Stories

Climate change and its effects are now the focus of a new area of study at UBC, where several courses are now being offered to study the impact of climate change.

Featuring interviews with Linda Nowlan, Senior Director, Sustainability Hub; Dr. Tara Ivanochko, Academic Director, Sustainability Hub, and student Carly Hilbert.

Early this summer, 7 applicants were chosen to receive funding from ISI Fund’s Stream 3: Student-led projects. One of the students is Alexandra Thomas, an undergraduate student in Forest Resources Management minoring in Community and Aboriginal Forestry. Her project, Homegrown Climate Justice: Building Climate Resilience Through Community, is supported by the mentorship of Climate Emergency Co-Senior Project Managers, Pablo Akira Beimler and Nadia Joe.

On October 14, UBC Surf Club, Ocean Uprise, and community partners hosted a screening of Coextinction, an Indigenous-led storytelling session, and afterparty. It was truly incredible that over 150 people came to the event in support of the Southern Resident Killer Whales and this special hydrosphere in the Salish Sea, and beyond, that depends on them.

Calls for an international treaty to stop production of coal, oil, and gas have been gaining momentum. On October 20, in a resolution on COP27, the EU Parliament asked that European states begin to develop a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Climate Action Network International’s Harjeet Singh says “Loss and damages” or more international financing to pay for losses due to climate catastrophes will be a make-or-break issue for COP27. Egypt, COP’s host country this year, is working to put this item on the official agenda, as last year’s COP in Glasgow failed to make much progress on this issue.

Egyptian civil society and activists have launched the slogans “No #ClimateJustice Without #HumanRights” and “No climate justice without open civic space” ahead of this year’s UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP27). Learn more by reading this and other articles as part of the blog series 'COP27 What's at Stake?' presented by the Sustainability Hub.

I am pleased to announce that following the second annual open competition, UBC’s largest ever delegation of students, faculty, and staff will attend the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, this November.

Public Scholars Initiative (PSI) is an award-winning program at UBC that is recognized for its excellence in supporting and promoting doctoral students in undertaking impactful research for the public good. Learn more from PSI coordinator Serbulent Turan and current scholar Grace Nosek, who has published a hopeful climate fantasy trilogy. They discuss how the CEF has accelerated necessary climate work at UBC and the exciting plans for this new cohort of climate scholars.

Transdisciplinary Collaborative PhD Pilot for Climate Emergency is a new and innovative graduate research program that tackles the climate emergency with a collaborative and diverse cohort. Dr. Naoko Ellis and Dr. Derek Gladwin are faculty members of the Collaborative PhD for Climate Action that received funding from the Climate Emergency Fund. Join us in this Q and A with the two as they discuss their climate story, why they advocate for transdisciplinary teaching and research, and their hopes for the future of climate research.

This month's Edubyte newsletter discusses what actions are happening at UBC to tackle the climate emergency, and how you can also help take action through teaching and research. Dr. Tara Ivanochko, Academic Director, Sustainability Hub and faculty member in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; and Oliver Lane, Manager Teaching and Learning, Sustainability Hub were guest editors for this edition.