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Making the Future - Sussex's 50th anniversary fundraising campaign

The African climate initiative at Sussex

Because the world’s poorest people are the worst affected

Adapting to climate changes

Drought imageClimate change is widely held to be a product of our industrialised society, yet its effects are being felt most keenly in the world’s poorest countries.

The largely agrarian economies of Africa are particularly vulnerable to changes in the climate. We have seen how a year’s harvest can be wiped out by even small reductions in rainfall. Governments and communities in Africa and other parts of the developing world need to know how and where climate and rainfall patterns will change in order to adapt to predicted changes in climate.

Knowledge that will save lives

The University’s Climate Change Centre, already a leader in African climate and societal change, is now focused on finding new and better ways to predict these changes and understand their impact, especially on the world’s poor. Our goal is to improve the quality of information that is available and how it is used, both globally and on the ground in Africa. It could, for example, lead to significant changes in the way water resources are used and crops are planned.

Climate change is an area where the boundaries of knowledge are being continually pushed back. And as our understanding grows exponentially, so too does our potential to improve the lives of millions of the world’s poorest people. It is only with adequate funding that we will discover just how big a difference we can make. By funding PhD scholarships for African scientists as well as post-doctoral positions we can create a legacy of expertise that will reap benefits in developing countries and the wider world for generations.

If you are interested in learning more about and supporting these projects, please contact

Clare Dobson on +44 (01)273 876575 or email c.dobson@sussex.ac.uk

Sue Hepburn on +44 (01)273 872657 or email s.j.hepburn@sussex.ac.uk