SECTOR:
Environment & Climate Change
Seen as a distant threat in previous decades, climate change is now a global challenge. Generated mainly by intensive agriculture, deforestation and GHG emissions, it has negative effects on natural world such as the decline of ecosystems, biodiversity and wildlife, apart from generating extreme weather events, floods and droughts, erosion as well as rising temperatures. Human communities are also strongly harmed by this phenomenon in addition to be threatened by sea level rising, food and water shortages and spread of diseases.
Of significant importance today, environmental issues are closely related to climate change issues and also generated by human activities. Overconsumption, population growth and industrial activities, when pursued unsustainably, degrade the biophysical environment, sometimes permanently.
Sustainable development in the domain of environment and climate change is therefore seen as a solution to alleviate these risks weighing heavily on the populations, the fauna and the flora. It is a system where living conditions and resources continue meeting human needs without jeopardizing the integrity and stability of the ecosystems.
Environment & Climate Change facts
- Human consumption of the Earth's natural resources has more than tripled between 1970 and 2015. It is expected to keep increasing and more than double from 2015 to 2050.
- Between 2015 and 2020, the rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million hectares per year.
- 1.2 billion people live in 31 countries that are not sufficiently resilient to withstand ecological threats, with more than 1 billion people facing being displaced by 2050 as the climate crisis and rapid population growth drive an increase in migration.
NTU’s involvement in Environmental protection and Climate Change mitigation
At NTU, we think that global efforts are a key success factor to sustainable development and in all our projects we promote sustainable solutions. NTU’s services targeting environment and climate change include: review/elaboration of technical standards in the related fields; development of policies, strategies, planning and related actions; capacity development to institutions, utilities and local communities in these fields; stakeholder engagement, community sensitization and public awareness raising; environmental studies; environmental impact assessments; evaluation of environmental issues in infrastructure projects; integration of climate change adaptation and resilience considerations throughout design and management processes in targeted sectors; etc.
We are also very involved in research and finding new solutions and innovative ideas to contribute to climate change resilience and environmental protection. NTU is involved in initiatives, such as Climate-KIC, which support the mitigation and adaptation to climate change, urban transitions, sustainable land use, and sustainable production systems.
NTU, through its projects in the fields of Environment and Climate Change contribute to achieving the following SDGs:
