Preparing for climate change
The University will lead the Scotland spoke of a new £5 million hub which aims to deliver faster and more impactful action in the UK, to help it prepare better for the projected effects of climate change.
The new Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) hub aims to inform a national climate change adaptation plan by addressing current barriers around public awareness, policy, legislation and climate data that might be hindering the UK’s ability to adapt to climate change.
Key is the idea of ‘transformational adaptation’ – any action taken to protect people’s way of life from climate change should drive positive change, especially for the poorest and most marginalised members of society who are usually also the most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
It will involve eight universities and five climate partnership organisations, all working in collaboration over the next three years. There will also be a specifically targeted £750,000 flexible fund to accelerate ‘on the ground’ activities in partnership with local communities.
Professor Jaime Toney, director of the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Sustainable Solutions, will lead the University’s contribution: “The MACC hub presents an excellent opportunity to align key adaptation action across across the UK responding to key national challenges.
"At the Centre for Sustainable Solutions, we are helping the city of Glasgow adapt to the challenges of climate change through the £10.5m Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation (GALLANT) research programme. The whole-system approach to urban environmental and wellbeing challenges we’re developing in GALLANT will help inform our contributions to the MACC hub and exchange learning across all four nations in the UK.”
Discover more
The new Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change hub, led by King’s College London, is funded by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) and the Department for Food & Rural Affairs.