Climate: Science, Change, Action

We are in a climate crisis and we need to act.

In 2019, we declared a climate emergency. This is the most urgent issue of our time, further deepened by systemic injustices and colonialism.

As researchers, we are dedicated to answering questions about how the climate is changing, and how these changes are driven by human activity. As a community, we are committed to the work of climate justice.

Why do we need climate justice?

Climate change, and the extractive practices that drive it, most heavily impact those who have contributed least to the current crisis – many in the Global South, Indigenous and Black communities, and people of color.

We must ask how our global economies and societal structures can be reconfigured to tackle the climate crisis in a way that also battles existing inequalities.

Climate Research at UBC Geography

Our department is at the forefront of climate research, on the Canadian and global scale.

Our faculty members have written New York Times bestsellers, and served on national and international advisory bodies — including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Geographers at UBC work on issues from wildfires to warming coral reefs and the social inequalities exacerbated by the climate crisis.

Some current projects include:

– glacier retreat in British Columbia
– carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands
– Canada’s carbon future and Net Zero goals
– climate displacement and rural migration in sub-Saharan Africa
– how digital innovation can support sustainability
– biodiversity challenges and shifting ecosystems
– climate impact in tropical forest landscapes

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