New Lawson Climate Institute at U of T will accelerate climate solutions (2025)

The University of Toronto is launching a new institute toleverage the university’s expertise in addressing the climate crisis across a diverse range of fields, helping drive the transition to a more sustainable and prosperous future by accelerating solutions that are practical, scalable and equitable.

Their support represents thelargest gift to a Canadian university in support of climate change solutions.

“The establishment of the Lawson Climate Institute is an incredibly exciting development,” said U of T PresidentMeric Gertler. “It will massively accelerate U of T’s global leadership in tackling this existential challenge through this historic investment in the next generation of sustainability leaders. On behalf of the University of Toronto, I want to thank Brian and Joannah Lawson for their inspiring commitment to this hopeful vision and their transformational generosity in making it a reality.”

Taking concrete action for a sustainable future

The Lawson Climate Institute will have four areas of focus. It will harness U of T’s research, innovation and partnerships to: develop sustainability technologies; advance equitable climate policy solutions and sustainable finance opportunities;establish theLawson Scholars program to help build a cadre of climate change leaders across a wide variety of industries, as well as expand the university’sSustainability Pathwaysprogram to provide all undergraduate students with the opportunity to engage in sustainability learning; and transform U of T’s campuses into living labs where students, faculty and industry partners can demonstrate novel and practical ways to create sustainable institutions.

The institute will mobilize U of T’s strengths in science, engineering, entrepreneurship, law, public policy, economics, business, sustainability and more. It will also tap into the university’s local, national and international networks and foster collaborations with governments, the private sector and other public-sector institutions to help translate research into real-world technologies and equitable, practical climate policies.

“The Lawson Climate Institute is a remarkable opportunity to enable and drive the energy transition,” saidDavid Sinton, interim director of the Lawson Climate Institute and a professor in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “We are fortunate to have the full roster of disciplinary experts – covering everything from policy to technology – that is needed for this wildly complex challenge. This gift will allow our research efforts to effect changeand enable students to launch the careers that will take them, and us, to 2050.”

As one of U of T’s most wide-ranging, comprehensive initiatives, the institute is unique in its aim to ensure students in every discipline across three campuses have an opportunity to gain the tools needed to take concrete steps toward implementing practical climate solutions. This will occur through co-curricular activities, courses, programs and internships that will encourage students to learn from climate-focused work across diverse fields and sectors, and will ultimately help meet the demand for climate and sustainability expertise as climate technology and regulatory environments evolve.

To help build a critical mass of talent for addressing climate change and sustainability challenges,the Lawsons’ gift will createendowed Lawson chairs in three areas: policy innovation, sustainable energy and sustainable food systems. These chairs will enable the university to attract world-leading experts who will drive critical research and provide opportunities for students to learn from the best.

U of T leads the world’s universities in sustainability

A gift intended to inspire action in others

The new institute will provide opportunities for others to support U of T’s unique strengths to address the climate challenge at scale, which is of key importance to the Lawsons. They were inspired to make this latest gift to U of T by the families and foundations who have joined theClimate Championsinitiative established by the Clean Economy Fund to increase climate philanthropy in Canada.

“The establishment of the Lawson Climate Institute embodies the spirit of U of T’s Defy Gravity campaign by harnessing the power of our community and U of T’s strengths to help the world make progress towards a healthier, more equitable and sustainable way of living,” said U of T Vice-President, AdvancementDavid Palmer. “This generous gift from Brian and Joannah Lawson demonstrates the vital role of philanthropic support at U of T, and I know it will serve as inspiration for others to join us in enabling this vision of hope for our future.”

Our Community

David Palmer, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, , Alumni, Climate, Climate Change, , Global, Meric Gertler, Sustainability, Trinity College, Lawson Climate Institute