Partnerships for the Planet is the National Centre for Universities and Business’ (NCUB) third addition in our new showcasing series where we celebrate and share the best of NCUB member collaborations. In this edition, we celebrate the crucial work of our members to help the planet at a time of rising global temperatures and biodiversity loss.
Dr Joe Marshall, Chief Executive of the NCUB: “Amidst the numerous crises of 2020, we cannot forget that the sustainability and climate crisis is one of the defining issue of our lifetimes.
The planet’s northern polar region recorded its second hottest 12-month period to September 2020, with the warmest temperatures since 1900 all now occurring within the past seven years. What’s more, every day around 8 million pieces of plastic make their way into our oceans. On land, last year’s California wildfires were made worse by the impacts of global heating, and it is estimated that climate change has boosted Australia bushfire risk by at least 30 per cent. Indeed, if our current rate of deforestation continues it is estimated that within 100 years, there will be no rainforests left on our planet.
We need to see action now. As the UK prepares to host the important 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, our government has already set an ambitious target to reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
UK universities and businesses are rising to the challenge of delivering change. New collaborative projects and research into clean and renewable energy, new products and practises to reduce our reliance on plastic, research into the impact of flooding and making key industrial sectors more sustainable are just some of the ground breaking work that universities and businesses have been involved in to help this cause.
In this booklet, NCUB has collated ten collaboration case studies from across the country. These case studies just scratch the surface of the incredible collaborative work that NCUB members have been involved in to promote sustainability and help mitigate the climate crisis.
Read Partnerships for The Planet in full here.
National Centre for Universities and Business
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