Over 70 delegates from across the Alliance, along with external funders and stakeholders attended the workshop held at the Paintworks in Bristol.
This event comes at a significant time for climate action not only at a national scale, with the Extinction Rebellion Protests and UK and Welsh governments declaring a climate emergency, but also for our region, which is home to world class facilities and more climate expertise than any other area worldwide.
Recent events include the University of Bristol becoming the first UK university to declare a climate emergency, and Cardiff University selected as the main hub for a £5 million ESRC funded Research Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations.
Dame Julia Slingo, former Chief Scientist of Met Office said: “The GW4 region of South West England and South East Wales could become the powerhouse for climate and the environment. It’s great to see events like this encouraging researchers to coalesce around a topic and working at the interfaces of research. It won’t be easy but GW4 has the potential to deliver real change and train the next generation of scientists necessary.”
Each university showcased the breadth and depth of climate related research undertaken at their institution and the impacts of this research. Individual researchers shared their research interests, from mathematical modelling to eco-anxiety, climate justice and flooding.
Breakout discussions provided the opportunity for academics to explore how interdisciplinary collaboration between GW4 could help us tackle major research questions and identify what resources and partner collaborations would be required.
Dr Sarah Perkins, GW4 Director, said: “Across the GW4 region we have identified multidisciplinary expertise in Climate Resilience, so it was fantastic to hear from so many researchers sharing their interests and ideas on this broad research area.
“We have already identified several key themes that have emerged from the workshop discussions and I look forward to supporting and developing these initial ideas and collaborations to achieve our ambitions.”
External funders Wellcome Trust, NERC and ESRC also presented their climate research priorities and funding opportunities within the context of the wider research landscape.
