Adapting universities and colleges to a changing climate. Making the case and taking action

The majority of the UK public supports urgent action on climate change, and Further and Higher Education (FHE) organisations not only lead research on this vital issue, but are driving solutions – not least in reducing greenhouse gas emissions – and preparing the world for its effects, which include sea level rise and extreme weather events.

Meanwhile universities and colleges should also be turning their gaze on themselves, if they have not already, to ensure that they remain able to deliver world-leading teaching and research into the future. The time to prepare for climate change is now – in fact it is already here: 2018’s ‘Beast from the East’ cold snap and the later heatwave brought £258 million of UK insurance claims for burst pipes and subsidence respectively, for example.

Those universities and colleges that take bold sustainable action themselves can act as exemplars. Adapting for climate change also opens up a massiveeld of research, and the most proactive FHE organisations can capitalise on new sources of funding and partnerships in the public, non-profit and private sectors. Indeed, they can support local, national and international communities by lending their knowledge and technical capacity to help them adapt to the unwelcome world of climate change.