SDG 13 Climate Action

Committed to being carbon neutral by 2030

Home of world leading climate change and action researchers

Launched a world-first Bachelor of Climate Change

A few things we are especially proud of

Environmental Research Institute

Home of the Environmental Research Institute, a team of highly skilled researchers focused on mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Footprint

In 2022, of the 78GJ of energy we used, an increase in the proportion from renewable sources to 63%, up from 58% in 2021 and 49% in 2020.

Conscious decision making about our carbon footprint in all campus operations and capital projects.

Engagement

Our multi-disciplinary team of researchers exploring how we can be more effective at engaging with our diverse communities so people are more likely to take action on climate change.

New water-sampling device a game-changer for climate change scientists

Waikato researchers unlocking keys to climate change hidden in the drip water from inside New Zealand’s deepest caves, have developed a new device which is now being used by researchers around the world. The device, called Syp, is now being manufactured in Hamilton and marketed by Waikato Scientific Instruments, a spin-off from the University’s commercial arm WaikatoLink. Syp can automatically collect up to 58 predefined water samples over 12 months, all powered by AA batteries. Without Syp, researchers would have to make multiple trips to remote caves that can take hours or even days to reach on foot, making it challenging, time consuming and costly.

Waikato event connects to COP26 and climate change crisis

The University of Waikato supported the Waikato Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC) committee to host a virtual conference on climate change, aligning with the United Nations COP26 climate change conference in Scotland. Associate Professor Tom Roa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato-Tainui) played a key role in the event which brought together local climate change leaders and advocates from academia, government, the community, iwi, grassroots organisations and business over a period of two weeks to reflect on the themes and concerns emerging from COP26 in 2021. The Waikato initiative focused on Māori, Indigenous and grassroots community perspectives, acknowledging the challenges facing coastal communities in particular

World-first Bachelor of Climate Change launched

The University of Waikato achieved a world-first in 2021, with the launch of a new Bachelor of Climate Change degree. The new, three-year cross-disciplinary undergraduate degree welcomed its first students in A Trimester 2022. This degree combines scientific knowledge of the biophysical world with understanding of economic and political systems and the impacts on Māori, Pacific and Indigenous communities. Dean of Science, Professor Margaret Barbour, says students with the new qualification will be in demand as we work towards the target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

“The Bachelor of Climate Change brings together this collective expertise across all the disciplines creating a common language in the fight against the globe’s most pressing environmental issue.”