The University of Toronto’s new Lawson Climate Institute will leverage 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.
Through a multidisciplinary approach, the institute will ramp up U of T’s capacity to advance the technologies and policies needed for Canada to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. It will also empower students from any field of study to make climate action a priority, infusing them with a fundamental sense of optimism by focusing on positive and achievable gains in environmental and human well-being. U of T launched the Lawson Climate Institute on Earth Day, which aims to drive global action for the planet.
The institute is named in honour of Brian Lawson (BA 1982 TRIN) and Joannah Lawson (MIR 1989), longtime supporters and volunteer leaders with the university, in recognition of their transformative $60-million donation to help establish the institute. Their support represents the largest 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 President Meric 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 the Lawson Scholars program to help build a cadre of climate change leaders across a wide variety of industries, as well as expand the university’s Sustainability Pathways program 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,” said Professor David Sinton (MIE), interim director of the Lawson Climate Institute. “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 change and 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 for its aim to ensure students in every discipline across three campuses have an opportunity to gain the tools needed to take concrete steps in 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 create endowed 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
The University of Toronto is known globally for its outstanding leadership on issues related to climate and environmental stewardship. Through the U7+ Alliance of World Universities, it has championed the role of universities in fighting climate change. U of T was also the first North American university to commit to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, acting as a model and inspiration for other institutions. As a result of these initiatives and many others, the QS World University Rankings named U of T the world’s most sustainable university, two years in a row – making it a natural home for the Lawson Climate Institute.
“We chose to support U of T because its established leadership in sustainability will allow the Lawson Climate Institute to have access to a deep well of climate-focused talent, research and innovation,” said Brian and Joannah Lawson. “We realized we could make a profound difference with this donation by helping to bring together the wide range of climate research taking place at U of T, enabling the university to achieve even greater impact. Tackling the climate crisis requires urgent action, and we encourage others to join us in creating hope for a healthier future.”
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 the Climate Champions initiative established by the Clean Economy Fund to increase climate philanthropy in Canada.
The gift builds on the Lawsons’ legacy of philanthropic support at the university. They are also long-standing volunteer leaders: Brian Lawson is chancellor of Trinity College in the University of Toronto, co-chair of the Defy Gravity campaign and former chair of Governing Council. Joannah Lawson has served on the Campaign Cabinet of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, as a trustee at Trinity College and on the Advisory Council for the Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition. Their generosity helped to establish this centre, as well as the Lawson Centre for Sustainability at Trinity College, which will house the Lawson Climate Institute’s offices and collaboration spaces.
In addition to the Lawsons’ gift, numerous individuals across the university, including leadership from the Faculty of Arts & Science and the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, helped bring the institute to life.
“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 Vice-President, Advancement at U of T, David 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.”
