Trinity College Dublin has been chosen to headquarter the new €41.3 million Climate+ Co-Centre, a ground-breaking research hub dedicated to addressing the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and water degradation across Ireland and Britain. This ambitious initiative will bring together a wide range of expertise to develop innovative solutions that address these critical environmental crises.

The Climate+ Co-Centre, set to begin operations on January 1, 2024, will receive initial funding over six years from Science Foundation Ireland, Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs, and UK Research & Innovation. Additionally, more than 30% of the funding will be provided by 29 industry partners, reflecting a strong collaboration between academia and the private sector.

The funding announcement was made at the British and Irish Intergovernmental Conference held at Farmleigh House by Simon Harris, Ireland’s Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Michelle Donelan, the UK’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology; and Katrina Godfrey, Permanent Secretary at Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs.

The centre will gather more than 60 leading researchers from 14 academic institutions located in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Great Britain. These researchers will focus on delivering the transformative changes urgently needed to combat the climate, biodiversity, and water crises that affect not only the islands of Ireland and Britain, but also the global community.

Yvonne Buckley, Professor of Zoology at Trinity and Co-Director of Climate+, highlighted the significance of this work:
“We need transformative changes to all sectors of society and the economy to tackle the climate, biodiversity, and water crises. Climate+ includes a team of outstanding researchers across 14 different universities and research institutes, and we will combine our diverse research skills and knowledge to develop solutions for these important challenges."

Buckley emphasised the necessity of moving away from "business as usual" and lauded the collaboration with forward-thinking industry partners:
"It is clear from the scientific evidence that business as usual is no longer an option, and we are delighted to be working with forward-thinking and progressive industry partners who will collaborate with us on research to provide sustainable solutions for their services and products.”

Dr. Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin, expressed enthusiasm about the centre's mission and the university's role in tackling environmental issues:
“Trinity is delighted to headquarter the Climate+ Co-Centre and is committed to pursuing research across traditional disciplinary boundaries to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and water degradation. Through this work, we aim to develop actions and solutions for a more fair, equitable, and liveable future.

"It is clear we need new visions and evidence, both nationally and internationally, to create truly sustainable alternative futures and to spark necessary change across society and the economy. This new approach can make a significant impact in what is, without doubt, the most important and pressing endeavour of our time.”

Professor Mark Emmerson of Queen’s University Belfast, and Co-Director of Climate+, stressed the urgency of action:
“Given the scale of climatic anomalies we have witnessed in 2023, urgent action is needed to drive transformative change at scale and pace. Climate+ will provide a blend of integrated solutions, drawing on expertise across the natural, social, and physical sciences to help mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, and water quality degradation. These are interrelated global challenges, and by addressing them together, we can maximize the co-benefits.”

Professor Ed Hawkins, climate scientist at the University of Reading and the lead for the Climate+ Co-Centre in Great Britain, added:
“Climate change and biodiversity loss are threats that require coordinated action across national borders. This new multi-country research centre presents a wonderful opportunity for Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Great Britain to pool our scientific expertise to develop innovative solutions to the challenges of climate change, biodiversity decline, and water security that we all face.”

The Climate+ Co-Centre’s research will focus on providing pathways for a fair and just transition to Net Zero, reversing biodiversity loss, and restoring water quality, while simultaneously building a sustainable economy. The centre will offer urgently needed solutions and strategies for individual and systemic change, as well as evidence-based tools to help facilitate positive transformation across society and industry.

In addition to working on policy and systemic change, Climate+ researchers will collaborate with industry partners to identify and validate innovations needed to thrive in a climate-positive, biodiversity-positive, and water-positive world. Specifically, these collaborations will target four key areas:

  1. Sustainable AgriFood Transitions
  2. Sustainable Communities & Livelihoods
  3. Assessing Risks & Opportunities
  4. Investing in Carbon & Nature, focusing on forestry, peatlands, grasslands, and coastal habitats.

The Climate+ Co-Centre emerges from a series of collaborative efforts by multiple academic partners in Ireland and Northern Ireland, particularly through the All Island Climate & Biodiversity Research Network, which is supported by the National Parks & Wildlife Service and other UK partners.

The academic partner institutions involved in Climate+ include Trinity College Dublin, Maynooth University, University of Galway, University College Cork, Dublin City University, University College Dublin, Atlantic Technological University, University of Limerick, Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, University of Reading, Newcastle University, and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

This monumental effort to tackle the interrelated challenges of climate, biodiversity, and water marks a significant step toward sustainable futures for both the islands of Ireland and Britain, as well as for the broader global community.