About
Launch of the Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water
Listen to our Co-Directors and Deputy Director talk about how we aim to deliver solutions-focused research, innovation and policy in the fight against climate change, biodiversity loss and water degradation.
Our Goals
At Climate+, our goal is to create a sustainable future by tackling the connected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and water quality. We work with the public, businesses and policymakers to drive positive changes across society, the economy and government.
To reach this goal, we keep the public informed and involved in our work, help people and organisations build the skills needed for change, partner with businesses and consult with governments on effective, evidence-based policy.
Our Team
The Climate+ Co-Centre comprises a team of over 80 researchers and a dedicated operations team, all united in addressing the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and declining water quality.
Our Co-Directors are Professor Yvonne Buckley (Trinity College Dublin) and Professor Mark Emmerson, while our Deputy Director is Professor Ed Hawkins (University of Reading). The operations team is led by Executive Director Dr Raquel Harper (Trinity College Dublin) and Centre Manager Alexandra McMeekin (Queen's University Belfast).
Our Research
Our research, innovation and policy unites academics from different disciplines, industry, government, and communities from across the UK and Ireland to develop solutions that integrate technology, engineering, natural ecosystems, and social factors.
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At the core of Climate+ research are our 'Platform' projects, which focus on essential scientific work. These projects use data to predict possible future scenarios and keep track of current trends in climate, biodiversity and water. Our Platform projects also explore how we can put solutions into action in a fair way for everyone, and how we can combine information from different sources to get a more complete picture.
In addition to our core Platform projects, our 'Spoke' projects focus on collaborating with businesses to drive new knowledge and innovation. We work with our business partners to support fair and sustainable agricultural practices, help build strong communities and economies, study and address both environmental risks and opportunities, and invest in nature such as peatlands, grasslands and coastal areas. These partnerships aim to bring real benefits to both people, the economy and the environment.
The Climate+ Co-Centre also has research areas that connect both our core science and industry projects, called our 'Cross-Cutting Areas.' This work focuses on building skills for adapting to new ways of living, supporting government with policy advice through our Policy Response Unit, educating and engaging the public, and helping researchers collaborate in synthesis groups to strengthen solutions by finding connections across projects.
Our Governance
At the Climate+ Co-Centre, good teamwork and openness about how we're structured are key to reaching our goals. Here’s how we’re organised to make that happen:
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
We are dedicated to creating an environment that values equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). We believe that respecting and celebrating everyone's differences is essential to fostering a collaborative and innovative culture.
Our commitment to EDI is embedded in everything we do, across management operations and research, ensuring that everyone feels respected, valued and included. Our Co-Directors lead an EDI committee with representatives from all career stages, working together to make Climate+ an inclusive workplace.
We also follow the principles of Athena SWAN, a framework focused on improving gender equality in academic. Currently, 37.5% of our researchers are female, and 40% of our research leads are women, reflecting our ongoing commitment to diversity and representation in our work.
Funding
The Climate+ Co-Centre award is managed by Research Ireland, Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and supported via UK’s International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) and the Irish Government’s Shared Island initiative.
