UCC is seeking to appoint a Research Fellow to support the development, writing and production of Ireland’s first Five Year Assessment Report (5YAR) on Climate Change. It will serve to identify research gaps to inform future research investment needs and priority research issues. It is envisaged that this process will contribute to the development of national assessment and analysis capacity. It should also enhance engagement with similar developments at European and international levels and establish a structure and process to develop future reports.
The report will be provided in a series of four thematic volumes with an overarching synthesis report. Three of the four volumes will reflect the structures used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in providing its large-scale assessment report in addressing fundamental scientific understanding, mitigation of climate change and adaptation to climate change. The fourth volume will focus on the opportunities and realising the benefits of the required transition and transformation arising from mitigating and adapting to climate change.
The report’s structure is as follows:
- Vol. 1: Science: Ireland in a changing world
- Vol. 2: Achieving climate neutrality by 2050
- Vol. 3: Being prepared for Ireland’s future climate
- Vol. 4: Realising the benefits of transition and transformation
Each volume will be published as individual components of the 5YAR. The completion of the 5YAR will be signalled by publication of a short synthesis report that integrates key messages from the material in the underlying volumes. The writing process will be led by a team of at least 8 leading academics with at least two academics leading on the production of each of the component volumes. The synthesis report will be provided by the full team. The report will be focused on outcomes from research in Ireland and Europe and build on material provided by the IPCC during its 6th Assessment cycle.
The Researcher will have a key role in writing Volume 4 of the report. The role will involve surveying and synthesising the state of scientific knowledge, nationally and globally, on the potential risks and opportunities of climate mitigation and adaptation pathways in addressing issues related to sustainable development, including air pollution, energy poverty, just transition, enabling environments, rural and urban sustainability, transport and biodiversity.
The successful candidate will work with other Volume leads and researchers across multiple institutions and the Environmental Protection Agency in delivering this report.
The Research Fellow title would be awarded to individuals who have personally secured their own independent external research funding inclusive of their salary following an open, transparent and competitive selection process by the research funding body or who have been appointed by the Higher Education Institution following an open competition. The Research Fellow would still be associated with a Principal Investigator who would act as their mentor and facilitate access to research infrastructure. The role also allows the Research Fellow the professional development opportunity to demonstrate the capacity for independent and self-directed research and scholarship and the management of a research team. The role allows the Research Fellow to assemble a portfolio of independent achievement and render themselves competitive for tenured academic positions or senior scientific roles in industry.
MaREI is a key research centre within UCC’s Environmental Research Institute (ERI), which is an internationally recognised Institute for environmental research dedicated to the understanding and protection of our natural environment and to developing innovative technologies, tools and services to facilitate a transformation to a zero carbon and resource efficient society. The MaREI Centre is an SFI funded research centre headquartered in the ERI and includes 13 other Universities and Third Level Institutes from across Ireland, has 50 industrial partners and has accumulated research funding of approximately €60m. It combines the expertise of a wide range of research groups and industry partners, with the shared mission of solving the main scientific, technical and socio-economic challenges across the climate, energy and marine spaces.
MaREI’s Energy Policy and Modelling Group (EPMG) in UCC has been engaged in energy policy and energy modelling research for 20 years. The results of this research have been published in journal papers, conference proceedings and reports and have directly informed the development of national energy and climate mitigation policy. The focus of research in the Energy Policy and Modelling Group is on integrated modelling approaches comprising i) sectoral energy demand and efficiency, ii) electricity, gas and water modelling and iii) full energy systems modelling.