SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Find the most recent Gazette stories for this goal here.

Teaching and Learning:

• Part of Climate Collective, the "Take Action!" Youth Climate Summit offers youth the opportunity to make a difference and learn about how our climate changes. Sessions covers topics ranging from plastic pollution research, smart buoys that help measure ice thickness, local climate and sustainability projects that involve youth leaders acting. 

Research:

• A 2021 study conducted in partnership with Dr. Brad DeYoung from MUN’s Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography challenges the idea that variations in the density of some of the deepest currents of the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean are caused by winter surface conditions. Knowledge of this physical process is essential for accurate climate predictions.
• In 2020, Dr. Lukas Kohl, a PhD graduate from Memorial, published research that found that climate warning is changing the way that key soil formation processes are carried out in boreal forests. He demonstrated that such differences occur due to natural variations in climate like the climate changes which will affect boreal forests over the upcoming decades.
• Max Liboiron, the director of the Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research (CLEAR), and her laboratory monitored and looked for all research mentions of plastic in the province they could find in order to study the province’s plastic pollution trends from 1962-2019. They discovered more than 50 sources, including plastic fish tags located as far away as France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the UK.
• A 2016-2017 report examines how Canada could act to limit global warming while remaining economically competitive. This report, signed by 71 university researchers from all 10 provinces, suggests that decreased demand for fossil fuels over the coming decades could significantly reduce inward investment in the oil and gas sector.
• In 2021, researchers from Memorial University and the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) found a link climate change to a decline in Arctic char, a cold-water fish found in many northern locations, including Labrador.
  

Administration:

• In 2021, Dr. Joseph Daraio, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, worked with fellow engineers and local experts to raise awareness, build capacity, and training students on ways to consider climate change when making decisions about new infrastructure. The goal is to balance required improvements in infrastructure due to climate change with the costs associated with construction.
• Memorial has established a Sustainability and Climate Action Office (SCAO) under the Office of the Vice-President (Administration and Finance) to elevate the formal and strategic structure of sustainability and climate action plans and initiatives at Memorial.