The University of Waterloo Climate Institute brings together the research community and partners to advance strategic research and capacity building priorities at the local, national, and international scales. Our work empowers business, government and civil society to respond effectively to the climate crisis.
Based at the University of Waterloo, the Climate Institute harnesses a unique combination of strengths and depth of expertise to enhance the impact and excellence of innovative interdisciplinary research and education, and to deal head-on with the complexity and interconnectedness of social, political and technological dimensions of climate change.
Our key focus areas:
RESEARCH
Strategic research development and management across priority research areas (deep decarbonization and sustainability transitions, climate risks, resilience and adaptation; and climate science, modelling and observation).
TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING
Supporting climate action through targeted professional development opportunities and the integration of climate education in academic programs.
KNOWLEDGE SHARING
Informing decision makers in policy, practice and innovation through tailored reports, briefs, facilitated workshops, data visualization, media engagement, and partnerships.
Learn more about the work at the Waterloo Climate Institute:
Discover the Waterloo Climate Institute's Municipal Climate Adaptation Certificate. This forward-thinking professional development opportunity is funded by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and is designed specifically for municipal staff who are looking to strengthen their climate resilience skills.
News
Building Canada’s capacity to address climate change
The Waterloo Climate Institute equips municipal leaders with interdisciplinary skills to integrate climate action into infrastructure, planning and decision-making. As extreme weather events escalate across the world, communities are seeking the skills and tools needed to prepare. The University of Waterloo’s Climate Institute empowers business, government and civil society to respond effectively to the climate crisis. Through its new Municipal Climate Adaptation Certificate, the Climate Institute is advancing national climate leadership by helping municipal professionals, elected officials and Indigenous community members respond to climate risks with informed, practical and collaborative action.
First cataloguing of lakes beneath the Canadian Arctic
Researchers have created the first map of a network of subglacial lakes in the Canadian Arctic showing 33 bodies of water under glaciers.
Using a decade of ArcticDEM satellite data of the Earth’s surface height, a team of researchers including the University of Waterloo developed a method that allowed them to track the draining and filling of active subglacial lakes in unprecedented detail.
Climate change could make unhealthy air a routine reality by 2100
New modelling shows almost one in three Americans will routinely breathe air considered unhealthy for sensitive people by the year 2100 due to climate change, a sevenfold increase compared to the turn of the century.
The international study, led by the University of Waterloo, found that about 100 million people in the United States will live in areas where average air quality during smog season is poor enough to trigger alerts advising vulnerable people to stay indoors.
Events
Campus living labs for climate learning and action in all disciplines
Join the Waterloo Climate Institute and our campus partners for a hands-on workshop to explore the what’s, why’s and how’s of using campus living labs for climate learning and action in any discipline.
Take Teaching Outdoors!
Join the Waterloo Climate Institute and our partners for an immersive half-day interdisciplinary workshop where we step beyond the classroom and into meaningful, place-based learning.