British Council and the Association of Commonwealth Universities – Research partnership to accelerate climate action
The British Council and the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) have partnered to create the ‘Commonwealth Futures Climate Research Cohort’. The research group will bring together their local knowledge to global use to work on issues related to the environment and climate change in the run-up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021.
The members of the cohort come from 25 ACE member universities based in 16 different countries, reflecting the diversity of the Commonwealth.
These talented researchers will build international collaborations and work with experts to influence environmental issues in their communities and further afield throughout the year 2021.
The 26 researchers work on peer-led research-to-action projects to support programmes helping communities affected by climate change and environmental issues. They will be mentored by experts and senior academics and will be able to attend the COP26 conference in Glasgow in November.
This international collaboration between young bright researchers brings their different ideas to work out the best solutions to a shared aim of how to tackle climate issues. The member universities will benefit from the research and inspire action to improve the climate.
The members of the cohort come from universities from the Pacific, Caribbean, Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Asia and specialize in areas aligned with the UK themes of the COP26 including climate adaptation and resilience, climate finance, agriculture, land and marine ecosystems, and energy transition.
Maddalaine Ansell, Director of Education, British Council said that the British Council welcomed the work with the ACU that is to support emerging researchers to collaborate and use their knowledge and expertise to influence and inspire climate action. She said that the British Council was proud to work with young people who are committed to leading transformative change especially as the UK hosts the COP26 conference.
By supporting the partnership, the knowledge shared between the researchers with different backgrounds is to promote collective efforts to preserve our planet.
