New network of universities to combat climate change

An international network of universities has been created to help communicate research around climate change.

Initiated by the University of New South Wales, Sydney, the Climate Alliance involves 40 of the world’s leading climate research universities, from countries including Brazil, China, Fiji, Ghana, Kenya, Netherlands, Singapore, UK and USA.

Alliance members will work together to identify the most effective ways to communicate research-based facts related to climate change to the public. Members will engage in work across climate change science, impact, mitigation strategies and adaptation.

The Climate Alliance benefits from a multi-disciplinary research focus around the most important research themes to enable greater engagement with policymakers, educators and business leaders looking to apply the latest research findings to accelerate climate action.

Despite the coronavirus crisis, the members decided not to delay formation of the Alliance due to the pressing and ongoing need to accelerate climate action.

Professor Piers Forster, director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds, said: ‘This Alliance has world-leading research capabilities – we now need to work much closer with our governments, our cities, our industries and to learn by doing.

‘Through this new international collaboration we hope to provide a leading, unified voice that can help drive the acceleration in changes required.’

The 40 Climate Alliance member universities are: Arizona State University, California Institute of Technology, China University of Geosciences, Cornell University, Delft University of Technology, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, King’s College London, McGill University, Monash University, Nanjing University, National University of Singapore, New York University, Oregon State University, Penn State University, Sorbonne University, TERI School of Advanced Studies, Texas A&M University, University of São Paulo, University of Bern, University of Bremen, University of Bristol, University of East Anglia, University of Edinburgh, University of Exeter, University of Ghana, University of Helsinki, University of Hong Kong , University of Illinois, University of Leeds, University of Manchester, University of Melbourne, University of Nairobi, University of New South Wales, University of Reading, University of Southampton, University of Tasmania , University of the South Pacific, University of Waikato, University of Washington, Utrecht University

See the International Universities Climate Alliance website for more information.