Blake Lapthorn held its second green breakfast of the Autumn 2011 series with guest speaker Ian Curtis of the ECI on 19 October 2011.

1. i‐green?
Inspiring?
Innovative?
Inexplicable?
Indulgent? Insolvent?
Interdisciplinary?
International?
ECI….Oxford University’s
Environmental Change Institute
……………..is “i” for international?

2. …created as ECU in 1991

3. Became ECI in
the late 1990’s
International Rescue

4. Tag Cloud for ECI’s home page
www.eci.ox.ac.uk

5. 1st October 2011 …ECI’s 20th anniversary

6. “Oxford is on such a fast track to
environmental excellence because…..”
ECI’s birth (Oct 1991) …a “soccer‐style transfer”

7. 75 scientists
60 graduate students
£4m turnover
ECI’s Size now?

8. ECI Mission
(from first Annual Report 1991‐92)
1. ECU is an interdisciplinary unit dedicated to collaborative
research on the nature, causes and impacts of
environmental change, and to the development of
strategies to manage future changes.
2. Environmental change refers to alterations of valued
resources that have significant social and economic
implications.
3. The Unit actively collaborates with a variety of institutions
in Oxford, the UK and throughout the world, and
participates in major international programmes on the
physical and human dimensions of global change.
4. The Unit is active in research, education, and policy.

9. Fun bits of “international”: High Society (1)

10. President of the Maldives HRH Duke of Edinburgh Kofi Annan HRH Prince Charles
‘Tropical briefings for
Sir Richard Branson &
guests
Fun bits of “international”: HighSociety (2)

11. July 1993
ECU Research Report No.3
NATO Workshop Climate Change & World
Food Security ....still for sale on Amazon

12. 1992: a global story about climate change
impacts on food

13. ECI: long history of international climate change,
agriculture, & food interactions

14. …which continues today

15. “I” is indeed for International
1. 300+ multi‐partner research projects
completed across Africa, South America,
Asia, Australasia, Europe
2. Worked with 350+ Research Partner
organisations in more than 40 countries
3. Supported by 100+ Funders across more
than 15 countries

16. ECI’s current Research Focus
1. Climate Change: impacts, risk, adaptation, resilience
2. Energy and Lower Carbon Futures: renewables,
technology/policy interactions, demand management
3. Ecosystems & Ecosystem services: carbon dynamics,
natural resources and land use, food systems, tropical
forests, conservation

17. Climate change… the world’s largest climate
forecasting experiment, with over 350,000
participants in over 150 countries

18. And now
“Weatherathome”
…climate
prediction at more
regional scales

19. ECI is
regularly
in the
climate
media,
taking on
both sides

20. And also
studying the
media, and
undertaking
huge global
opinion
surveys

21. Ecosystems: Tropical Forests
eg RAINFOR monitoring the biomass and carbon dynamics of
Amazonian rainforests

22. RAINFOR is an example of
one of the many very large
international consortia ECI
often (co‐)leads

23. Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems
(SAFE) Project
How does forest modification impact
local ecosystems?
One of the world’s largest ecological
experiments to understand the
myriad ways in which logging,
deforestation and forest
fragmentation modify the functioning
of tropical rainforest, affect their
ability to deliver ecosystem services
and conservation value.
New work in Malaysian Borneo: one of the
world’s largest ecological experiments

24. UK Europe International
British National Space Centre, Danish Energy Agency, Food & Agriculture
Carbon Trust, Electrolux, Organisation of the United
The Co-operative Bank, European Commission ALTENER
Programme,
Nations (FAO)
Darwin Initiative International Council of
European Environment Agency,
Economic and Social Research European Tropical Forest Research Scientific Unions (ICSU)
Council, Network
EcoSecurities French Environment and Energy
International Energy Agency
Engineering and Physical Sciences Management Agency (ADEME) (IEA)
Research Council, International Geographical
Environment Agency, Union
IBM United Kingdom Trust
United States
International Geosphere-
Jackson Foundation Biosphere Programme
Environment Now Foundation
James Martin 21st Century School, (IGBP),
FPL Energy,
University of Oxford
Andrew W Mellon Foundation International Human
Leverhulme Trust, Microsoft Research,
National Trust,
Dimensions Programme
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation,
Natural Environment Research
(IHDP),
Smithsonian Institution,
Council, US Government Environment Protection North Atlantic Treaty
Royal Commission on Environmental Agency Organization (NATO)
Pollution,
United Nations Environment
Royal Society for the Protection of
Programme (UNEP)
Birds,
Thames Water plc, World Bank,
UK Government Department for World Climate Research
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Programme (WCRP),
UK Government Department for World Conservation Union-
International Development
IUCN
World Wide Fund for Nature – UK
Wide range of 100+ Funding Partners, including many
substantial international investors

25. Su Zang,
Sustainable
Agricultural
Development
Programme,
Beijing
ECI 2005
The course The students
• 600+ graduates
• International postgraduate training in
environmental science and policy
• From 60+ countries
• 12 months intensive study
• Varied student backgrounds: agriculture,
• Aims to produce confident and aware chemical engineers, lawyers, foresters,
leaders and decision-makers international relations, energy policy,
• Broad-based, cross-disciplinary •Careers in government, business, NGOs,
research
ECI’s MSc Environmental Change & Management
‘Oxford’s most sought after graduate science course’

26. “I was astonished that 80% of my
fellow students were lawyers,
engineers, ex‐ McKinsey
consultants, accountants, and
from international relations..an
electrifying year.”
Ayub Osman
PricewaterhouseCoopers
“Through the MSc I gained a
deep understanding of “I owe immensely to
complex scientific and socio‐ “I couldn’t find a better the ECI.s excellent
political systems. After the program than this MSc in education and
MSc I worked for Environmental Change and management
McKinseys, before helping Management to prepare training . A turning
found a technology services myself for future career point in my life.”
company that attracted advancement.” Amin Aslam
over $120 million in private Lan Luan, Former Minister of
equity” (former) Chinese Ministry of State for the
Patrick Cheung Water Resources Environment,
Pakistan.
“The perfect means to Masters of
make a career change, “A fantastic grounding
exposing me to the Science in in environmental
latest thinking in “Environmental matters”.
environmental Gareth Morgan MP
management and policy.”
Change & Democratic Alliance
Craig Hanson Management” Environment
World Resources Institute, Spokesman, South
Green Power Market.
Environmental Africa,
Change Institute,

27. A few examples of International Businesses
and Governmental Organisations employing
ECI graduates
Business Government and International Organisations
Accenture Australian Government, Leader of the Opposition
Balfour Beatty plc European Commission
AREVA Japanese Government, Ministry of Environment
Booz Allen Hamilton Pakistan Government, Ministry of Environment
Ericsson Enterprise UK Govt Department for International Development
Ernst & Young UN Development Programme China
Halcrow China Limited UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative
HSBC plc UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Intel Corporation UN Institute for Training and Research
KPMG US Embassy
Lloyds of London World Bank
McKinsey and Company World Food Programme, UN
Mott MacDonald India Limited World Resources Institute
Procter & Gamble plc
Reuters Ltd
Rio Tinto plc
Tokyo Electric Power Company

28. And now:
Oxford’s International Graduate Environment School
in the School of Geography & Environment
• 230+ international students, more than 50 countries
• Doctoral research programme
• Master of Science (MSc) Courses in:
– Environmental Change and Management
– Water Science, Policy, and Management
– Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management
– Nature, Society, and Environmental Policy

29. MACIS: What might
be the impacts of
climate change
adaptation and
mitigation policies on
Europe’s
biodiversity?
In the built
environment, human
health, energy,
flooding, tourism,
agriculture, forestry
“E” is for Europe (inc. UK)

30. UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP)
An acknowledged global pioneer in its work with stakeholders

31. One of UKCIP’s many legacies: regional
network of adaptation and risk management
consortia

32. Energy & Lower Carbon Futures:
European energy labelling

33. Energy &
Lower Carbon Futures
Leading the UK Energy Research
Centre’s theme on demand
reduction

34. ECI hosts a G8 conference on
energy innovation
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC)
ECI hosts the international Meeting Place

35. THE MOST IMPORTANT SLIDE?
Is Ecosystem Services the emerging REALLY BIG
GAME?
ECI wrote the England chapter

36. “C” is for creative ..even crazy…working with
“unusual partners” on the ground

37. (and Brookes)
“E” is for elsewhere in the University:
environment research is growing very fast

38. Oxford Martin School: Energy & Environment

39. Energy Research
across Oxford
80+ lead researchers
across 15+
departments
www.futureenergy.ox.ac.uk

40. FEAR! GREED!
..so, what’s in it for us?

41. “CAMBRIDGE
SAVES PLANET”
FEAR!

42. • 1st science conference on what 4 degree warming will mean for
the world
• Topics: food & water security, vulnerable populations, human
health, migration, wild fires, sea level rise, wildlife conservation,
ecosystem services.
• Regional case studies: Amazonia, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil,
Ethiopia, Finland, Mauritius, Siberia, Vietnam, and the monsoon
region.
FEAR! ECI hosts first “4 degrees science conference”

43. FEAR! The SUN reports on ECI

44. A Our ecological footprint is terrible too: we need nearly 14
a times Oxfordshire’s area to meet our demands
Oxfordshire’s land area Oxfordshire’s ecological footprint area
260,500 ha 3,539,358 gha
FEAR …. 1 : 13.5
44

45. Opportunity: ECI Advisors to exotic places

46. But missing words in ECI’s tag cloud!!
(business ..??)

47. …but in 2020?
A
A
A
GREEN JOB SECTOR

48. It is taking time for OU
to bring its
environmental expertise
to the surface
..something business
needs to see
1999: ECI publishes the
first attempt to capture
the University’s cross‐
departmental
environmental expertise

49. BUT NOW: New Oxford University
Networks
Oxford is on the point of establishing major new multi‐department
environment networks:
•ENERGY, led by Professor Sir Christopher Llewellyn‐Smith, Vice‐
President of the Royal Society, (and President, Synchrotron Light
for Experimental Science and its Applications in the Middle East)
•WATER, led by Professor David Grey, former World Bank Special
Advisor
•CLIMATE, led by Professor Myles Allen, founder
climateprediction.net, the world’s largest climate forecasting
experiment for the 21st Century
•BIODIVERSITY, led by Tasso Leventis Professor Kathy Willis
•FOOD, led by Professor Charles Godfray, Chair of the UK Govt’s
Foresight Project on Food Security

50. Energy and People: Futures,
complexity and challenges
International Conference Oxford
20th/21st September 2011
(plus ECI has a key organising role in this
huge international conference)
COMING SOON! Increasing flow of
major Oxford conferences

51. “With the joint working agreement between our
organisations now coming into effect, we are “Whether on the level of international
determined to deliver a true health sciences government and business or that of
partnership that provides high‐quality healthcare for individual human beings we are
patients backed by the latest in world‐leading medical increasingly recognising that going it
research.”
alone will not work. Instead, in our search
for solutions, the most significant
It is hoped Oxford University’s global reputation
should attract extra millions in grants and funding for contributions will come from better, more
clinical research, while boosting the trust’s ability to innovative and more diverse partnerships
attract leading clinicians. between researchers, decision-makers,
entrepreneurs, practitioners and ordinary
Meanwhile, it is claimed the merger would also people”
provide more opportunities for joint training Vice‐Chancellor, Oxford University
programmes and developing specialist services not 1999
widely available in the UK.
TOWN/GOWN: It’s happening in health. How
about environment?

52. ITRC: UK Infrastructure Transition Research Consortium
Breadth and scale in a new ECI national
research/business/government consortium
Project Leader: ECI Budget: £5m+
Object: The future of national infrastructure systems (energy,
transport, water, waste and ICT) in response to risk and uncertainty
Government Depts, agencies, and Universities BUSINESS
local authorities Cardiff University
Association of North East Councils Newcastle University Engineering & multi‐ Utilities
CABE – the Commission for University of Cambridge disciplinary consultants BP Global
Architecture and the Built University of Leeds AEA Technology BT
Environment University of Oxford Arup E.ON
Cabinet Office University of Southampton Atkins National Grid
Department for Communities and University of Sussex Black & Veatch Network Rail
Local Government (DCLG) Halcrow Northumbrian Water
Department of Energy & Climate JBA Consulting Scottish and Southern Energy
Change (DECC) Research organisations & Mott MacDonald United Utilities
Department for Evnironment, Food data providers MWH Veolia
and Rural Affairs (Defra) Met Office Parsons Brinckerhoff Yorkshire Water
Department for Transport (DfT) Ordnance Survey Royal Haskoning
Environment Agency Swanbarton Insurers
Hampshire County Council Engineering Institutions Willis
Highways Agency Inst. of Civil Engineers
Infrastructure UK Contractors
Inst. of Engineering and Technology
Transport Scotland Bam Nuttal
Inst. of Mechanical Engineers
Costain
NGOs
Local Government Assocn
Town and Country Planning Assocn

53. Oxford University – “Gown” “Town”
Environmental Change Institute (ECI) BioDiversity International Ltd
Institute of Social and Cultural C‐Questor
Anthropology Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Oxford Martin School (CEH)
Plant Sciences Earthwatch
Said Business School EcoPlanet Bamboo
School of Geography and the EcoSecurities
EnvironmentPro‐Natura Environment and Development Group
WildCRU – Wildlife Conservation Global Canopy Program
Research Unit Helveta
Zoology The Living Rainforest
Oxford Biochar
Proforest
The Rainforest Club
Se‐Perú
Stockholm Environment Institute
Sumatran Orangutan Society
Track Record
Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests
a model of international green enterprise on our doorstep

54. C is for …crazy…
What
might be
the proposition
with
Oxon plc?