Climate Action campaign: Sheffield Hallam and TUoS join Universities UK to showcase vital impact of environmental research

A major new campaign which was launched last week aims to highlight how universities are tackling the climate emergency through research, working with local communities and improving climate literacy.

The campaign has been launched by Universities UK, the collective voice of 140 universities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Professor of Energy Policy, Aimee Ambrose, has been highlighted in the campaign for her research into supporting hard to reach energy users and fighting energy invisibility.

Most people control our heat with buttons and dials, playing no direct part in its generation.

Although people are becoming increasingly conscious of how much money we’re spending, experts say they don’t necessarily understand how much fuel gets used when we press or twist, or what is being burnt to generate it.

Prof Ambrose is based in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam, and is researching the implications, not just for individuals, but for society’s response to climate change.

As part of the ‘Walking with Energy’ project, researchers led a group of local people on walks along district heating pipelines in Sheffield, Nottingham and the cities of Lund and Malmo is southern Sweden, to engage them directly with one of the sources of the heat and electricity they use in their everyday lives.

The walks led participants to the Energy from Waste plants at the end of the pipelines, which burn household waste to provide heat for thousands of buildings around the cities they serve.

During the walks, participants went from a position of apathy, to holding strong views of the plant – not just sharing what they thought but giving informed reasons why.

The walks (held virtually during Covid) have engaged over 16,000 people.

The project provides a model of how first-hand encounters can reconnect people with energy and promote greater environmental citizenship.

As part of her research, Prof Ambrose is chief academic advisor on hard-to-reach energy users to the Users Technology Collaboration Programme by the International Energy Agency, as well as a trustee of the Fuel Poverty Research Network, an international research funding and knowledge exchange charity.

Prof Ambrose said: “It’s easy to think that researching or promoting climate action is someone else’s area – the job of climate scientists perhaps, but the climate emergency is everyone’s business.

"Universities are full of people advancing knowledge and accustomed to communicating their knowledge.

"We’re therefore uniquely positioned to help people understand climate change, what it means for our lives and our future, and how we can most effectively respond.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a sociologist, psychologist, artist, geographer or whatever, you will have knowledge and skills to contribute to addressing the greatest challenge facing humanity.”

According to new research from Universities UK, 50 per cent of parents in the region of Yorkshire and Humberside believe that UK universities are equipping students with knowledge about climate change.

The research also highlighted parents see universities as crucial to delivering on the Department for Education’s recently announced sustainability strategy – published last week, with 64 per cent believing that going to university would equip their child with skills and knowledge that can help them make the world a better place.

And given the opportunity, one in three adults consider higher education as a route to upskilling with a view to realigning their career to combat the climate emergency.

Included in the campaign is the University of Sheffield’s partnership with ITM Power. ITM Power is building a new green hydrogen gigafactory and national hydrogen training centre at the University’s Innovation Campus in South Yorkshire.

The gigafactory, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2023, will manufacture electrolysers that split water into molecules of hydrogen and oxygen using renewable power. The resultant zero-carbon green hydrogen can then be used to decarbonise industrial processes, transport and heating, and will play a major role in achieving net zero.

The partnership between ITM Power and the University will include the development of a new National Hydrogen Research, Innovation and Skills Centre, which will lead to the creation of new jobs at all levels of the hydrogen sector as well as training and career development, and the promotion of hydrogen domestically and internationally.

Prof Steve West, president of Universities UK, said: “We need urgent and ambitious climate solutions and must ensure future generations are given the chance to build the careers they need to tackle this emergency head. Universities are crucial to this.

"A university education can make all the difference in equipping students with the knowledge and skills to help them to make a positive impact on the planet, whatever path they choose.

“Evidence shows that universities are centre stage in the UK’s climate action efforts, from researching bold and innovative solutions, to mobilising businesses and local communities in ways that benefit us all.

"As a sector we can do even more to ensure the public hear this vital message, and that is what this campaign is all about.”