Generating Climate Solutions in British Columbia and beyond

Developing effective solutions to tackle human-induced climate change relies on interdisciplinary approaches and collaboration between researchers and climate solution decision-makers. The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) unites experts from British Columbia’s four research universities with government, businesses and community leaders to generate evidence-based, usable and durable solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Our climate solutions research supports BC’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and contributes to resiliency across industry, business and multi-level government policies. We aspire to generate solutions and user-engaged partnerships that can be applied globally.

We are pioneering collaborative, user-engaged research that convenes key partners to co-design, co-develop and co-deliver climate solutions. For PICS, this means working together with the right complement of partners to effectively engage researchers, policymakers and decision-makers to solve climate challenges and realize opportunities in BC and beyond. Strategic, targeted engagement and communication are key components of our approach.

Read more about the PICS Research Engagement Program

PICS Big 5 Projects

Ongoing initiatives include five major policy-relevant projects known as the Big Five developed under Phase II of the Strategic Research Plan, plus several dozen graduate and postdoctoral fellowships and 10 employment internships each year. PICS also commissions leading edge research from academics and experts from BC and around the world.

Phase II projects - the PICS "Big 5" (current): 

• The 2060 Project: Integrated Energy System Pathways for British Columbia and Canada
• The Scale of Natural Gas Development and Maximizing Net Social Benefits
• Transportation Futures for BC
• Energy Efficiency in the Built Environment
• The Forest Carbon Management Project

Phase II Strategic Research Plan

Phase I projects - (research archive)

Photo credits: PICS, UNBC and Flikr