With world leaders gathered in Azerbaijan for the COP29 climate change summit, this week’s podcast focuses on universities’ role in advancing sustainability and reducing carbon emissions.

As centres of teaching, research and innovation, universities are uniquely positioned to educate on environmentally aware leaders and help find ways out of this crisis.

We spoke to two academic experts in this space to find out how they and their institutions are driving action on climate change.

Tripp Shealy is associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. His research looks at how climate and environmental issues are handled in land development and construction.

Liz Price is deputy pro-vice chancellor for sustainability at Manchester Metropolitan University and a professor of environmental education. She is responsible for driving sustainability across education, research and partnerships and developing Education for Sustainable Development, Carbon Literacy and Net Zero skills at the university.

For more inspiration and advice on how to advance efforts on climate change within your own inspiration, take a look at our latest spotlight guide: A greener future for higher education.