About Us

The evidence of human-induced climate change on societies and natural ecosystems is irrefutable. The pace of climate adaptation in many regions and sectors is failing to keep up with increasing climate risks. We must take action to increase resilience to extreme weather and environmental change. 

Our mission

Our mission is to provide expertise and international leadership. We aim to guide a solutions-driven research programme. This will be a catalyst for the creation of climate resilient and environmentally sustainable communities and society. To achieve this we must accelerate climate and environmental resilience research. And we will embrace transdisciplinary working.

Our goals

We seek to succeed in our mission by:

• developing the transdisciplinary knowledge needed to increase resilience to climate and environmental change
• building partnerships between government, industry and wider society. This will allow our new knowledge to be applied in practice to inform policy and action
• training the next generation of transdisciplinary researchers. This builds on our long-term role in leading the drive for climate and environmental resilience

Our vision and approach

The climate and environmental challenges we face are complex. Climate and environmental scientists cannot resolve them alone. To achieve sustainable and fair solutions we need to bring together the expertise of engineers, economists, social scientists, architects and educators.

These and many more disciplines must work together with stakeholders in society. Stakeholders often include: 

• government
• business
• development and conservation agencies
• community groups
• young people

Tackling the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis also requires a shift in how our students learn. They must have a voice and benefit from cross-faculty research and innovation.

Our team

We aim to catalyse the creation of climate and environmentally resilient sustainable communities and society. To achieve this we bring together experts from a range of disciplines, including:

• engineering
• business
• mathematics
• physics
• natural and social sciences
• education

Bringing researchers together

Our experts work to understand the effects of climate and environmental change. We also aim to put into practice climate and environmental resilience research. Social and environmental justice inform all our activities. And we bring together researchers and partners to tackle four inter-related research themes:

• adapting to extreme events
• enhancing ecosystem resilience
• delivering sustainable resources
• strengthening capacities through climate justice and education

A climate emergency needs climate and environmental action

Climate change, extreme weather and environmental degradation are critical challenges. We need to lead by example. This centre informs and encourages positive climate and environmental action. We do this across all our research themes, across the university and beyond. We are seeking climate and environmental change solutions and building resilience.

The University has made its own commitment to net-zero emissions by 2030. And it has been ranked by Time Higher Education for its environmental activities. These include:

• coming 15th globally for its work towards the SDGs
• ranked 2nd for Responsible Consumption and Production, which is one of the SDGs
  
• ranked 'First Class' for sustainability

We are embedding climate change education in our curriculum across all faculties. This will prepare our students for their roles in work and wider society, now and in the future.

We work with partners in the city and the region. Our experts are informing national and global policy and guidance. They are ensuring that we understand the scale of environmental change and impacts and that infrastructure is resilient to climate extremes. And they are also contributing to the latest UN IPCC reports on climate changeand informing UN reports on biodiversity. These shape our global responses and help increase our resilience to global change.