Climate change is the biggest challenge the world faces, with widespread negative repercussions already being felt. Addressing complex climate-driven issues requires a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach, including monitoring, assessment, management, mitigation, conflict resolution, policy development and data science. To address such complexity requires collaboration between multiple disciplines including the biophysical, social, environmental, engineering, and political sciences

Despite UOH’s Zero Carbon agenda, there is currently no research centre dedicated specifically to climate-related issues. The aim of this application is to create such a research centre that brings together the diversity of expertise that exists across UOH’s Schools. The proposed centre for CRS will directly support the university’s Environmental and Sustainability Policy. More specifically, it will contribute to the university’s Climate Emergency Steering Group, thus paving the way for the university to fulfil its commitments to the United Nations SDGs.

Aims of the CRS are:

• Analyse the University’s climate research and build a strategic, cohesive climate-focused research team
• Promote an inclusive research environment and knowledge exchange between Schools and disciplines centred around climate research
• Enrich student experience by creating exciting research environments for climate topics (e.g., GPA, student organisations, climate-focused seminars/workshops)
• Provide a research environment for PGR and early career researchers to elevate their potential in climate research through mentoring and by providing resources and networking opportunities
• Establish and strengthen national and international strategic alliances, built on the University’s expertise, with researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders on climate research
• Build on existing successes in influencing government policy to directly address climate change and related challenges such as poverty alleviation. Policy influencing may target the UK government, other national governments, as well as multi-national institutions such as the United Nations and European Union.
• Generate sustainable external grant income, high quality (i.e., 3-star and above) REF publications and Impact Case studies and knowledge exchange/policy recommendations with end-users and stakeholders.