A landmark initiative has been launched to bring together Scottish universities to address the climate emergency.
Scotland Beyond Net Zero (SBNZ), founded by the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, aims to help the country meet – and go beyond – its ambition of achieving net zero by 2045.
Why Edinburgh and Glasgow unis are getting together
The collaboration aims to catalyse action and to empower government, policymakers, organisations and industry to make informed change to help Scotland reach its climate targets.
The venture will combine world-changing research, innovation and expertise in climate science and sustainability. It will address key challenges linked with the climate emergency, including clean energy, storage, decarbonisation, green transport, community empowerment and climate justice.
Chris Stark: Climate Change Committee chief to step down
While initially launched by the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, it will bring together world-class expertise from institutions across Scotland.
The initiative will be launched at an event hosted by the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition Màiri McAllan MSP today (Tuesday, January 23) at Dynamic Earth, in Edinburgh.
The showcased projects include the Energy at Edinburgh initiative, which is working with partners to deliver affordable, secure and sustainable energy for all, and GALLANT, which is using Glasgow as a living lab to trial new sustainable solutions throughout the city.
How hot was Scotland in 2023, the global hottest year?
First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “Scotland’s universities have a vital role to play in our transition to Net Zero, not only through their world-class research, but in providing the education and evidence we need to make informed decisions about our future".
Building on the legacy of the UN’s 26th Climate Change Conference (COP26), which was held in Glasgow in 2021, the new initiative seeks to provide policymakers and government with cutting-edge data, insights and expertise will enable evidence-based policy recommendations.
Tory MP quits in protest over more North Sea oil and gas drilling
The venture will also facilitate collaborations for industry partners to unlock innovations that bring benefits to people and the planet.
By supporting and connecting existing networks and initiatives, and stimulating new activities and endeavours, SBNZ aims to become a leading global example of partnerships to effect positive action on climate change.
Climate change is happening in Scotland. A wake-up call
Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said: “Climate change is arguably the greatest global challenge of our time. We need coordinated action to harness our combined strengths. To support Scotland’s transition to net zero, it is vital that we go further and faster together. That’s what SBNZ aims to do.”
Scotland's climate justice fund and how it has been spent
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “The climate emergency demands that all of us - academia, business, government and third sector organisations - step up our efforts to work more closely together.
"Scotland has immense potential to innovate to solve the stubborn challenges associated with achieving a fair and just transition to net zero, and in launching this coalition today we hope to encourage partners across the nation to join us and get involved with SBNZ.”
Mr Yousaf said: “We have a clear pathway to deliver on global climate change commitments for Scotland and there are enormous opportunities to innovate and bring together expertise across academia, industry and the third sector.
Scotland's climate change happening faster than predicted
“I commend the leadership shown by the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow in launching this initiative and I welcome the collaborative approach taken by the universities and partners across the country who will shape the development of Scotland Beyond Net Zero in the months ahead.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel