The centre will be the home of research, innovation, and policy development across the interlinked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and water degradation on the islands of Ireland and Britain.

Headquartered at Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast, the Climate+ Co-Centre will bring together over 60 leading researchers from 14 academic partner institutions in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain. These researchers will work to deliver the transformative change urgently needed to tackle the climate, biodiversity and water crises impacting the two islands – and the wider world.

The Climate+ Co-Centre, which will initially be funded over six years by Science Foundation Ireland, Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, and the Environment & Rural Affairs and UK Research & Innovation, will receive more than 30% co-funding from 29 industry partners.

Climate+ researchers will work with industry partners to identify and validate the innovations needed to thrive in a climate, nature and water-positive world. Specifically, they will collaborate with industry partners in 1) Sustainable AgriFood Transitions; 2) Sustainable Communities & Livelihoods; 3) Assessing Risks & Opportunities; and 4) Investing in Carbon & Nature, in forestry, peatlands, grasslands and coastal habitats.

Professor Hayley Fowler, Professor of Climate Change Impacts and Newcastle University’s lead for the Climate+ Co-Centre, said: “I am delighted to be leading the Newcastle contribution to the Co-Centre, alongside other colleagues from Engineering, Prof Claire Walsh, Prof Sean Wilkinson and Dr Vassilis Glenis. Together we will work with a huge group of people from across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain to co-create research with industry partners towards transformative solutions to the twin crises of climate and biodiversity.”

The Climate+ Co-Centre has emerged from collaborations between multiple academic partners in Ireland and Northern Ireland within the All Island Climate & Biodiversity Research Network, funded by the National Parks & Wildlife Service, together with other partners in the UK.

The Climate+ academic partner institutions are: Trinity College Dublin; Maynooth University; University of Galway; University College Cork; Dublin City University; University College Dublin; Atlantic Technological University; University of Limerick; Queen’s University Belfast; Ulster University; Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute; University of Reading; Newcastle University; UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.