About us

Find out how the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute got started and how it works.

Prestigious ranking recognises thought leadership

The New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute has been identified as globally influential by the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report. Published by the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, this prestigious report is a closely watched annual survey of the work of over 6,000 international think tanks.

The latest report ranked the Institute as one of the world’s top 50 environment policy think tanks—a result attained consistently over the last decade.

This shows that the research and policy advice being generated at the University is among the best anywhere, and is of particular relevance to the Asia–Pacific region.

Our beginnings

The New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute (NZCCRI) was established in 2008 by Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington to develop interdisciplinary research into all aspects of climate change. The Institute is a founding member of the New Zealand Climate Change Centre.

How we work

We are a small team of researchers and policy thinkers who work at the interface between climate change science and the decisions people have to make about climate change.

We do high-quality academic research into climate change issues, and we aim to choose research topics of real interest to decision-makers in New Zealand and elsewhere. We work with world-class researchers to better understand and inform the decisions people are facing regarding climate change.

Bridging natural and social science

We develop, disseminate, and discuss interdisciplinary climate change research, with a particular emphasis on work that spans the natural and social sciences. To do this, we draw on the skills and experience of researchers in New Zealand and abroad to produce collaborative research that is of international scholarly significance and that has relevance to domestic and international policy.

Helping to guide policy

We work closely with New Zealand’s Crown Research Institutes, universities, and other research organisations to help people govern, anticipate, mitigate, and adapt to climate change.

Our aim is to produce high-quality, decision-relevant research on climate change, and to deliver this to private and public sector decision makers.