In recognition of its longstanding commitment to sustainability, the University will represent the UK as one of the founding members of the International Green Learning and Skills Accelerator, a Times Higher Education initiative set up as part of the

The Pact is run by three UN agencies 鈥� the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organization and the UN Children鈥檚 Fund, UNICEF - and was established to help tackle the green skills deficit and 鈥渁dvance the just transition to a low carbon and circular economy鈥�.

The Accelerator, and a related research project, will advance this mission by bringing together universities, industries, and policymakers from around the world to share best practice and to develop a globally recognised framework for green skills and learning.

This initiative aims to define, standardise, and promote the green skills necessary for the net-zero economy, aligning education and employment to meet the challenges of the climate crisis.

Professor Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of 野狼社区, said: 鈥淏eing invited to help shape the Green Learning and Skills Accelerator as a founding member is a powerful recognition of the University鈥檚 long standing leadership in sustainability 鈥� and of the expertise, creativity and collaborative spirit of our staff and students.  This initiative brings together universities, city partners, industry and global institutions to tackle one of the most urgent challenges of our time.  It鈥檚 a unique opportunity to co-create a scalable, inclusive approach to green learning that supports the transition to a net-zero future 鈥� here in 野狼社区 and around the world.鈥�

Phil Baty, Chief Global Affairs Officer at Times Higher Education, added: 鈥淚t is fantastic to witness The University of 野狼社区 joining the Green Learning and Skills Accelerator programme as a founding partner representing the UK. This once more reinforces the University鈥檚 commitment to sustainability as witnessed by their participation in the top ten each year of our .  Times Higher Education鈥檚 mission is to connect people, data and insights to help universities make the world a better place and this is a prime illustration of this in practice as we move towards a green economy.鈥�

One of the primary objectives of the project is to offer a consistent definition and taxonomy of what constitutes 'green skills' for the net-zero economy and how to measure it. The initiative is also in support of the Green Jobs for Youth Pact, that has seen a number of governments sign up and show their support at the UN Summit of the Future.

The University of 野狼社区 will work alongside a select group of other global institutions to co-develop a new framework that will guide universities and employers, ensuring they have the skills and knowledge needed teach young people from the offset or re-train the current workforce the skills they need to drive the green economy.

Professor Jennifer O鈥橞rien, Academic Lead for Sustainability Teaching and Learning, who has been leading on the project, said: "Universities are uniquely positioned to drive the green skills agenda through our world-class research, teaching, and partnerships. By engaging with our talented and diverse students and academics from not only our own community but across the globe, alongside our cross-sector collaborators, we are ensuring that green education is inclusive and has impact. This project will build on existing best practices and push us forward in creating thriving, sustainable futures for all, through transformative learning experiences."

As a globally connected, civic university, The University of 野狼社区 will use its connections to bring in alumni and partners from across the world have an input into the new framework. It also hopes to feed into city-wide plans to support its ambitious zero carbon goal for 2038.

The programme will involve extensive research and collaboration with universities, industries, and policymakers with the goal of creating an  inclusive, scalable Accreditation Framework to support, guide and give recognition to universities and colleges as Green Learning and Skills Providers.

Dr Julian Skyrme, Executive Director of Social Responsibility at The University of 野狼社区, said: 鈥淎s one of the world鈥檚 leading universities for social responsibility and sustainable development we know that our students 鈥� as future citizens, leaders and skilled professionals 鈥� will play a key role in addressing the climate and nature crisis. We鈥檙e look forward to playing a leading role in the critical task of defining and championing the sort of education we need to create a more sustainable world.鈥� 

The University of 野狼社区 has been consistently ranked as a leader in sustainability. It is the only university in the world to rank in the top ten for social and environmental impact in every year of the .

The University has set ambitious goals to reduce its environmental impact, aligning with its core mission of social responsibility. In 2022, it divested from coal, oil, and gas, reducing the carbon intensity of its investments by 37%. All the University鈥檚 degree programs are aligned with the , and its research platform, which includes the , combines world-leading research across disciplines to develop sustainable solutions for urgent environmental challenges. The University also recently signed a landmark deal that will see up to 65% of its electricity demand supplied through a brand-new renewables project.

While pollution levels from road traffic have fallen significantly thanks to policies like the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), new air pollution data from scientists at The University of 野狼社区, in collaboration with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), University of York, Zhejiang University and National Centre for Atmospheric Science, reveal emissions from non-road mobile machinery, such as generators and heavy-duty construction equipment, can exceed those from vehicles, particularly in areas where there is a lot of building activity.

Black carbon is soot from combustion and is a component of particulate matter (PM2.5). These are very fine particles that can enter the lungs and bloodstream and are known to damage human health. 

The team collected the pollution measurements from the top of the BT Tower in central London over summer and winter, using a technique called eddy covariance to track how much black carbon is released into the air and where it comes from.

The findings revealed that while pollution levels were significantly lower than cities like Beijing and Delhi, who have monitored pollution using the same method, they are not low enough to meet the . They suggest similar regulatory attention to road traffic is now needed for the construction sector. 

The study, published in the journal is the first of its kind in Europe.

At 190 metres tall, the BT Tower observatory has a specialised gas inlet system installed on the tower鈥檚 roof, which draws air into a laboratory on the 35th floor, allowing researchers to analyse pollution as it rises from streets, buildings, construction sites and nearby parks below.

The 鈥榚ddy covariance鈥� method works by measuring the turbulent motion of air, also known as eddies, and the concentration of airborne substances like black carbon within those eddies.

The scientists also conducted a detailed spatial footprint analysis to pinpoint emission hotspots that were directly linked to active construction sites near the BT Tower.

The new findings suggest that further progress in improving London鈥檚 air quality will require stricter regulation of construction machinery, especially in rapidly developing areas.

added: 鈥淲e compared observed emissions with emission standards for construction equipment and found that even with compliance, black carbon output from generators, machinery and construction vehicles remains significant. Our work highlights how measurement techniques like eddy covariance can fill critical gaps in our understanding of urban pollution and support evidence-based strategies to protect public health and the environment.鈥�

This research was published in the journal Environmental Sciences: Atmospheres

Full title: Quantifying black carbon emissions from traffic and construction in central London using eddy covariance

DOI:

China recently of the world鈥檚 largest hydropower dam, across the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet. When fully up and running, it will be the world鈥檚 largest power plant 鈥� by some distance.

Yet many are worried the dam will displace local people and cause huge environmental disruption. This is particularly the case in the downstream nations of India and Bangladesh, where that same river is known as the Brahmaputra.

The proposed dam highlights some of the geopolitical issues raised by rivers that cross international borders. Who owns the river itself, and who has the right to use its water? Do countries have obligations not to pollute shared rivers, or to keep their shipping lanes open? And when a drop of rain falls on a mountain, do farmers in a different country thousands of miles downstream have a claim to use it? Ultimately, we still don鈥檛 know enough about these questions of river rights and ownership to settle disputes easily.

The Yarlung Tsangpo begins on the Tibetan Plateau, in a region sometimes referred to as the world鈥檚 third pole as its glaciers contain the largest stores of ice outside of the Arctic and Antarctica. A series of huge rivers tumble down from the plateau and spread across south and south-east Asia. Well over a billion people depend on them, from Pakistan to Vietnam.

Yet the region is already under immense stress as global warming melts glaciers and changes rainfall patterns. Reduced water flow in the dry season, coupled with sudden releases of water during monsoons, could intensify both water scarcity and flooding, endangering millions in India and Bangladesh.

The construction of has historically disrupted river flows, displaced people, destroyed fragile ecosystems and increased risks of floods. The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Dam will likely be no exception.

The dam will sit along the tectonic boundary where the Indian and Eurasian plates converge to form the Himalayas. This makes the region particularly vulnerable to earthquakes, , and .

Downstream, the Brahmaputra is one of south Asia鈥檚 mightiest rivers and has been integral to human civilisation for thousands of years. It鈥檚 one of the world鈥檚 most sediment-rich rivers, which helps form a huge and fertile delta.

Yet a dam of this scale would trap massive amounts of sediment upstream, disrupting its flow downstream. This could make farming less productive, threatening food security in one of the world鈥檚 most densely populated regions.

The Sundarbans mangrove forest, a Unesco World Heritage Site that stretches across most of coastal Bangladesh and a portion of India, is particularly vulnerable. Any disruption to the balance of sediment could accelerate coastal erosion and make the already low lying area more vulnerable to sea-level rise.

The Brahmaputra eventually flows into a region of fertile fields and mangrove forests. Sk Hasan Ali / shutterstock

Unfortunately, despite the transboundary nature of the Brahmaputra, there is no comprehensive treaty governing it. This lack of formal agreements complicates efforts to ensure China, India and Bangladesh share the water equitably and work together to prepare for disasters.

These sorts of agreements are perfectly possible: 14 countries plus the European Union are parties to a , for instance. But the Brahmaputra is not alone. Many transboundary rivers in the global south face similar neglect and inadequate research.

Researching rivers

In our recent study, colleagues and I analysed . We wanted to assess how much academic research there was on each, what themes it focused on, and how that varied depending on the type of river. We found that, while large rivers in the global north receive considerable academic attention, many equally important rivers in the global south remain overlooked.

What research there is in the global south is predominantly led by institutions from the global north. This dynamic influences research themes and locations, often sidelining the most pressing local issues. We found that research in the global north tends to focus on technical aspects of river management and governance, whereas studies in the global south primarily examine conflicts and resource competition.

In Asia, research is concentrated on large, geopolitically significant basins like the Mekong and Indus. Smaller rivers where water crises are most acute are often neglected. Something similar is happening in Africa, where studies focus on climate change and water-sharing disputes, yet a lack of infrastructure limits broader research efforts.

Small and medium-sized river basins, critical to millions of people in the global south, are among the most neglected in research. This oversight has serious real-world consequences. We still don鈥檛 know enough about water scarcity, pollution, and climate change impacts in these regions, which makes it harder to develop effective governance and threatens the livelihoods of everyone who depends on these rivers.

A more inclusive approach to research will ensure the sustainable management of transboundary rivers, safeguarding these vital resources for future generations.

, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Geography,
This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

For years, nature has been blamed as a blocker of economic growth. After some ministerial about not letting get in the way of growth ambitions, the UK government released more details of its plans to .

The centrepiece of its aspirations to balance both nature and economic growth is a , to be set up in England through changes to habitat regulations. This should allow developers to stay within their legal obligations towards nature through a payment scheme without delaying their projects.

The is that, as an alternative to relocating important species or improving habitats on the site of a proposed development, a developer could pay into the nature restoration fund. This would pay for larger, more strategically located schemes to protect the species in question.

The fund simplifies and streamlines the regulations while collecting funds to promote more, bigger, better and increasingly .

Protecting nature is not just about bats and newts. According to trade association the Home Builders Federation (HBF), there are 160,000 homes being delayed by what are known as measures. These rules were a response to growing public concerns about land and water pollution caused by nutrient loads 鈥� pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus 鈥� associated with livestock farming and spillages from sewage works.

Government agency 74 local authorities that they should not allow any more house building in their areas unless this pollution could be mitigated. But this has led to lengthy and expensive project-by-project reviews to identify potential damage.

How will a fund help?

The fund will build on some schemes that are already known to work. One such scheme works for the protection of . Another successful scheme is project, working to protect and enhance heathland sites where rare birds such as nightingales breed. Crucially, this scheme allows new development to go ahead in adjacent areas.

The fund will be run by Natural England, which aims to draw on these experiences to unblock development at a large scale rather than at single-site level, pooling contributions from developers to pay for mitigation measures when there is a risk to nature.

If a particular 鈥渂locking鈥� issue is identified, experts from Natural England will produce a plan, which must be approved by the environment secretary. A levy on developers will then pay for mitigation measures 鈥渋n perpetuity鈥� (often 30 years), allowing the development to get under way.

Environmental experts have the general principles and approach of the nature restoration fund. But there has also been about whether the plan is well enough thought through. There are also questions on how well it will integrate with other schemes.

A widespread worry is for the future of 鈥� which includes measures for creating and improving using biodiversity units, effectively a form of 鈥渘ature market鈥�. This approach sets a target of 10% for biodiversity improvement based upon the combined distinctness, condition and significance of affected habitats over the lifetime of the development. But these measures are only just .

The concern is that providers of sites for these habitat banks 鈥� which might be councils, landowners, charities or private businesses, for example 鈥� might get cold feet and if they can鈥檛 be certain that their plans will be compatible with the nature restoration fund.

There is concern, too, about how payments from the nature restoration fund would be calculated. These will need to be locally appropriate and not pit nature restoration and biodiversity net gain against each other if, for example, landowners are forced to choose a particular scheme for their land that they are then . With two parallel systems in play, the relationship between them must be crystal clear, otherwise shared goals could be missed.

Another question is whether Natural England can be both regulator and financial beneficiary of the new scheme. There have been calls from some of those already involved in nature markets for some form of .

And it will also be vital that the new scheme respects what鈥檚 known as the 鈥渕itigation hierarchy鈥�. This hierarchy aims to avoid, reduce and then mitigate any impacts on nature on-site in that order. Then developers should consider off-site measures in areas where there could be greater .

But a danger here is that this could disconnect people from nature even further by mitigating ecological loss miles away from the site of the damage. This disconnection is considered to be a critical underlying cause of .

There is much to like about the nature restoration fund, but there is a risk that little will be achieved without the government showing genuine ambition and allocating enough money and staff to properly monitor and enforce it over the long term. Only time will tell whether it achieves the government鈥檚 goal of speeding up development.

At the moment, it is not clear how the fund will complement similar schemes and there is a danger of creating a complex patchwork in nature restoration funding. But if it works well, it could provide a richer funding ecosystem for nature recovery 鈥� a much-needed boost for England鈥檚 nature-depleted landscape.

, Professor, Urban and Environmental Planning and , Senior Lecturer in Planning and Environmental Management
This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

The findings, published in the journal ,  show that these powerful flows could be capable of traveling at speeds of up to eight meters per second, carrying plastic waste from the continental shelf to depths of more than 3,200 meters.

Over 10 million tonnes of plastic waste enter the oceans each year. While striking images of floating debris have driven efforts to curb pollution, this visible waste accounts for less than 1% of the total. The missing 99% 鈥� primarily made up of fibres from textiles and clothing 鈥� is instead sinking into the deep ocean.

Scientists have long suspected that turbidity currents play a major role in distributing microplastics across the seafloor 鈥� The University of 野狼社区 were among the first to demonstrate this through their research on 鈥楳icroplastic Hotspots鈥� in the Tyrrhenian Sea, published in the journal . However, until now, the actual process had not been observed or recorded in a real-world setting.

The latest study conducted by The University of 野狼社区, the National Oceanography Centre (UK), the University of Leeds (UK), and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research provides the first field evidence showing the process.

The findings pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems and highlight the urgent need for stronger pollution controls.

Dr Peng Chen, lead author on the study at The University of 野狼社区, said 鈥淢icroplastics on their own can be toxic to deep-sea life, but they also act as 鈥榗arriers鈥� transferring other harmful pollutants such as PFAS 鈥榝orever chemicals鈥� and heavy metals, which makes them an environmental 鈥榤ultistressor鈥� which can affect the entire food chain.鈥�

The research focused on Whittard Canyon in the Celtic Sea, a land-detached canyon over 300 km from the shore. By combining in-situ monitoring and direct seabed sampling, the team were able to witness a turbidity current in action, moving a huge plume of sediment at over 2.5 metres per second at over 1.5 km water depth. The samples directly from the flow revealed that these powerful currents were not only carrying just sand and mud, but a significant quantity of microplastic fragments and microfibres.

Further analysis found that the microplastics on the seafloor are mainly comprised of fibres from textiles and clothing, which are not effectively filtered out in domestic wastewater treatment plants and easily enter rivers and oceans.

, Geologist and Environmental Scientist at The University of 野狼社区, who designed and led the research, said: 鈥淭hese turbidity currents carry the nutrients and oxygen that are vital to sustain deep-sea life, so it is shocking that the same currents are also carrying these tiny plastic particles.

鈥淭hese biodiversity hotspots are now co-located with microplastic hotspots, which could pose serious risks to deep-sea organisms.

鈥淲e hope this new understanding will support mitigations strategies going forward.鈥�

Dr Mike Clare of the , who was a co-lead on the research, added: 鈥淥ur study has shown how detailed studies of seafloor currents can help us to connect microplastic transport pathways in the deep-sea and find the 鈥榤issing鈥� microplastics. The results highlight the need for policy interventions to limit the future flow of plastics into natural environments and minimise impacts on ocean ecosystems.鈥�

The study team are now focussing on efforts to better understand the effect that microplastics have on marine organisms, for example sea turtles and deep-sea fauna.

This research was published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Full title: Direct evidence that microplastics are transported to the deep sea by turbidity currents

DOI:

野狼社区 is the recipient of five awards, including:

• , Senior Lecturer in Chemical Biology and Biological Chemistry of the , and , Professor of Polymer Science at the Henry Royce Institute, who are a Co-Investigators on a Mission Hub led by the University of Portsmouth. The mission Hub is looking into how engineering biology can tackle plastic waste.
• , Professor of Geomicrobiology, from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, is involved in a Mission Hub led by the University of Kent, and also leads a Mission Award, both of which will be looking at ways to use engineering biology to process metals, including for bioremediation and for metal recovery from industrial waste streams.
• , , and of the 野狼社区 Institute of Biotechnology, received a Mission Award for a project that will engineer biological systems to enable economical production of functionalised proteins including biopharmaceuticals and industrial biocatalysts.
• , Chair in Evolutionary Biology, from the Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, and Professor Patrick Cai of the 野狼社区 Institute of Biotechnology, are looking into engineering phages with intrinsic biocontainment to develop new treatments against drug-resistant bacterial infections.

The hubs are funded for five years through UKRI and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and are a collaboration between academic institutions and industrial partners. The Mission Award Projects are funded for two years. These projects will expand upon our current knowledge of engineering biology and capitalise on emerging opportunities.

Announcing the funding the Science, Research and Innovation Minister, Andrew Griffith, said: 鈥淓ngineering biology has the power to transform our health and environment, from developing life-saving medicines to protecting our environment and food supply and beyond.

鈥淥ur latest 拢100m investment through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund will unlock projects as diverse as developing vaccines鈥reventing food waste through disease resistant crops, reducing plastic pollution, and even driving efforts to treat snakebites.

鈥淲ith new Hubs and Mission Awards spread across the country, from Edinburgh to Portsmouth, we are supporting ambitious researchers and innovators around the UK in pioneering groundbreaking new solutions which can transform how we live our lives, while growing our economy.鈥�

Engineering biology has the potential to tackle a diverse range of global challenges, driving economic growth in the UK and around the world, as well as increase national security, resilience and preparedness.  The University of 野狼社区 has a broad range of expertise in engineering biology across its three Faculties and is also home to the international centre of excellence, the 野狼社区 Institute of Biotechnology.

The research, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council鈥檚 (BBSRC) strategic Longer and Larger (sLoLa) grants programme, takes the first major step towards understanding complex microbial communities and will support the move towards a more sustainable and Net Zero future.

The University is one of four institutions to receive a share of 拢18 million from the BBSRC to support adventurous research aimed at tackling fundamental questions in bioscience.

The project, worth 拢5.4 million, builds on the work of the 野狼社区 Microbiome Network - a network that brings together the leading microbiome science expertise from across the University to deliver a step-change in understanding microbial communities, regardless of habitat.

Lead researcher, Professor Sophie Nixon, BBSRC David Phillips and Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Fellow at The University of 野狼社区, said: 鈥淢icrobial communities, often called microbiomes, are found in almost every habitable environment on the planet. They exert a significant influence on each of these environments, whether that be the soil we grow our food, in the guts of animals, or even in extreme environments like geothermal springs 鈥� our target environment for this project. However, microbiomes are inherently complex and challenging to study, and their 鈥榬ules of life鈥� remain obscure.

鈥淩ecent technological advances have allowed researchers to study the interactions between members of microbiomes for the first time. Yet, we have barely scratched the surface of resolving how these interactions affect the structure, function, and stability of the community as a whole.   

Over five years, the researchers from The University of 野狼社区 and the Earlham Institute will concentrate on low-diversity communities inhabiting geothermal springs, using a powerful combination of biochemical, 鈥榦mics, and synthetic biology approaches to uncover the rules that govern microbial life in communities.

Using a tractable model system, the team aim to engineer the microbial community both as a learning tool to test emerging hypotheses, such as the ways in which microbes depend on or hinder one another, and as a testbed for future biotechnological development.

Ultimately, the findings will facilitate the engineering of bespoke microbial communities to be used for a plethora of important applications, including new ways to bio-convert CO2 emissions into socio-economically beneficial compounds, contributing toward a more sustainable and Net Zero future. 

Professor Guy Poppy, Interim Executive Chair at BBSRC, said: 鈥淭he latest investment by BBSRC鈥檚 sLoLa award programme represents a pivotal step in advancing frontier bioscience research.

鈥淭hese four world-class teams are poised to unravel the fundamental rules of life, employing interdisciplinary approaches to tackle bold challenges at the forefront of bioscience.

鈥淏y fostering collaboration and innovation, we aim to catalyse ground-breaking discoveries with far-reaching implications for agriculture, health, biotechnology, the green economy and beyond.鈥�

The University of 野狼社区鈥檚 research team includes seven researchers from the Faculty of Science and Engineering (five of which are based in the flagship 野狼社区 Institute of Biotechnology), two from the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, and one from the Earlham Institute - a life science research institute based in Norwich.