The Edinburgh Earth Initiative was established in January 2022 with a mandate to strengthen the University of Edinburgh’s contribution to knowledge-based action on climate, environment, and sustainability. Our starting point has been to reflect on the breadth and depth of work that is already taking place across the institution.
Right now, across the University of Edinburgh, in schools, subject groups, and professional services teams; in laboratories and lecture theatres, in old buildings and new buildings; in peer reviewed journal articles and funding applications; in partnership with other universities and organisations you can find academic and non-academic staff taking the initiative to address the world’s climate, biodiversity and sustainability crises.
In every part of the university people are building cultural, material, technological, political and economic mechanisms that seek to mitigate the effects of anthropogenic climate and environmental change whilst helping adapt to life in a post- 1.5 degree world.
Over the past 12 months we have sought to bring additional capacity, resources, and value across all these academic and professional services teams through strategic coordination and delivery.
We have built a support structure for 38 earth related research communities across the university; recruited the University of Edinburgh’s first ever climate fundraising lead to increase opportunities for strategic gift giving from trusts and foundations; supported nearly 50 students through a paid internship programme for undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students focused on climate, environment and sustainability; joined forces with partners such as UN High Commission for Refugees to develop a pipeline of activities for university researchers and students around climate and displacement; seed-funded eight new collaborations between Edinburgh climate researchers and collaborators in Canada, the US and South Africa; developed a prototype Earth Data Hub to showcase the university’s data-climate capabilities to public and private partners; launched a series of earth-inspired student enterprise competitions; supported an AI and Climate Accelerator cohort; provided new baselines for research funding and impact around climate change with data from UK Research and Innovation and the Research Excellence Framework; and developed a collaboration with the University’s Special Collections team to reflect on the historic role of our university in the carbon economy.
We are excited to work with you in the year ahead.
The Edinburgh Earth Initiative’s newsletter will showcase activity from across the university. In doing so we hope to show how University of Edinburgh’s contribution to the climate and environmental crisis is its volume of ideas and application of those ideas, underpinned by a unique confluence of disciplinary methods and traditions. Sign up for the Edinburgh Earth Initiative mailing list here.
