The University Council approved the creation of the Center for Research and Innovation in Climate and Sustainability, USPproClima, which will research climate change and environmental emergencies. The Council meeting that resolved on the issue was held on December 10th.
The new center, which will be directly linked to the President’s Office, will have five research areas: carbon management and nature-based solutions; disaster preparedness; ESG (environmental, social, and governance), circular economy, and solid waste management and renewable energy generation. Among the technologies used are photovoltaics and a biodigester, an innovative system that converts organic waste into energy, licensed for operation by the Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo (Cetesb).
“The issue of climate change was raised at the last meeting of the USP Advisory Board, and the university has several research groups and researchers working in this area,” said President Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior.
Carlotti mentioned recent initiatives by teaching and research units related to sustainability, such as the implementation of photovoltaic energy at the School of Communication and Arts (EACH), which is expected to produce 25% of the energy consumed by the school.
USPproClima will be located in the International Dissemination Center (CDI) building on the USP-Capital campus and will have among its advisors the former Minister of the Environment, Izabella Teixeira, as well as specialists, researchers and professors from different countries.
“USP is an outstanding university, the only national university among the top 100 in the world, including in sustainability rankings. Our new center will work towards innovation and solutions related to this issue, with research that can improve the global climate scenario”, says USPproClima coordinator and USP’s Director of Environmental Management, Patrícia Iglecias.
The USPproClima joins a list of eight Research Centers, recently created by the University’s President’s Office to research major issues relevant to society: Sustainable Amazon (Ceas), Carbon in Tropical Agriculture (CCarbon), Sustainable Tropical Agriculture (Stac), Greenhouse Gases (RCGI), Convergent Technologies for Precision Oncology (C2PO), Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (CIAAM), Observatory of Brazilian Institutions (COI) and USP-China.
The main characteristic of the USP Study Centers is their multidisciplinary approach to teaching, research and extension, with the possibility of bringing together researchers and professors from different fields, whether or not they are from USP, Brazil or abroad. The centers have management committees, advisory councils, and thematic commissions in their structure
English version: Nexus Traduções
