The Edinburgh Earth Initiative will act as a focal point for the University’s world-leading teaching and research on climate, and aims to support global partnerships to deliver climate solutions.
It was launched at a reception for local, national and international VIPs in the University’s Playfair Library on Saturday 30 October, the evening before COP26 began in Glasgow.
Key focus
Drawing on the University’s expertise across numerous disciplines, the initiative will focus on the future of energy, sustainable lands and seas, health in a warmer world and socially just transitions.
It will also offer scholarships for students from communities at the greatest risk from climate change, to better investigate ways to combat its effects.
Ambitious targets
The new scheme builds on the University’s record of excellence in research, innovation and education, as well as recent organisational commitments on climate and sustainability
These commitments include the institution’s complete divestment from fossil fuels, and the recently announced multi-million-pound commitment to capture and store more than one million tonnes of unavoidable carbon dioxide emissions.
The University has set itself ambitious targets for making strong and lasting contributions to addressing climate change, including a commitment to becoming net zero by 2040.