BC climate solutions research gets $900K lift from PICS

From urban tree cooling, to creating products from air pollution, to helping mountain communities adapt to climate change, five BC research teams have received funding from the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) to accelerate climate action.

Teams from the University of Victoria (UVic), University of British Columbia (UBC), and the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) will each receive $180,000 over three years through the Opportunity Projects Program (OPP). The program funds research on high-impact climate mitigation or adaptation solutions. In each project, academic researchers work in a team with non-academic partners eager to use the research results to take positive action.

“We’re pleased and humbled to support these important BC-based projects, which bring together researchers, communities, Nations, and business to develop actionable climate solutions across the province. These initiatives illustrate how PICS can convene, mobilize and leverage BC’s academic sector to support collaboratively designed research that accelerates climate action.” 

- PICS Executive Director Ian Mauro

The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation (EMLI) contributed to the OPP program and supported a UVic Zero-Emissions Vehicle project, Safe Passage: BC Green Shipping Corridors Assessment.

"These initiatives showcase British Columbia's critical role in combating climate change through the innovation of electric and zero-emission vehicles," remarked Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation. "Importantly, they demonstrate our commitment to create a cleaner and more sustainable future for generations to come, a cause that all British Columbians can take pride in."

UVic
Two teams received funding to solve climate challenges in the city and on the ocean.

• Cooling with Trees: Urban Tree Solutions for Tempering Climate Extremes
• Safe Passage: BC Green Shipping Corridors Assessment

UBC
Two teams have received grants to turn excess carbon into useable products, and to explore how Indigenous wisdom and knowledge can prevent wildfire.

• From Waste to Want: CO2 Conversion to Liquid Fuels and Solid Carbon Fibres
• Fighting Fire with Food

UNBC
UNBC’s Mountain Community Adaptation to Changing Snowpacks and Geohazards project will connect people in mountain communities with information that will help them adapt to ongoing and future climate-change impacts.

Hosted and led at UVic, PICS-awarded research initiatives reflect the university’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or UN SDGs. Read more about the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

About the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions
The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions is a research institute that networks and collaborates with four partner universities—the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Northern British Columbia—to co-develop and co-deliver climate solutions research and programming with diverse partners across BC and beyond.

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A backgrounder is available.

A media kit containing photos is available on Dropbox.

Read more at PICS News.