{"id":21949,"date":"2017-09-18T17:44:35","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T21:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=21949"},"modified":"2019-03-12T14:37:47","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T18:37:47","slug":"universities-reverse-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/universities-reverse-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Universities Lead Battle to Reverse Climate Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years ago, at the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, 193 member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals\u201417 distinct goals designed <\/span>to eradicate poverty, address climate change, and build peaceful, inclusive societies for all by 2030. With the U.S. pulling out of the Paris Agreement and the recent record-breaking hurricane damage this year, climate change and sustainability will be a hot topic this week at the <\/span>72nd Session<\/span><\/a> of the UN General Assembly. <\/span><\/p>\n

In July this year, the UN issued a <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> noting that <\/span>progress to date \u201cis insufficient to fully meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets by 2030.\u201d It also added a warning: \u201cTime is therefore of the essence.\u201d <\/span>The report went on to note that in 2016, planetary warming set a record temperature of about 1.1 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period, and the extent of global sea ice fell to the second lowest on record. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But it is not all doom and gloom. While the world is certainly heating up, so are the efforts taking place at university campuses to tackle climate change and make the world more sustainable. If you want to see the progress on reversing climate change and making the world more sustainable, look at our universities where sustainability advancements are made every day. <\/span><\/p>\n

In this article, we highlight the key areas in which universities are leading the battle to reverse climate change\u2014from their unwavering commitment, to the cutting-edge research that will help us win this battle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Commitment by Universities to Meet SDGs<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u201cThere is no \u2018Plan B\u2019 because we do not have a \u2018Planet B\u2019\u201d is an oft-repeated <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a> by<\/span>\u00a0Ban Ki-moon, the eighth UN Secretary-General. This is the view held by many leaders at university campuses around the world today. <\/span><\/p>\n

Two decades ago, the title of \u201cCampus Sustainability Officer\u201d or \u201cDirector of Sustainability,\u201d was unheard of. That\u2019s not the case today when practically every university has one. Some universities have full departments, and many have full-on degree programs around sustainability. So, it was no surprise that when <\/span>President Trump decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, a large group of university leaders in the U.S. promptly signed a \u201c<\/span>We Are Still In<\/span><\/a>\u201d proclamation. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is what Susan Herbst, president of the University of Connecticut, had to say about the role of universities in this fight. <\/span>“<\/span>The decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement does not mean that we as a university should abdicate our own responsibility to do what we believe is best for our state, the nation, and the world with respect to our environment<\/span>,”\u00a0she said. \u201cWe will steadfastly continue to do our part in contributing to global efforts to address climate change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Separately, some universities also got together to affirm their intention to stand by the Paris Agreement. Johns Hopkins, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Penn, Stanford, and Yale signed a separate pact to strengthen their resolve to limit carbon emissions. <\/span><\/p>\n

A statement signed by the presidents of all 12 universities listed above <\/span>reads<\/span><\/a>: \u201cAs institutions of higher education, we remain committed to a broad-based global agreement on climate change and will do our part to ensure the United States can meet its contribution.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Universities pledging to help tackle climate change is not a recent phenomenon. Hundreds of universities had previously <\/span>committed to using only 100 percent renewable energy<\/span><\/a> on campus and became signatories to the Climate Leadership Commitment, which was spearheaded by Environment America and<\/span> the<\/span> Student Public Interest Research Groups<\/span><\/a> to achieve carbon neutrality. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sustainable Infrastructure<\/b><\/h2>\n

Universities around the world are making sustainable energy a priority in their campus infrastructure, so new projects are almost always being built with sustainability in mind. These environmental initiatives are reducing energy costs, countering carbon emissions, and making a visible commitment to sustainability evident to all. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some recent examples of sustainable infrastructure: <\/strong><\/p>\n