£50 million centre targets climate, low-carbon research

Several UK universities have come together to launch a £50 million research centre aimed at both addressing climate change and developing technologies for a sustainable and low-carbon economy.

The Centre for Low Carbon Futures (CLCF) is a joint initiative between the Yorkshire Universities and the regional development agency, Yorkshire Forward. The centre will be led by the universities of Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York and draw on the research strengths of all the region’s higher education institutions.

By adopting a multidisciplinary and cross-university approach across the sciences, social sciences and engineering, the centre aims to improve our understanding of the impact and costs of climate change and identify ways in which organisations and communities can adapt to meet these challenges.

The centre will also develop innovative technologies and methodologies for carbon reduction in partnership with regional business and industry, helping the region to meet its own emissions reduction targets and to exploit the opportunities available as world economies change to a low carbon model.

The centre has already identified its first four pilot research projects, covering the regional economics of climate change, low-carbon supply chains, biorenewables and carbon capture technology.

“The centre will provide the knowledge base to generate workable solutions for businesses and communities, promoting the uptake of innovations and creating change in the real world,” said interim director Tony Hardy. “Its work will protect those most vulnerable to the changes that climate change will bring to us all.”

“The Centre for Low Carbon Futures will involve researchers of the highest calibre from many academic disciplines and from across the many universities and research institutes in Yorkshire working together in an atmosphere of intellectual rigour and mutual support,” added Brian Cantor, vice-chancellor of the University of York and chair of the centre’s interim board. “The centre will create a visionary research and training environment of international quality to meet the challenging energy and environmental questions facing society.”

From January 2010, the centre’s director will be Jon Price who, since 2007, has been managing director of Climate Strategies, hosted at Cambridge University’s Centre for Energy Studies.

“Joining CLCF at this time represents a hugely exciting opportunity; The United Nations’ meetings to be held in Copenhagen in December will be a major event for climate change policy, hopefully resulting in progress on multilateral agreements,” Price said. “With world attention on the outcome of these talks we will have great opportunities to put CLCF at the forefront of practical measures to reduce carbon — going beyond policy and helping to deliver legally binding emissions reductions on a regional, national and international level — through the practical applications of products derived from new low-carbon technologies. The centre will provide a unique conduit for the region’s academic and business communities to collaborate and increase their joint understanding of practical applications of clean technologies.”