The Government of British Columbia has announced that it will beseeking to create a $94.5 million Pacific Institute for ClimateSolutions. The Institute will involve BC’s four research-intensiveuniversities in addressing and mitigating the effects of climatechange.

“It is in northern regions where the greatest effects of climate changeare being felt,” says UNBC President Don Cozzetto. Current datasuggests the temperature increase in northern and central BC is abouttwo to three times greater than that experienced in Metro Vancouver andVancouver Island over the past 100 years. “This makes UNBC’sinvolvement in this new institute a natural extension of our mission tofocus on the issues of the North. We are already a centre for uniqueacademic programming and research on climate change and otherenvironmental issues that affect the sustainability of communities.This is what makes us Canada’s Green University.”

Some highlights of climate change research and teaching at UNBC:

• UNBC’s Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute has 63members, many of whom are involved with climate change research andteaching.
• The University has a new minor in Global Environmental Change andprograms that focus on climate change. These include majors/streams in such areas as Environmental Engineering, Environmental Planning, Environmental Science,Geography, and Global Environmental Policy. The proportionof students in environmental programs is 20-times the national average.
• Among UNBC’s Canada Research Chairs are professors who are examiningthe effects of climate change on snow accumulations at high altitudesand developing numerical models to predict future climate change.
• UNBC is leading a multi-million dollar research program that isexamining the fate of the province's glaciers under various climatechange scenarios. Early results indicate that glaciers in thenorth have been retreating at a faster rate than those in the south.
• The mountain pine beetle infestation is believed to be one result ofwarmer winters in north-central BC. UNBC is active in pine beetleresearch, with projects examining pine beetle genetics, theiradaptation to other kinds of trees, dispersal to new areas, and theircontribution to climate change. Research is also using tree rings toanalyze how trees have been responding to climate change to predict howrising temperatures may affect future forest composition.
• The University’s Quesnel River Research Centre is actively researching how rising air temperatures are affecting river/lake temperatures,sedimentation, and fish habitat.

“We’re eager to make a difference and government is providing us withthe tools to do so,” says Dr. Cozzetto. “The four research-intensiveuniversities in BC can be world leaders in reducing emissions,providing new information through research, and educating futureenvironmental stewards.”

Contact:
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC – 250.960.5622 

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UNBC professor Scott Green is analyzing tree rings to assess how trees are reponding to climate change.

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Research on climate change at high altitudes 

Research on the link between pine beetles and climate change

Research on the transport of air pollution across the oceans and between countries.