gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY DECEMBER 07 2009
Cardiff leads way on climate change research
Rachel Henson Reporter
Cardiff University will join other Welsh Universities in a six-year programme to understand climate change. Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Bangor, and Swansea Universities will work together to form the Climate Change Consortium, known as C3W. The initiative is to be funded by the Welsh Assembly Government through the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, and will cost £4 million. The four partner universities and the Countryside Council for Wales are also investing in the project. Researchers will work on four areas of interest identified by C3W, including sea-level change, hazard evaluation and mitigation, Earth system modelling, and the effects that climate change are likely to have in Wales. The initiative aims to further the understanding of human and societal
impacts of climate change and to reduce uncertainty in current predictions. The attempts to better comprehend the causes and consequences of climate change, as well as the processes behind it, are likely to put Wales at the forefront of climate research. Research at Cardiff University will build on the interdisciplinary climate studies already underway, in a novel collaboration between physical and social scientists. The work will be undertaken by academic staff in the schools of Biosciences, Engineering, Psychology, Earth and Ocean Sciences, City and Regional Planning, and Social Sciences. Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Grant, said: “Being a member of C3W will play a major role in the University’s further contribution to a more sustainable future for us all, and a more collaborative, multi-disciplinary research programme across Wales.” The C3W consortium is due to start work this month, coinciding with the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
Cardiff MPs oppose tuition fee increase Jamie Thunder News Editor Two Cardiff MPs and three Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) have signed up to the NUS’s pledge declaring they will oppose any increase in tuition fees. Julie Morgan MP (Cardiff North, Labour) and Jenny Willott MP (Cardiff Central, Liberal Democrats) both put their names to the pledge, which calls on MPs to ‘vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative’. Three PPCs, two for Cardiff Central and one for Cardiff South, have also signed. Sam Coates (Green) and
Jenny Rathbone (Labour) are both contesting Cardiff Central, and Dominic Hannigan (Liberal Democrat) is standing in Cardiff South and Penarth. Kevin Brennan MP (Cardiff West, Labour) declined to sign, saying: “My position as a Minister and a member of the Government parliamentary protocol prevents my signing the pledge.” He has, however, previously spoken publicly in favour of a fairer funding system. So far the only other Cardiff MP who has not signed the pledge is Alun Michael (Cardiff South and Penarth, Labour and Co-operative Party). In the run-up to the general election, NUS will publish a list of MPs and PPCs who have signed the pledge and of those who have not.
NEWS 05 Societies Council rejects £5,000 Barclays donation on ethical grounds Ceri Isfryn News Editor The Societies Council has rejected a £5,000 donation by Barclays Bank to help fund this year’s Go Global, following protests by student groups about the company’s ethical standards. During last week’s meeting, speakers from People & Planet, Young Greens and the Socialist Students group voiced concerns about the potential donator’s £7.3 billion investment in the arms trade industry. In the past, the company has also funded land clearance in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe’s regime and is said to be involved with environmentally questionable projects in India. As reported in issue 908 of gair rhydd, members of the same student
groups staged a protest against the University’s £2 million investment in the bank. Over recent months, the Students’ Union have been attempting to secure sponsorship for this year’s Go Global in order to lessen the burden on the societies budget. In lieu of the concerns, which were supported by a 1.5 out of ten score for ethical rating by Ethiscore, Carys Hazell, the Societies, Events, and Acitivities Officer, requested an ethical risk assessment of the venture from the NUS. The report deemed that Barclays was in the highest ethical risk category, scoring it ten out of ten. Only the Psychology Society, claiming that Barclays should
be given a chance to improve itself ethically, argued for continued discussions with the company after Carys had presented the findings.