Universities and Climate Change

Many universities across the world perform state- of-the art research on matters related to climate change, both in respect of mitigation, and adaptation. Yet, as shown by the latest 21st Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention on Climate Change (COP 21), held in Paris in December 2015, there is much room for improvements in the role played by universities in the negotiations and in influencing decision-making on a matter of such a global importance.
There are unfortunately relatively few events where a multidisciplinary overview of university-based research efforts and projects on climate change can be show cased, and where researchers from across the spectrum of the natural and social sciences have had the opportunity to come together to discuss research methods, the results of empirical research or exchange ideas about on-going and future research initiatives focusing on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
It is against this background that the Symposium “Universities and Climate Change: the Role of Higher Education Institutions in Addressing the Mitigation and Adaptation Challenges” is being organised by Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and HAW Hamburg, Germany, under the auspices of the International Climate Change Information Programme (ICCIP).
It will involve researchers in the field of climate change in the widest sense, not only from traditional climate science, but also from the fields of environment, human geography, business and economics, arts, administration and media studies.
The Symposium will focus on the role of higher education institutions in addressing the mitigation and adaptation challenges and will contribute to the further development of this fast-growing field.