Stories

UBC understands that the actions we take today will affect human and environmental wellbeing for generations to come.

The stories below provide a window into the broad range of climate emergency-related activities underway by UBC academic units, operational departments, community initiatives, and student groups. UBC invites you to explore what’s happening, and join us in this vital work.

Featured Stories

Climate Emergency Fund Recipients Share Back

Sustainability Ambassadors Program

Join us in this interview with Jack Suchodolski and Kshamta Hunter to learn more about the Sustainability Ambassador’s Program, how the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF) has helped the program grow, and hear advice from Jack on getting involved in sustainability leadership. 

Climate Justice UBC

Join us in this Q and A with Michelle Xie and Yasmina Seifeddine from CJUBC, as they discuss CJUBC’s demands for UBC to follow up on their fossil fuel divestment commitments, how the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF) has supported CJUBC’s work and values, and the deeper message behind the recent release of the CJUBC CEF Grant Report.  

All Stories

Climate Emergency Fund: Global and Campus Impact

Jan 30, 2024

The Climate Emergency Fund (CEF) is a one-time, $1.5 million fund for UBC Vancouver faculty and staff-led programs that mobilize and cultivate learning, research, and community engagement efforts in climate action by students. Friday, January 19, 2024 – 15:27 The Climate Emergency Fund emerged through advocacy from the student-led UBC Climate Hub and close collaboration with elected […]

Climate Emergency Fund: Public Scholar Maya Daurio’s Community-Centred Wildfire Resilience Research

Nov 07, 2023

Maya Daurio, an anthropology PhD candidate participating in the Public Scholars Initiative at UBC, is in a unique position as both a researcher and a resident in her local community. Maya's participatory research to explore the impacts of the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire in Colorado, supported by the UBC Climate Emergency Fund, is engaging and highlighting local residents' experiences of disasters as a way to facilitate a broader reckoning with the uncertain future of a warming climate.

Extreme heat, extreme inequality: Addressing climate justice in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

Oct 11, 2023

Published: September 27, 2023 5.23pm EDT The hottest summer ever recorded in the northern hemisphere is a stark reminder of the immediacy of the climate crisis. And the hardest hit by climate impacts, such as residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, are often those with the least capacity to adapt. People who live in this community are exposed to […]

RESEARCH TO ACTION: ADVANCING URBAN SUSTAINABILITY 2023

Sep 14, 2023

Presented by the UBC Sustainability Scholars Program: A conference on urban sustainability research What happens when you give bright and engaged students real-world sustainability problems to solve? UBC Sustainability Scholars are helping to generate real change in the world. Join us to learn more about what our local governments, institutions and NGOs are doing to […]

How to Stay Cool in Extreme Heat: Tips & Strategies

May 17, 2023

Extreme heat events are on the rise due to climate change driven by fossil fuels and interconnected systems of colonialism, racism, capitalism and neoliberalism. Though deeper systemic change is needed to prevent heatwaves from magnifying and causing disproportionate community harms, at the Climate Hub, we also understand that amplifying knowledge, tangible strategies and coping mechanisms […]

UBC STUDENT CYCLING ACROSS BANGLADESH TO RAISE AWARENESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS

May 02, 2023

UBC student Abul Bashar Rahman is preparing for an epic bike ride across Bangladesh to produce a documentary about how those most vulnerable to climate change in the country are experiencing and preparing for its impacts. Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023 – 14:37 UBC student Abul Bashar Rahman is preparing for an epic bike ride across […]

Climate Emergency Fund Recipients Share Back: Sustainability Ambassadors Program

Apr 25, 2023

You may have seen this iconic group of students on campus wearing their coordinated shirts as they deliver a sustainability program or event. They are the Sustainability Ambassadors, a team of highly dedicated students who are working to educate UBC students about sustainability, encourage student engagement with sustainability, and connect sustainability groups on campus. Join us in this interview with Kshamta and Jack to learn more about the Sustainability Ambassador’s Program, how the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF) has helped the program grow, and hear advice from Jack on getting involved in sustainability leadership.  

Moving from climate anxiety to hope at Climate Emergency Week 2023

Apr 19, 2023

Explore UBC student and staff perspectives on the climate emergency from this year’s Climate Emergency Week. Wednesday, April 19, 2023 Post content by UBC Sustainabillity Hub How do we tell our climate stories? In early February 2023, the Sustainability Hub coordinated the second annual Climate Emergency Week at the UBC Vancouver campus. Calling on students, […]

Climate Emergency Fund Recipients Share Back: Climate Justice UBC

Apr 06, 2023

Climate Justice UBC (CJUBC) is a group of students who organize to tackle climate change and its root causes, and they see the climate movement as inseparable from movements for racial, social, and economic justice. CJUBC aims to hold UBC accountable to its students by calling on them to reinvest 10% of their endowment into community impact investments.   Join us in this Q and A with Michelle Xie and Yasmina Seiffedine from CJUBC, as they discuss CJUBC's demands for UBC to follow up on their fossil fuel divestment commitments, how the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF) has supported CJUBC’s work and values, and the deeper message behind the recent release of the CJUBC CEF Grant Report.

Climate Emergency Fund Recipients Share Back: UBC Climate Hub

Jan 17, 2023

The UBC Climate Hub is a student-led university-wide initiative that aims to connect and empower university and community stakeholders to take bold climate action for a just future. The Climate Wellbeing Engagement Network is one of their core projects dedicated to helping guide and prepare the UBC community and beyond when facing scenarios caused by the climate emergency such as extreme weather events, grief, anxiety, and stress. Join us in this Q and A with Meghan Wise and Lea Anderson from Climate Hub as they discuss the impact of the climate emergency on today's youth and how wellbeing is more important now than ever before.