Welsh universities research climate change solutions

Two Welsh universities have secured funding allowing them to work together researching solutions to the problems posed by climate change.

In a project costing £55 million scientists from Aberystwyth and Bangor universities will research practical solutions to climate change, food security, renewable energy, and animal and plant diseases.

Scientists from Aberystywth’s newly formed Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) and Bangor’s College of Natural Sciences will work together on the project, forming he largest group of biological, environmental and rural scientists in the UK, and one of the biggest teams in Europe.

The universities already have an international reputation on environmental issues, and it is hoped that the funding will only strengthen this, making the institute a major global competitor in the environment sector.

£23.5 million of the funds have been given in a grant by the Welsh Assembly. An additional £14 million will be invested by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

The funding will pay for purpose built research facilities, and new scientific and management posts at the institute.

Wales has increasingly been looking towards the environment sector to boost its economy. One in six of Wales’ workforce is now employed in the sector, which provides £2.3 billion towards the country’s GDP.