Sustainable Futures: A Global Climate Summer School

On completion of this summer school, students will be able to: 

• Explain the science behind climate change and the scientific content, outcomes and resulting policies of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
• Evaluate the ways in which society needs to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change for the future.
  Analyse environmental policies and regulation and appraise the role of government and regulatory bodies in promoting sustainability.
• Explain how corporate strategies on climate change risk and opportunities are formed.
• Identify the role of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in the transition to a low-carbon future.

From taking part in this summer school, students will have: 

• Developed valuable professional skills in teamwork, communication and presentation.
• Experienced team-based learning through a group project.
• Practiced and improved their English language.

In addition, students will have an opportunity to make new friends, get to know student ambassadors from Imperial College London through social activities and discuss opportunities for future study and experience what it is like to study in a world class university.

• The Science of Climate Change
• Mitigation, Adaptation and the Impact of Climate Change
• Climate Policy, Governance and Regulations
• Climate Risks on Businesses
• Engineering Approaches to Climate
• Climate Innovation
• Climate Change Communication and Engagement 

The Grantham Institute, established in 2007 by the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, is the hub for climate change and the environment at Imperial College London. Our mission is to lead on world-class research, policy, training and innovation that supports effective action on climate change. 

The Grantham Institute promotes interdisciplinary working to meet some of the greatest challenges faced by society. We bring together climate and global environmental change expertise from across the University and work with external stakeholders as we drive forward discovery, convert innovations into applications, train future leaders and communicate academic knowledge to businesses, industry and policymakers to help shape their decisions. 

Research at the Grantham Institute focuses on understanding our planetary environment, how the human-environment interacts with the natural world, and how the translation of research to inform policy and innovation can help create a sustainable, resilient, healthy future for the planet. Within this framework, researchers from the Grantham Institute and from across Imperial contribute to the IPCC Working Groups and Assessment Reports, as well as provide evidence-backed information, which often appears in the media. The Grantham also engages with the policy community and a wide range of stakeholders to ensure the best available evidence on climate science and solutions can inform decisions on climate action.

Undaunted, our climate innovation initiative, acts as a hub for the UK’s climate innovation community, creating new routes into green entrepreneurship and supporting the acceleration of startups and SMEs tackling climate change. As part of this summer school, you will be exposed to this community and gain insight from the work that is undertaken through the Grantham Institute. 

60 contact hours spread over 2 weeks covering lectures, workshops, tutorials, project work, social activities and relevant visit.  Classes will be delivered on weekdays.

Students will be allocated in small groups for Project work which will be done through team-based learning with supervision. Final project will be presented in groups to a panel of experts on the last day of the programme. A prize will be awarded to the team with the best project.

The entire programme will be taught in English.

Climate Fresk Workshop 

This interactive learning experience will allow you to collaboratively explore climate science through structured activities. You will cover various climate topics, mapping cause-and-effect relationships between different environmental elements, and create a visual representation of climate change systems. The session aims to spark meaningful discussions about climate implications and potential actions. 

Science of Climate Change 

The session will provide you with a basic understanding of the science behind climate change. You will understand and be able to convey why the science unequivocally points to a changing climate, and why humans are the main cause for that. You will explore the tools used to monitor the climate and how future climate projections are made. 

Mitigation 

On day three, you will discuss key climate change mitigation concepts and potential strategies. You will consider which socioeconomic activities are the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions, what science says about how deeply these emissions should be limited, and which options we have available to reduce them. This session will include exploring carbon budgets and pathways to achieve the target of net zero emissions.  

Adaptation and Impact 

Now that you have covered the topic of limiting the magnitude of climate change, you will consider that climate change impacts have already occurred, and further impacts are inevitable irrespective of our best mitigation efforts. This session focuses on the actions we can take in the near term to prepare for and reduce the impacts of climate change. You will review the key realised and potential impacts of climate change across a range of key sectors and understand their linkages. 

Climate Policy, Regulations and Governance 

You will explore how scientific evidence of climate change has influenced and impacted global climate policy and governance, starting from the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change down to the current state of play. You will consider the role governance has in climate mitigation and adaptation and how governance will be an important component of the future low-carbon world. 

Climate Risks on Businesses 

This session will introduce you to the economic impacts of climate risks on businesses.

Engineering Approaches 

Engineering solutions are key in addressing climate change challenges. On this day, you will be exposed to different system approaches, such as Life Cycle Assessments and Process Science Engineering.  

Climate Innovation 

Imperial has a strong innovation ecosystem, included the climate innovation initiative, Undaunted. During this session, you will be exposed to the entrepreneurship journey and some of the exciting climate innovations that are being developed. You will discuss the role of climate innovation in meeting the challenges and the interaction between innovation, policy and regulation and society. 

Communication and Engagement 

Now that you have developed your knowledge of various factors around climate change, how will you share this? Today, we will focus on how to effectively communicate when discussing climate change and how you can engage with others on this important topic, considering the different audiences that you may be exposed to.  

Students will be working in small teams on a scenario-based group project, using their learnings throughout the two weeks to present on either:

1. New Climate Innovation
2. Net-Zero Strategy

Supervised by Imperial academics throughout the programme, students will present the project findings to a panel of experts on the last day of the programme.