University College Cork is one of Ireland’s leading research intensive Universities and has an active research community working on multiple aspects of sustainability. 15% of all researchers in UCC are engaged in research that is directly related to the SDGs.
UCC’s sustainability researchers can be found throughout the University’s four colleges working in the constituent schools, associated research centres and through multidisciplinary institutes and SFI centres such as the Environmental Research Institute (ERI), Institute for Social Sciences in the 21st century (ISS21), Tyndall National Institute, MaREI Institute, APC Microbiome Institute and more. In excess of 20m euro is secured annually for environmental and sustainability research.
UCC is committed to utilising our world class research in a way that will demonstrate best practice solutions to sustainable development challenges. In January 2019, this was formalised through the development of UCC’s Green Campus Living Laboratory Seed Fund (see below).
The Environmental Research Institute
The Environmental Research Institute (ERI) is the focal point for many of the “green” research activities across UCC. The Institute brings together over 300 environmental researchers from across science, engineering, business and humanities to address complex environmental challenges in a multi-disciplinary approach. The ERI also incorporates a number of environmental research centres including Marine Renewable Energy Ireland (MaREI), Aquaculture and Fisheries Development Centre (AFDC) and the Centre for Research on Atmospheric Chemistry (CRAC).
The Institute fosters a broad approach to environmental research that ranges from “blue skies” research aimed at new knowledge creation, to applied research designed to generate solutions to specific environmental challenges through to contract-based work for industry and Government bodies. This breadth of research enables a seamless transmission of new knowledge from laboratory to industry/policy for the benefit of all in society. The interdisciplinary research environment at the ERI enables researchers to work together in large, multi-skilled teams that draw on each discipline’s core competences to address scientific questions of environmental relevance in a synergistic manner
Designed as a “Living Laboratory”, the ERI building has numerous “green” design features, and has itself been used to study occupant behaviour in “smart” buildings.
MaREI
MaREI is a marine and renewable energy research, development and innovation Centre supported by Science Foundation Ireland. It combines the expertise of a wide range of research groups and industry partners, with the shared mission of solving the main scientific, technical and socio-economic challenges across the marine and renewable energy sectors. MaREI is coordinated by the ERI and has over 200 researchers working across 6 academic institutions collaborating with over 45 industry partners. More information on MaREI can be found at via the Centre’s website.
MaREI is hosted at the Beaufort Research building in Ringaskiddy and combines the excellent track record of UCC’s Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre (HMRC), the Coastal and Marine Research Centre (CMRC) and the Sustainable Energy Research Group (SERG), in this field.
Climate Lab
UCC Climate Lab is an initiative of the ERI to bring together internationally leading researchers to provide a platform for collaborative, integrated research enabling the transition to a zero carbon and climate resilient economy and society. It has over 100 live research projects focused on climate change ranging from energy modelling, marine renewables, biofuels, building national platforms to support adaptation, climate technologies, atmospheric chemistry and financial appraisal of renewable energy assets and carbon liabilities.
The aim of UCC Climate Lab is to provide cutting edge knowledge and solutions to enable a smooth transition to a zero carbon and climate resilient society in Ireland, and facilitate a full exploitation of the economic and societal opportunities arising from this zero carbon transition.
UN Environment GEMS Water
The UN Environment GEMS/Water Capacity Development Centre, based at UCC’s Environmental Research Institute, was founded in 2015 to provide global capacity development in water quality monitoring and assessment. The importance of good quality freshwater for health and development have recently been highlighted by the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the associated Sustainable Development Goals. The Centre is working on a programme of activities that will support this Agenda.
GEMS/Water is a unique global water quality monitoring network operating in 125 countries around the world and providing water quality data to a central database known as GEMStat. GEMS/Water was established in 1978 in response to a recommendation made at the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment as an interagency programme under the auspices of the United Nations through the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It was implemented through the WHO at the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) in Burlington, Canada.
After three decades the programme still continues to provide data for assessments of status and trends in global inland water quality and has strengthened monitoring capacity and encouraged assessment and management of water resources in developing countries. For 35 years the Government of Canada (Environment Canada) hosted a secretariat and the global database GEMStat at the NWRI. In March 2014, the programme was transferred to back to UNEP and the German Government through its Federal Institute of Hydrology took over support of GEMStat and, in November 2014, the Government of Ireland, through the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and Irish Aid, took over support for the capacity development element of the programme.
Regional Hubs
The GEMS/Water programme is still in a transition phase, with the establishment of Regional Hubs to support and encourage data generation through the establishment of monitoring networks and capacity development as required. Currently, one Regional Hub has been established, at the National Water Agency in Brazil, for the Latin American and Caribbean region and Portuguese speaking countries. The GEMS/Water Capacity Development Centre will work closely with these Regional Hubs as they become established.
Sustainability
The new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has endorsed the importance of water in Goal 6 which aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Specifically, Target 6.3 aims to improve water quality by 2030. Monitoring progress towards achievement of this target will require indicators based on measurements obtained by water quality monitoring activities. The GEMS/Water Programme was endorsed by the United Nations Environment Assembly during its first session in June 2014 as being one of the mechanisms that will assist in meeting the above-mentioned water targets by providing reliable water quality data and information.
See the video below for an overview of the Centre’s activities. More information can be found on the Centre’s website.
Emerging from all of these events, in 2016, the book ‘Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Transitions to Sustainability’ was published. The book of draws together the insights and perspectives of fifteen academics from across the disciplinary bounds at UCC (as well as authors from Queen’s University Belfast and TU Graz).