Bristol is home to a large and diverse community of scholars focused on delivering world-class research in the area of global change. Research interests span subjects and departments across the Faculties of Science, Engineering, Arts, Social Sciences and Law. The global change research theme brings together this expertise to deliver leading, multidisciplinary research on climate change and the environment.
The global change research theme aims to improve our understanding of climate and environmental change processes, to use this knowledge to better predict future changes, including their impact on all aspects of human society, and to help develop the technological and policy tools required for society to address environmental and economic concerns.
Global change is one of the most important issues currently facing mankind. We urgently need to better understand the likely consequences of human induced environmental change and to be able to evaluate this in the context of the natural, past variability. For example, there is a growing consensus about the reality of climate change. Even a modest increase in temperature can cause major changes to the functioning of ecosystems and can fundamentally alter our weather patterns. Such changes are manifest in an increasing intensity of tropical cyclones and the prevalence of flooding and drought events.
There is a need for action to develop a globally sustainable environmental and economic future in which resources are utilized in a way and at a rate that enables people to meet their current needs without compromising the needs of future generations. Sustainable solutions can, however, only be reached if they are economically feasible, socially desirable and politically viable.
Finding such solutions requires true collaboration amongst environmental scientists, economists, policy-makers and politicians. The development of the policies that promote sustainable solutions requires an integrated and multidisciplinary approach, with a strong foundation in the science of environmental change supporting an improved understanding of the engineering, economic, legal, and policy consequences.