineral formed. Understanding the role of CO2 hydration on the performance of ureolysis and CaCO3 precipitation provides essential new insights, required for the development of next-generation biocatalyzed CO2 trapping technologies.

Achievement of sustainable development in light of ongoing climate change and biodiversity pressures benefits from the deployment of innovations that foster engagement and uptake across all levels, mobilises finance flows commencement to the scale of the challenge, and enables the dissemination of transition solutions that support the low carbon economy. This research investigates the relationship between the legal architecture of market mechanisms under international law and the role of private actors, and how this contributes to sustainable development. Through an exploration of how market mechanisms under the climate change and biodiversity regimes have achieved environmentally sound outcomes, been advanced in sectoral approaches, and facilitated via bilateral and multilateral trade and investment relationships, important insights are identified regarding the composition of effective law and governance architectural approaches. Leveraging experiences derived from treaty practice viewed through an interactional account of international law, this assessment elucidates the important role played by alignment of legal regimes, robust transparency measures, and complementary schemes such as stakeholder-endorsed certifications in buttressing the established measures to ensure sustainable development outcomes and contributes to understanding the role of private actors in the operationalisation of environmental agreements. Research findings suggest it is the interaction of norms across the international legal architecture, informed by relationships within and across relevant treaty systems and the general corpus of international law, and actualised through engagement with private actors as a component of market mechanisms that provides the opportunity for congruence of practice, forging of shared understandings, and normative internalisation and ownership among communities of practice that stimulates both innovative solutions and ambitious action.

This thesis examines cultural constructions of climate and temporality in eastern Nepal, focusing on Walung, a village in Taplejung District. Although the residents of Walung have long noticed manifestations of global climatic change, such observations were primarily attributed to a change in time (Tib. *dus*) rather than climate (Tib. *gnam gshis*). This interpretation often drew upon Buddhist prophetic narratives which foretell an imminent era of decline, termed '*kawa nyampa*' - a vision of degeneration attributed to Guru Rinpoche (Skt. Padmasambhava). In Walung, moral, meteorological, and temporal realms were deeply intertwined, with both climatic disruptions and perceived temporal changes attributed to the wider decay of human morality. The onset of '*kawa nyampa*' was traced to an evening in 1963 when flooding, unleashed by a semi-spiritual entity called the '*khangba*' (snow frog), devastated the village. The flood represented a temporal rupture, marking the end of a period of prosperity (*kawa sangbo*), and was interpreted as a collective punishment for spiritual transgressions. However, the temporal shifts that Walung residents have detected extend beyond climate-related phenomena. They also encompassed broader socioeconomic and political changes, including shifts in local diets and perceptions of declining life expectancy. The central claim of the thesis is that disruptions in climate are predominantly experienced as disruptions to *time* in upper Taplejung. Moreover, the Walung vision of a degenerate time (*kawa nyampa*) is rooted to far vaster landscape of changes than simply meteorology. In the words of one resident: “the change in time means a change in everything” – so too has the change in ‘everything’ produced a change in time. Building on ethnographic fieldwork in Taplejung District (November 2021-May 2022) and complemented by secondary field visits to Sikkim and Kathmandu, what begins as a study of climate change unfolds into an analysis of a far deeper sense of temporal disjunction. The thesis deciphers local observations of the stars, migratory birds, and cosmological narratives of deity movements as localised systems of time-reckoning. It also considers the embodied rhythms of life and death within aspects of Himalayan time perception. Against the backdrop of anthropogenic climate change and geopolitical ruptures at the Sino-Nepali border, however, these complex synchronicities are becoming destabilised, and time itself is unpicked at its seams. As environmental, geopolitical, and temporal fractures become more pronounced, Walung residents fear the fulfilment of prophetic visions of degeneration.

Since the industrial revolution, humans have caused profound climate changes, primarily by releasing geological carbon into the atmosphere and increasing atmospheric CO2, with current levels reaching >400ppm, a concentration unprecedented in the last 800ka. This has led to far-reaching socioeconomic consequences for human society and risks for all levels of ecosystem. A better understanding of rapid climatic changes is desperately needed in order to inform mitigation and adaptation strategies for future climate change. The last glacial cycle experienced orbital and millennial scale climatic variability, as indicated by high latitude ice core records and many other high-resolution marine and terrestrial records. These climatic changes included, but were not limited to, changes in atmospheric CO2, temperature, the hydroclimate, sea surface temperature (SST), ocean circulation and ocean biogeochemistry. The ocean is thought to have played a key role in controlling and modulating these changes through its impacts on both heat transport and the carbon cycle. High resolution marine sediment cores can be used to reconstruct these changes and may help to elucidate the mechanisms behind them. To date, most studies have focused on the deglaciation, and only sparse, low-resolution records exist for Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4, a key paleoclimatic interval for the last glacial inception. MIS 4 is characterised by a rapid CO2 drop of ~40ppm, which is comparable in duration and magnitude to the first rapid increase seen during the last deglaciation. It also involved a large drop in temperature, as indicated by Greenland and Antarctic ice cores, a decrease in sea level, and a possible slowdown of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) as reconstructed from various proxy records. Several millennial events occurred during MIS 4, including Heinrich Stadial 6 and Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events 16-19. MIS 4 is thus an ideal interval to study and disentangle, glacial-interglacial and millennial variability. It also provides a window into the mechanisms of rapid CO2 change and their contribution to longer-term (orbital) climate change. Furthermore, the termination of MIS 4 allows for a comparison with the last deglaciation. In this thesis, I collect paleoceanographic data to improve coverage of this important interval from a suite of sediment cores retrieved from the Iberian Margin in the Northeast Atlantic, and a single core from the deep Sub-Antarctic Atlantic core site. This thesis ultimately aims to enhance the current understanding of the ocean’s role in and response to abrupt and orbital-scale climate changes during MIS 4 and to draw lessons on its wider implications for climate variability. Ultimately, this may contribute to our understanding of natural carbon cycle-climate feedbacks that will play a role in anthropogenic climate changes in the future. High resolution planktonic foraminifera Mg/Ca-based SST reconstructions from the Iberian Margin during MIS 4 show that certain aspects of the surface ocean response may not always track Greenland temperature and that Greenland ice core records do not serve as a universal template for climatic variability across the whole of the North Atlantic, likely due to the seasonal habitat biases associated with SST reconstructions. A strong hydroclimate signal is shown in planktic foraminifera δ18O from the Iberian Margin, whereby glacial (MIS 4) hydroclimate variability is coupled to a combination of the high-latitude North Atlantic changes and low-latitude tropical hydroclimate. Furthermore, for the first time, a high-resolution Mg/Ca-based SST record from the Iberian Margin, covering the last 85ka, demonstrates clear similarities between MIS 4 and MIS 2. This includes a similar decoupling of sub-tropical summer SST from Greenland temperatures recorded in ice core records during pre-HS 6 MIS 4 and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The record also emphasises that the most severe (coldest and driest) conditions occurred in the midlatitude North Atlantic during Heinrich Stadials, rather than the ‘peak’ glacial conditions of MIS 4 or the LGM. The deep ocean likely played a key role in modulating CO2 on millennial and astronomical timescales, for example through changes in its respired carbon inventory. Conservative parameters that are indicative of deep-water hydrography, and by extension circulation, are deep water temperature (Tdw) and associated δ18Odw. Reconstructed Tdw changes from the Iberian Margin show a larger influence of southern sourced waters during MIS 4 and particularly during HS 6. Atlantic sector Southern Ocean (SO) Tdw closely follows Antarctic temperature, atmospheric CO2 and the mean ocean temperature, implying that the deep SO contributed significantly to the global ocean energy budget on multi-millennial time scales across MIS 4, likely mediated by buoyancy forcing in the SO. This in turn was likely linked to sea-ice expansion at the MIS 5a/4 transition, aided by a parallel shoaling of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) as suggested by the North Atlantic Tdw record. Together with (arguably smaller) contributions from reduced air-sea gas exchange efficiency in the SO, these changes would have lowered atmospheric CO2 during MIS 4, through their impact on the solubility- and soft tissue “pumps” (i.e. the ocean’s disequilibrium and respired carbon budgets). Because the amount of respired carbon in deep-water broadly scales with the dissolved oxygen concentration, bottom water O2 reconstructions, [O2]bw, were investigated for a depth transect from the Iberian Margin and for the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Qualitative benthic foraminiferal assemblage records from a depth transect on the Iberian Margin show that shifts in oxygenated environments are primarily controlled by the quality and/or quantity of Corg reaching the sea floor, rather than [O2]bw. There are distinct shifts in assemblages associated with more periodic and/or degraded Corg flux during MIS 4 and an indication of low [O2]bw during HS 6 at the mid-depths, however no significant changes in the flux of Corg (i.e. ‘export production’) were found. Multi-proxy foraminiferal geochemical [O2]bw reconstructions from the Iberian Margin show a gradual decrease in [O2]bw at the mid-depth North Atlantic during MIS 4 with a minimum during HS 6, likely controlled by ventilation changes (i.e. changes in ocean circulation, including water mass sourcing combined with active but diminished transport, or altered preformed ‘end-member’ values). In the meantime, the [O2]bw record from the South Atlantic closely follows atmospheric CO2, likely indicative of ocean ‘ventilation’ impacts on ocean-atmosphere carbon exchange. Indeed, the Southern Ocean appears to have represented a significant reservoir for sequestering CO2 away from the atmosphere during MIS 4, as indicated by the respired- and equilibrium carbon inventory changes that are implied by the [O2]bw and Tdw reconstructions.

Halide perovskites are the leading candidates for next-generation, low-cost optoelectronics with power conversion efficiencies well above 25%. However, operational stability remains a key challenge. Although there is an understanding that the microscale and nanoscale play a consequential role in determining the macroscopic performance and stability, significant gaps remain in the mechanistic understanding of degradation processes at the nanoscale and the mechanisms for stability in cation-alloyed systems. Nanoscale hexagonal phase impurities have been identified as problematic for operational stability, leading to both performance losses and morphological degradation. However, it is still unclear at what stage these phase impurities originate. Understanding this better is critical in order to mitigate the harmful effects of these phase impurities on performance and operational stability. Cation alloying is a commonly used technique in the field to mitigate these hexagonal phase impurities, although not without its challenges. In this thesis study, the nanoscale structural landscape of key halide perovskite compositions is studied. By taking snapshots of the perovskite at different states of the annealing process, the impact of phase impurities on device performance is characterised. Thereon, the mechanism by which composition dictates photostability in FA-rich perovskite absorber layers is studied. It is demonstrated that the composition impacts the degree of octahedral tilt, which is essential to restricting the transition to hexagonal phase impurities. Additionally, it is demonstrated that while a judicious mix of A-site cations can be used to stabilise the photoactive black phase of halide perovskites, it is challenging to achieve this homogeneously over large areas, necessitating a search for alternative or complementary approaches to stabilise perovskite via octahedral tilt. Using scanning electron diffraction (SED) studies, the spacegroup of additive-stabilised-CsPbI3 is demonstrated to be a low symmetry tilted γ-phase. Furthermore, using SED, the nanoscale structural landscape of mixed-phase CsPbI3 absorber layers is studied and it is demonstrated that both narrow-bandgap γ-phase and wide-bandgap δ-phase co-exist at the nanoscale, enabling stable and bright white-light emission. Overall, this thesis provides insights into the role of nanoscale structure in dictating the properties and behaviour of halide perovskites and offers rational guidelines for their optimisation and use in optoelectronic devices. Additionally, it is demonstrated that SED is a powerful tool for studying these materials at the atomic scale, allowing for the detailed characterisation of their structures and properties.

This thesis comprises three independent papers on applied microeconomics. The first chapter studies the impact of primary care provider mergers on quality in England. The second chapter investigates the effect of price dispersion on consumer search behavior, drawing evidence from the retail gasoline market in Greece. The final chapter builds on the second, studying the asymmetric price adjustment and the impact of market competition on the asymmetric price adjustment. The details of the three papers are summarized below: The Effects of General Practice Mergers on Quality in England The primary care market has witnessed a growing trend of provider consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, yet the implications of this concentration remain uncertain. This study addresses this gap by providing the first empirical evidence on the effects of provider mergers on quality using evidence from the English primary care market. By analyzing all provider mergers from 2014 to 2018, I find predominantly negative effects of mergers on quality. Clinical quality does not change at best, and patient satisfaction decreases dramatically. Notably, the impact on quality varies based on the size of the general practices involved. Mergers between large general practices show a detrimental impact on quality, while mergers between small general practices may yield quality benefits. Additionally, there is no difference in the quality impact between mergers involving parties in the same geographical market and those in different markets. An exploration of the mechanism reveals that mismanagement, rather than changes in market concentration, drives the observed decline in quality following mergers. The Effect of Competition and Price Dispersion on Search Behavior We investigate the impact of price dispersion on consumer search behavior, while credibly controlling for market structure. Using the retail gasoline market on isolated, oligopolistic markets, as defined by small Greek islands, we exploit an excise duty tax increase policy as a plausibly exogenous shock to price dispersion. We directly measure consumer search using the number of user visits to a price information platform and mobile application. We find that the tax shock increases price dispersion and that in turn causes a short term increase in consumer search. The effect of price dispersion on consumer search remains regardless of market competition level. Asymmetric Pass-Through and Competition We study the pass-through to retail prices of four major changes in taxes for petroleum products (three increases and one subsequent decrease). We use daily pricing data from gas stations on small Greek islands, which define isolated markets with different number of competitors. First, we find that, on average, the pass-through of the tax hikes is five times higher than for the tax decrease. Second, the pass-through of the tax hikes increases with the number of competitors, but that of the tax decrease does not vary with competition (asymmetric competition effect). Third, there is significant asymmetry in the speed of price adjustments. Fourth, the asymmetric adjustment of retail gasoline prices cannot be explained by tacit collusion and the evidence points to search as the most plausible explanation.