Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi is dedicated to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13 on Climate Action through a comprehensive strategy that includes rigorous tracking of low-carbon energy usage. The university actively monitors its total energy consumption, aiming to maximize the share sourced from low-carbon alternatives. It implements local education programs focused on climate issues, fostering awareness and engagement among students and the community. The university’s shared Climate Action Plan outlines its commitments and initiatives, including cooperative planning for climate change disasters and collaboration with government agencies to inform and support policy decisions. Additionally, partnerships with NGOs enhance its environmental education efforts. Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi is firmly committed to becoming carbon neutral, with clear timelines set for achieving this goal across all operational scopes, underscoring its resolve to contribute to a sustainable future.
Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi has also been developing a network of green partners to support its initiative with universities, governmental entities, and the private sector.
In 2023, The University became a member of the Universities Climate Change Network (UCN), comprising 12 higher education entities, co-chaired by NYUAD and the UAE Climate Change Special Envoy.
A memorandum of Understanding with the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi was signed to collaborate in the fields of Research and Development. This partnership was further strengthened when the University officially became one of the eight founding institutions of the ADERN Network (Abu Dhabi Environmental Research Network), a part of Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, leading the way to developing cross collaborative research in the field of environment.
RECAPP by Veolia became the preferred partner of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, sponsoring the “Green Dictation” public event and became the University’s provider of recycling bins on campus.
In 2023, thanks to the launching of SUAD’s Go Green Year, the University announced its commitment to developing innovative solutions through education and research at the boundaries of disciplines that would enable and accompany society during the transformation it is undergoing, including globalisation, mobility, the digital revolution, demographic and health changes and environmental transition.
In tandem with the COP 28 and the Year of Sustainability, SUAD was committed to taking a proactive approach by positioning itself as a key player in the COP28 launch and placing sustainability as a core priority and driver through the Go Green Year 2023 Initiative.
SUAD’s participation at COP28 was the culmination of a year of activities and events to mark its commitment to achieving a sustainable environment for the future. The University organized 14 research conferences at CoP28 in Dubai on critical themes encompassing climate change, sustainability, environmental stewardship, and alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Leading specialists and researchers from around the world gathered under SUAD’s Environment Centre programme for COP28 to advance research on sustainability and climate change.
Supported by a 360 marketing and advertising campaign, SUAD’s participation at COP28 has been highlighted on national radio, newspapers and live TV interviews that allowed SUAD to announce its strategy in terms of environment.
Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi has engaged in Climate Change Research through projects focusing on water desalination, soil, history of climate change revealed by archaeological discoveries and the use of remote sensing and geolocalisation.
More recently, research has developed in relation to the scientific approach with an increasing number of projects in the Sciences and Engineering department around the themes of Solar Panels, Deltas in Extreme weather regions and the use of nanoparticles in the creation of new materials. Research has also expanded to the field of Archiving and its critical role in the climate change solutions.
As Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi is encompassing both Sciences and Humanities in its research centre for environment, it is taking a lead position in the higher education and research institutions landscape proposing a unique multidisciplinary approach.
Below are some examples of ongoing research projects:
This trio of short presentations brought physicists and mathematicians together to discuss the role of novel materials and statistics in the path to sustainability. The talks focused on three principal trends of research: 1) the use of innovative fabrication techniques to enhance both optical and thermoelectric properties of structural layers used for energy harvesting applications, 2) the deployment of nonparametric statistics for estimating intermittent and stochastic quantities arising from integrating renewable resources into existing power systems, and 3) the development of environmentally friendly materials with new properties derived from the utilization of nanoparticles in combination with polymer matrices.
The conference was part of one of the axes of COP28, focusing on damages. One key issue was how to represent nature in court and how to compensate for its damage. Since nature does not have legal personality, ways had to be found to represent it. For example, associations dedicated to environmental protection were used, and nature parks could be granted legal personality. The question was raised: was this sufficient, or was it necessary to grant legal personality to other aspects of nature, like bird populations or forests? The conference also addressed how to assess and repair such damage, including whether reparation could be done in kind. Both public and private international law were involved, as the damage was often transnational. The discussions also covered legal representation, prevention, and compensation for environmental damages, with stakeholders specifying how legal professionals in the UAE approached these issues and the existing protection measures.
The first Alumni Gala Dinner held in 2023 on campus focused on and highlighted the University’s commitment to sustainability. For the occasion, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs, Dr Majed Al Khmeiri, who holds a PHD on “Strategic Planning and Sustainable Development: The Future of the United Arab Emirates”, from Sorbonne Université Paris, welcomed the guests and spoke on the importance of sustainability and the role of the UAE.
The Gala Dinner was an environmentally friendly occasion where all equipment used was sustainable.
The Career Centre opted for a zero-waste buffet, led lighting and zero printing. They also engaged the Alumni community in raising awareness about climate change by offering sustainable prizes including a stay at an eco-resort.
The conference held at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi served as a dynamic platform to align with the government’s climate action vision, fostering collaboration among postgraduate students, young researchers, and professionals from diverse backgrounds in the UAE and the Gulf region. Several professors and researchers from Sorbonne University Abi Dhabi and Sorbonne University joined us in our commitment to address climate change, nurture research excellence, and establish enduring regional and international partnerships for a sustainable tomorrow.
The Event is with the participation of:
Climate change has become topical over the past few years and manifests itself in many ways, including rising sea levels and severe weather conditions among others. Scientists, researchers, meteorologists, farmers, and many other stakeholders are relying on historical data contained in archives to understand climate trends across the globe. Although there is scantly literature on the contribution of archives to research on climate change, the dependence on archives to understand our histories and predict the future is well acknowledged. The focus of this seminar is to cultivate discussions on how archives support activities against meant to combat climate change.
The concept of a twin transition, combining digital transformation and environmental sustainability, gained traction. UNCTAD acknowledged that “green and digital technologies are increasingly becoming intertwined,” while the European Commission emphasized that Europe’s digital transition was closely linked with the European Green Deal. Both transitions were seen as twin challenges that could not succeed without each other, and were vital for Europe’s future. The UAE’s climate policy also reflected this harmony between digitalization and ecologization, driving economic leadership and diversification. However, the spread of digital technologies to achieve climate goals raised challenges related to their financial cost, environmental impact, and human rights concerns. High-level speakers from various sectors gathered at this panel to identify key challenges and achievements in harnessing digital technologies to address the climate crisis.
The YOUTH COP is an entirely virtual mock negotiation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP), organised by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi in partnership with the Université Paris Cité and the Universidade Federal do Ceara. The project aims to provide a platform for university students from diverse backgrounds and regions worldwide to: 1. Develop critical thinking about climate change challenges. 2. Understand and promote the roles of states and international organizations in shaping global climate policies. 3. Improve interpersonal skills such as teamwork, compromise, and conflict resolution. By offering students the opportunity to engage in simulated COP process, the project helps build a more informed and empowered youth community ready to advocate for sustainable solutions on the global stage.
The conference, organized by Dr. Julia Motte-Baumvol and Prof. Tarin Frota Mont’Alverne, aimed to provide a legal forum for debating the various aspects of the energy transition, including adaptation, mitigation, loss and damages, financing, and global cooperation (North-South and South-South). It also focused on the commitments made by states at global, regional, national, and local levels, examining strategies to meet these goals, the challenges faced, and potential solutions for a just and equitable multilateral approach. The conference played a crucial role in supporting the UAE’s efforts to position itself as a global leader in climate change.
Prof Mateo Spagnolo Personal Chair, University of Aberdeen, Prof Kosmas Pavlopoulos Professor of Environmental geomorphology-Geology (Leading as Co-PI)
A key to address long-standing questions regarding underlying climate change mechanisms in the Mediterranean, such as timing and amplitude of precipitation variability, is a multiproxy record (e.g. pollen, glacial, marine sediment records), which covers multiple glacial–interglacial cycles and is sensitive to regional changes in the hydroclimate. As mountain glaciers change volume in response to climatic changes, their former extents record past changes in climate, providing data on how patterns of ice distribution have varied spatially with time. Mapping and dating of past ice margins, documented by terrestrial glaciogenic sediments and landforms, provide valuable information to gain a better understanding of landscape evolution. In order to juxtapose palaeoglaciers in different geographical settings, a useful tool is the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA), which marks the area of a glacier where annual accumulation and ablation are equal and is governed by air temperature and precipitation.
Prof Kosmas Pavlopoulos Professor of Environmental geomorphology-Geology, SUAD (Leading as PI)
Dubai has emerged as a hub for architectural achievements with artificial island projects like Palm Island and World Islands, attracting major tourism and real estate investments. Abu Dhabi has similarly invested in projects like Yas Island and Al Mariyah Island. However, climate change poses a significant challenge to these developments. The UAE has recognized this by renaming the Ministry of Water and Environment to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment in 2016, addressing issues like a 25% increase in carbon emissions since 1958 and rising sea levels (from 1.7 mm/year to 3.2 mm/year). This research proposal focused on the geological and geotechnical challenges related to artificial islands, particularly the impacts of climate change, ocean acidification, and sea level rise on infrastructure sustainability. The project supported PhD student Walid Mekni, supervised by Kosmas Pavlopoulos at Sorbonne University.
Dr. Proscovia Svard, leading a seminar with Dr. Victor Kabata as a participant, focused on the role of archives in addressing climate change, particularly in relation to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, which aims to combat climate change and its impacts. The seminar addressed the growing reliance on historical data from archives by scientists, researchers, and other stakeholders to understand climate trends, despite limited literature on the subject.
The seminar's objectives included examining how archives can contribute to the development of environmentally friendly practices, discussing methods to promote sound documentation to combat climate change, and exploring ways to enhance collaboration between archival institutions and climate action advocates. Speakers from academia, climate action experts, researchers, policymakers, and activists from the UAE were invited to participate.
Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi’s Geography & Urban Planning students participated in an insightful session titled “Renewables for Survival: Fostering Food and Water Security with Renewable Energy” at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The session discussed the challenges and opportunities for renewables in the context of food and water security, as well as practical experiences illustrating the importance of the food-water-energy nexus.
The students had the opportunity to gain valuable insight into the industry, as well as network with organizations that are actively promoting sustainability through the use of advanced technologies.
As part of SUAD’s participation in United for Climate Initiative, our students crafted artwork using recycled materials. The planned installation was displayed at the Dubai Expo during the COP28 conference.
As part of its Go Green 2023 Initiative, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi organized a Sustainability Day on Campus to raise awareness about climate change and promote sustainable practices among students. The event featured interactive activities, discussions, and workshops focused on the latest developments in sustainability and ecological conservation. Participants gained valuable insights into recycling, reducing their carbon footprint, and making environmentally friendly choices in their daily lives.
The event featured a lively marketplace with exhibitors showcasing innovative sustainable development products and services from the region. Notable participants included the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Youth 4 Sustainability, Emirates Nature-WWF, and several others. This marketplace helped attendees recognize the importance of environmental responsibility and encouraged them to be mindful of their actions in protecting the planet.
The Sustainability Club at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi is dedicated to promoting environmental awareness and sustainable practices within the university community. Through various initiatives, events, and projects, the club engages students in discussions about climate change, conservation, and sustainable living. It serves as a platform for members to collaborate on projects that encourage eco-friendly habits, raise awareness about sustainability issues, and foster a sense of responsibility towards the environment. By empowering students to take action, the Sustainability Club plays a vital role in advancing the university’s commitment to sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Students have been massively engaged in sustainable activities and initiatives. Our Law Student, Malick Kouassi Traoré was nominated as the University’s Green Ambassador and therefore becoming the spokesperson of the students’ community.
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