Why tackling climate change is the key priority for the University of Hull - Dave Petley

It will require collaboration between universities, local and national partners from Government, business and the third sector, working together to develop innovative solutions to both reverse the human drivers of warming and to mitigate its effects on the most vulnerable in our society.

Last year we launched the University of Hull’s Strategy 2030, in which we committed to create a fairer, brighter, carbon neutral future, with environmental sustainability and social justice informing teaching and research across all our departments. Our ambition of becoming a carbon neutral campus in 2027 was boosted by the announcement in April that we had secured funding from institutional investors that will allow us to develop sustainable facilities and infrastructure.

True sustainability will be delivered through real projects involving businesses and communities. The ambitions outlined in our Strategy 2030 inform much of the ground-breaking research, innovation, and partnerships that the University of Hull is now looking to pioneer across the Humber, the UK and internationally.

For example, the University’s Aura Innovation Centre, which brings low-carbon ideas to life, has recently been working with farmers from across the region, as well as experts from the University’s Business School and academics from Biology, Geography, Geology and Computer Science, to tackle a deadly weed wreaking havoc across the English countryside.

Using machine learning, we have supported farmers to better understand the weed and to optimise their use of chemicals and fertilisers, providing practical, effective and environmentally sound solutions to the issue.

Aura is also collaborating with researchers from across the university to help local businesses to reduce their carbon footprint. This has included work with East Yorkshire smart parcel tech firm iParcelBox, a disruptor that creates secure, weatherproof drop-boxes, allowing customers to receive parcels securely when they’re not home, enabling them to improve the sustainability of their delivery practices.

Similarly, working with Rainbow Professional, a manufacturer of forestry and horticultural products, Aura, with the help of expert researchers at the university, has supported the development of innovative, 100 per cent plant-based polymer tree guards as an alternative to traditional plastic items.

Road transport accounts for over 10 per cent of global emissions. Our Logistics Institute has been carrying out fantastic work to help green the transport industry, for example working to optimise freight transport.

They have succeeded in reducing congestion by using more environmentally friendly and less costly ways to transport freight. They have also created a Railfreight Energy and Emissions Calculator, which significantly reduces the cost and time required for the analysis of the energy and emissions impact of rail freight initiatives, enabling faster and more consistent analyses ahead of large investments.

The next generation of scientists and engineers will play a key role in the fight against climate change. The Aura Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) is working to fill the skills gap in the offshore wind industry, training professionals whilst also supporting businesses involved in offshore wind operations with cutting edge research.

As an anchor institution in the Humber region, we are incredibly proud of these local partnerships, which can help to deliver real impact, support the economy and effect a long-term, low-carbon transition within our communities.

But the battle against climate change is not just about reducing emissions. Our researchers are helping deliver climate resilience for communities in the Humber and more widely.

We have recently implemented a scholarship investigating the links between climate-related water stresses, migration and human trafficking, furthering our interest in the intersection between sustainability and social issues. This reflects our belief that climate change’s most damaging effects are felt most keenly by the most disadvantaged people.

In the coming year, to continue our work to advance climate justice, we are creating scholarships that will help develop the talent necessary for a more sustainable future.

With an investment of over £1.4m across the next three years, we will be funding 22 PhD projects in five clusters, three of which relate to social justice and two to sustainability. The scholarships will nurture research talent, equipping postgraduate researchers with the skills and knowledge to tackle some of society’s biggest challenges.

Professor Dave Petley is the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Hull.