A view of solar panels on top of the University of West London's Ealing site, surrounded by buildings and greenery.
A view of solar panels on top of the University of West London's Ealing site, surrounded by buildings and greenery.

UWL contributes to a working paper on equipping universities for the impact of climate change

Intro

A University of West London aviation expert has contributed to a working paper recently published by the UK Universities Climate Network (UUCN) entitled ‘Assessing Climate Risk and Strengthening Resilience for UK Higher Education Institutions'.

Main body

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Dr Anil Padhra, Associate Professor in Sustainable Aviation at UWL’s London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism (LGCHT) and Nasrin Khanom, Head of Environmental Sustainability at UWL, both contributed to the paper.

Anil says:

The UK higher education sector is already being impacted by climate change and this will continue at least for the next few decades. This working paper highlights the need for universities and colleges to assess climate risks and develop resilience. This will ensure institutions like UWL continue to deliver a fantastic student experience and world-class research both here in the UK and at overseas partners.”

Authored by 19 experts from across 13 institutions, the guidance draws on the latest evidence and is intended to be a valuable resource to support decision makers, senior leaders, sustainability practitioners, and risk experts within HEIs to undertake this urgent work.  

The working paper uses UWL as an example of how to build energy resilience in a changing climate, citing the university’s investment in renewable heating and ventilations systems including ground source heat pumps and solar photovoltaic-thermal panels. 

A set of six case studies illustrate how UK HEIs are assessing climate risk and building resilience and the additional benefits that can be leveraged from undertaking these activities.

UUCN is a growing group of more than 85 universities and research centres working together to promote a zero carbon, resilient future. They coordinate and publish briefing papers to share evidence on key climate change topics, written by more than 100 authors from across their member universities.

Sustainability

Find out more about sustainability at UWL.

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