World-changing research from the climate community at Leeds

Climate experts across the University of Leeds are leading the response to climate change.

In the eight years since the launch of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures, a shared commitment to climate action through research and innovation has emerged. 

From engineers to librarians, members of the University community are pioneering new ways of evidencing and solving climate challenges. 

In 2024, the Priestley Centre became the first of the University’s Futures Institutes and held a celebration event where staff and students brought their research to life through demonstrations, models and interactive games.  

As well as informing national and global climate policy, the Centre collaborates with companies to deliver net zero and supports the next generation of climate researchers. 

Closer to home, the Centre is informing the University of Leeds Climate Plan with cutting edge science. It also provides opportunities for education and research, notably the University’s pioneering work on geothermal drilling.

Here, we take the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the people and projects who are helping to turn groundbreaking climate research at Leeds into real world impact. 

To stay up to date with Priestley Centre research and events, and find out about University of Leeds climate activities, sign up for the Priestley Centre newsletter.

Professor Anwesha Sarkar has a vision to make alternative proteins mainstream.  

Now she is leading the creation of a national alternative proteins innovation and knowledge centre dedicated to making that happen.   

Dr Sarkar is exploring how alternative proteins can be made more palatable. “We need enhancement of the mouthfeel of alternative proteins without adding fat,” she said.

The £38m National Alternative Protein Centre will focus on developing tasty and nutritious planet-friendly alternatives to animal proteins.  Leeds is co-leading this UK-wide virtual centre with Imperial College London, the University of Sheffield and the James Hutton Institute in Dundee.   

Alternative proteins are associated with far fewer greenhouse gas emissions as they do not require methane-emitting livestock, or land for growing animal feed.

Professor Sarkar said a phased transition towards low-emission alternative proteins and creating a blended protein economy is vital in ensuring a sustainable planet.  

The national centre, which aims to act as a catalyst for open innovation in alternative protein, is funded by £15m from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council over five years. The remainder comes from the partners.  

How can we visualise the impact of climate change on the planet’s coldest regions? 

Members of the University of Leeds’ Ice Club are giving people a bird's eye view of glaciers using VR headsets.  

Beginning as an internal research group of mostly postgraduate researchers from the School of Geography who met to discuss their shared interest in the cold regions and glaciers, the Ice Club is now increasing its public engagement and outreach work using the latest technology. 

The cutting-edge headsets transport users to the end of a glacier on the Himalayas, offering a 360 degree vision of the surrounding environment and showing the flow of water when a glacier melts.  

A researcher talks through what the user is seeing and the impact of the scenes. Ice Club have taken the VR headsets to events around Leeds and hope to increase this outreach in the future, speaking to members of the public and young people about careers in climate.   

Connie Harpur, a member of Ice Club and a PhD student in lakes and their effect around the Greenland Icesheet, said:

How do those worst affected visualise a future where climate challenges are overcome? The Speculative Visions project has empowered marginalised communities in New Delhi by asking what a sustainable future looks like to them.

The results show that we share many common human visions. 

The project was run by Dr Viktoria Spaiser, from the School of Politics and International Studies, Kanchan Joneja (Off Centre Collective) and Lakshay Talwar (Aesha Foundation). 

They held workshops with people from a deprived settlement that face everyday challenges from poverty, air pollution and poor sanitation. Their prompts were fed into an AI programme which generated images, which were honed until they best reflected what the community envisioned. 

The visions showed their desire to live in green spaces that are thriving and full of life, with a way to generate their own clean energy. 

Dr Spaiser said: “It’s so important that when we move forward to identify climate policy goals, we include as many voices as possible, not just the privileged voices that we already hear. A discussion helps people to think about what everyone needs, not just themselves. 

A model that demonstrates how extreme flooding happens has influenced policy in France and Slovenia.   

Wetropolis demonstrates how rainfall is driven into a down-scaled river-catchment landscape. When this randomly determined rainfall is extreme, the effects of flooding can be observed.

Based on mathematical modelling, the design was built to help public understanding of flooding but has now inspired professionals and academics to develop new tools that bridge science and engineering with environmental policy.   

Wetropolis was inspired by the 2015 Boxing Day floods in Leeds. Professor Onno Bokhove, active board member of Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics (LIFD) and Principal Investigator for Wetropolis, was a part of a flood evacuation team in Kirkstall, Leeds.  

Professor Bokhove’s team took inspiration from Leeds’ flood plans and displayed them in a novel graphical tool.  

The tool results in cost-effectiveness graphs which form a bridge between expert calculations and decision makers. In France and Slovenia, this has been used to present and analyse flood alleviation plans. 

Professor Bokhove aims to commercialise Wetropolis for educational purposes. An interactive board game is planned, in which two 16-faced dice will explain flood risk and mitigation to a wider audience, including students, and build teamwork skills. 

Extreme weather and biodiversity were explored at a climate-themed art exhibition this year.  

‘Envisioning Tomorrow: Climate Stories from the Art Collection’ showcased around 40 works at the University’s Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery.  

Claire Evans, Learning Coordinator in the Galleries team, envisioned and curated the exhibition.   

She said:

The exhibition features illustrations by Marie Hartley, which feature in books about Yorkshire and celebrate the biodiversity theme of the exhibition.   

For Claire, a must-have in the exhibition was Welsh Landscape (circa 1911-1914) by Augustus John and Andy Goldsworthy’s Grass Stalks (set of 2, framed together, 1984). 

Andy grew up in Leeds and his father was a professor of applied mathematics at the University of Leeds.   

The works were paired next to each other as Claire suggests that “both artists liked to spend time in nature to understand their subject and advocate for nature in their own way. The more we spend time in nature, the more we see what we are set to lose.”   

Claire hopes to continue the climate agenda in the galleries, further supporting the University’s Climate Plan by raising awareness, encouraging exploration and enhancing understanding. 

Monica Stenzel is the first academic from the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science to become a Priestley Climate Scholar.   

The Priestley Scholars programme assembles postgraduate researchers from a wide variety of academic backgrounds to undertake a two-year programme of knowledge exchange and leadership development.

Monica’s speciality is natural fibres and the circular economy, addressing the disastrous impact that disposable fashion has on the environment.    

Polyester and nylon were developed in the 1920s and these durable, easy-care textiles overwhelmingly displaced natural fibres such as wool and linen. The vast quantity of clothing now transported across the world is worn a few times and thrown into landfill.    

“We need to return to the use of high-quality clothing, caring for it and responsibly disposing of it,” said Monica. “It ought to become part of our culture once more to reuse and repair clothes, not to buy something cheap that we throw out the following year.”   

She urges people to re-evaluate wool, which is warm, absorbent and breathable. Scientists are researching blending natural fibres to capitalise on such distinct traits.    

She said the most important aspect of the Priestley Climate Scholars is its interdisciplinarity.