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30+ years dedicated to climate action

UVic has been dedicated to climate action for more than three decades to bring vital impact to people, places and the planet. From preserving local ecosystems, to hosting the biggest ocean observation network in the world, leading positive change is the common thread in our research and culture.

Graphic composite featuring wind bouy in coastal waters
Participants of the Community Energy Systems Course in Old Crow, Yukon, March 2023. Participants stand next to rows of solar panels surrounded by snow.

Accelerating the global shift to clean energy

UVic awarded $83.6M in funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) to facilitate the adoption of clean energy practices in remote and Indigenous communities.

Vuntut Gwitchin Government and YukonU train Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation citizens on community energy systems in Old Crow.

3

decades of ocean climate monitoring

15

years of energy transition projects

12

centres focused on climate change

Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET)

ACET is a multi-partner research initiative helping small-to-mid-sized communities transition to locally sourced clean energy systems.

From harvesting offshore wind, tidal and solar energy to innovative new low-carbon financing and governance models, ACET is integrating breakthrough renewable energy technologies and solutions that will help get Canada get to net zero—one community at a time.

How we are making an impact

The Al-Khawaldahs share a traditional Bedouin breakfast with Vibert, Azzam and members of the film crew.

Keeping Palestinian food culture alive

UVic historian Elizabeth Vibert is documenting Palestinian refugee Aisha Azzam's efforts to keep her community’s food culture alive and establish food security in a region rocked by climate change. 

Second-year undergraduate science student Quinn Bitz on a rocky beach shore.

New degree for a changing world

The BSc in Climate Science prepares students to face the future with skills that turn climate science into real action. 

Prototype testing with the UVic-led Blind Channel off-grid tidal power project

Harnessing BC’s tidal energy reserves for a clean energy future

West Thurlow Island, 35 kilometres off the coast of Campbell River, boasts world-class natural beauty as well as a bounty of potential tidal energy reserves—completely untapped until a unique University of Victoria-led community partnership started work prov­­ing the viability of reliable clean energy systems for BC’s off-grid coastal communities.

UVic's PRIMED receives $1M from TD Ready Challenge

PRIMED, in collaboration with Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, will harness clean wave energy off Nootka Island.

Lək̓ʷəŋən traditional dancers welcome delegates at the opening reception and launch of CIFAL Victoria, First Peoples House, in March 2022.

CIFAL Victoria Turns 1

UN-accredited training centre CIFAL celebrates its first year of linking communities and continents, championing SDGs and educating our global network on climate action. 

Fabio DeLeo in lab

Ottawa invests $46.5M into UVic's ONC

Learn how ONC is advancing ocean science & innovation.

Our current SDG rankings

UVic is in the top five colleges and universities around the world in advancing and living up to the commitments of three United Nations SDG areas, as rated by the 2022 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings:

  • 2nd for SDG 13: Climate action
  • 5th for SDG 14: Life below water
  • 2nd for SDG 15: Life on land

We ranked 12th overall out of 1,406 institutions, including 24 in Canada.