{"id":54460,"date":"2020-10-20T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T15:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=54460"},"modified":"2020-10-19T15:33:24","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T22:33:24","slug":"this-is-how-universities-can-lead-climate-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/this-is-how-universities-can-lead-climate-action\/","title":{"rendered":"This is how universities can lead climate action"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Universities are vital hubs of research and teaching on climate change. As large organisations, they also have significant emissions, which contribute to our climate crisis. Universities should therefore lead global action to limit climate change. How best can they do this?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0Global Climate Change Week<\/a>. This annual event aims to encourage universities \u2013 staff and students \u2013 to engage with each other, their communities and policymakers on climate change action and solutions. As organising committee members and academics working on climate change, we explore here what leadership in university-based climate action looks like.<\/p>\n

The reasons to act are obvious. In Paris in 2015, the international community agreed to pursue all possible measures to\u00a0limit the global temperature increase to 1.5\u00b0C<\/a>\u00a0above pre-industrial levels. But current policies have us on track for an\u00a0increase of about 3.6\u00b0C by 2100<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The need to cut greenhouse gas emissions is urgent \u2013 the consequences of not doing so\u00a0catastrophic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What university climate action looks like<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Universities are big consumers and emitters \u2013\u00a0some sectors more than others<\/a>. Universities also have the autonomy to make decisions on sustainability and are increasingly doing so, individually and collectively.<\/p>\n

Many universities are basing their efforts on the\u00a0UN Sustainable Development Goals<\/a>. Sustainability includes radically reducing carbon footprints.<\/p>\n

Organisations like the\u00a0International Universities Climate Alliance<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability<\/a>\u00a0support such efforts. Campaigns like\u00a0Race to Zero<\/a>,\u00a0Countdown<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Global Colleges and Universities Climate Letter<\/a>\u00a0provide forums for institutions to commit formally to reducing emissions.<\/p>\n

Tasmania, a case study<\/strong><\/h4>\n

And what does this climate action look like on the ground? We\u2019ll start with our university, the University of Tasmania \u2013 the case we know best.<\/p>\n

The university recently\u00a0ranked third in the world<\/a>\u00a0in the Times Higher Education university rankings for climate action. The rankings measure research on climate change, energy use and climate change adaptation.<\/p>\n

Our university punches above its weight, with many\u00a0climate change<\/a>\u00a0research groups<\/a>\u00a0and more\u00a0IPCC<\/a>\u00a0authors than any other Australian university. Researchers in social sciences, law, education and humanities are also\u00a0influential in the study of climate change and its impacts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The University of Tasmania has\u00a0closely audited<\/a>\u00a0and reduced emissions and\u00a0offset its remaining emissions<\/a>.\u00a0Certified carbon-neutral<\/a>\u00a0since 2016, it\u2019s one of only two Australian universities to achieve this status (the other is Charles Sturt University).<\/p>\n

Divesting from fossil fuels<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Fossil fuel divestment is a process of transition with three elements:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • negative screening \u2013 no new investments in fossil-fuel-related industries<\/li>\n
  • positive screening \u2013 investment in renewable energy and ecologically sustainable industries<\/li>\n
  • phased withdrawal of existing investments in fossil-fuel-related industries and activities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    To mark Global Climate Change Week, the University of Tasmania has just\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0it aims to divest from any fossil-fuel-exposed investments by the end of 2021. The university already has no direct shareholdings in fossil fuel companies. Its investment strategy will include positive screening, investing in companies that are working towards a zero-carbon economy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n

    Many universities are making divestment the core of their climate action. In Australia,\u00a0La Trobe started that trend in 2016<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Globally, one of the largest divestment pushes has come from the University of California Berkley. In 2019, it\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0it would divest completely from fossil fuels in its US$126 billion investment portfolio and $70 billion pension fund.<\/p>\n

    Here in Australia, an\u00a0ongoing campaign<\/a>\u00a0is pushing the 450,000-member higher education superannuation fund, UniSuper, to divest from fossil fuel investments.<\/p>\n

    Generating power on campus<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Some universities are generating their own renewable power.<\/p>\n

    For example, Deakin University has\u00a0developed an industrial-scale microgrid<\/a>: a 14.5 hectare solar energy farm with a 1 megawatt central battery. The project integrates rooftop solar panels and smaller batteries across the Waurn Ponds campus.<\/p>\n

    The University of Queensland has set up and maintains a\u00a0A$125 million solar farm<\/a>\u00a0just outside Warwick to offset its annual electricity needs.<\/p>\n