Welcome to the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions

BC is home to a large and exceptional community of scientists, engineers, economists, environmental and socio-behavioural impact assessment specialists, policy analysts and governance experts. Many are based at British Columbia’s four research-intensive universities and are internationally recognized leaders in their fields. The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions pulls this intellectual capital together into a dynamic knowledge network that integrates scientific, technological, economic, legal, political, social, cultural and educational approaches to climate change.

December 16 - Pacific Climate Seminar Series:
Novel Ecosystems: Implications for Conservation and Restoration

Co-hosted by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) and the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC), the Pacific Climate Seminar Series was launched in September 2009. The fourth seminar in this joint series will be presented by Dr. Eric Higgs, Director of UVic's School for Environmental Studies. More information and a live webcast of the seminar will be available at /broadcast.php.

What: Pacific Climate Seminar Series
When: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm
Where: Social Sciences & Mathematics Bldg. Room A104, University of Victoria

December 9 - Novel Ecosystems and No-analogue Climates: Implications for Management and Policy in a rapidly changing World

What: PICS Seminar
When : Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Where: Social Sciences and Mathematics Bldg. Room A120, University of Victoria

Please join us for a presentation by Dr. Richard Hobbs, Professor of Restoration Ecology at the University of Western Australia. The event will be webcast live via /broadcast.

December 1 - Climate Crisis: Will Copenhagen Succeed?

Be It Resolved That Climate Change is Mankind’s Defining Crisis, and Demands a Commensurate Response - Join us for this exclusive live nationwide webcast! Broadcast live from the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, PICS, in partnership with the Munk Debates is pleased to present this special free event on campus on the eve of the historic global climate summit in Copenhagen. Featured speakers include: Elizabeth May, George Monbiot, Bjorn Lomborg and Lord Nigel Lawson.

What: Munk Debates at the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions
When: Tuesday, December 1, 2009 - 3:30 to 5:30 pm
Where: MacLaurin Bldg. Room A144, University of Victoria
To Register: www.munkdebates.com/membership_tickets/ticketsLiveBroadcast.cfm
Pass it On: Please download and share our pdf poster.

November 3, 2009 - New research gives green light to electrifying BC's vehicle fleet

British Columbia has sufficient underutilized generation capacity in its electrical grid to support the introduction of more than two million plug-in electrified vehicles, enough to eventually replace nearly every registered vehicle in the province, provided that recharging occurs in off-peak demand periods, according to new research from the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS).

The “Electrifying the BC Vehicle Fleet: Opportunities and Challenges for Plug-in Hybrid, Extended Range & Pure Electric Vehicles” report is the latest in a series of PICS independent research white papers to government. PICS is a collaboration of BC’s four research-intensive universities hosted and led by the University of Victoria (UVic).

Click here to access the full media release.

Our Mission

To partner with governments, the private sector, other researchers and civil society, in order to undertake research on, monitor, and assess the potential impacts of climate change and to assess, develop and promote viable mitigation and adaptation options to better inform climate change policies and actions.

For more information about the Institute, see PICS at a Glance.