Air pollution poses a grave risk to the environment and the health and wellbeing of societies across the world. Driven by emissions from factories, industries, households, and vehicle exhaust, air pollution is the leading cause of multiple chronic and acute respiratory illnesses and disorders, ranging from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, stroke, and ischaemic heart diseases.

Today, we live in an increasingly warming world, directly impacting the transmission of communicable and infectious diseases. According to the 2022 IPCC Report, rising temperatures, alongside urbanisation-induced flooding and droughts, is linked to a surge in the spread of food, water, and vector-borne diseases.

Extreme heat conditions result in increased droughts, directly affecting food production and supply. They can also lead to frequent wildfires, owing to prolonged spells of dry weather conditions. Such adverse heat conditions leave the global population facing increased risks of heat stress, heat strokes, and cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses

Rising temperatures, disproportionate flooding and droughts, changing rainfall patterns, and other climate phenomena exert a major influence on our food production and supply systems. On the other hand, a majority of our current food production systems are unsustainable, contributing to over a third of greenhouse gas emissions.

Edinburgh academics are at the forefront of applying cutting edge research to help communities adapt and mitigate the effects of the climate emergency. Our research across the themes of air pollution and respiratory health, disease, heat and food is data-driven and rooted in a commitment to justice and equity.

Rooted in a commitment to justice and equity – the University of Edinburgh’s engagement with climate and ecological emergency is built around three core pillars: land and marine based ecosystems; global energy futures; and health in a warming world.

We are working to engineer the transition to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for everyone on the planet. From the energy technologies that reduce our dependence on oil and gas, to the evidence that informs energy policy, we are building models, systems, datasets and tools to support net zero emissions targets and achieve sustainable energy for all.

We are responding to the complex links between climate and environmental change, health and wellbeing. From infectious to non-communicable diseases, from toxics and pollution to sustainable medicine, and from humans to animals – we are establishing new evidence, new models and new interventions to the challenges of a warming world.

We are securing the biodiversity of land and marine ecosystems, and the capacity of communities to adapt to changing environments.

We leverage our space and satellite infrastructures, and our global partnerships in pursuit of a diverse and healthy planet. This ranges from mapping the impact of rising temperatures on food systems, tracking greenhouse gas emissions, to conserving ocean life and reducing the impact of climate change on coastal communities.