13 top universities form ‘Climate Change Coalition’

Leading universities across North America have launched the ‘University Climate Change Coalition’ to leverage their research and resources to spur local climate action.

The coalition, also known as UC3, was announced by Janet Napolitano, President of the University of California and former Homeland Security secretary under the Obama administration.

With universities from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the new initiative will aim to fill the rising gap in local climate action, especially after the US government is making deep cuts to numerous science agencies and rolling back environmental regulations aimed at mitigating climate change.  

“The UC3 coalition believes that addressing climate change is an area where some of the world’s greatest research institutions can, and must, lead”, Mrs. Napolitano said.  

She added: “No one is better positioned than we are to scale up research-based climate solutions”.

The UC3 coalition will establish a roadmap for university-led climate action through cross-sector forums where it will bring together the community, business leaders, and other shareholders.

In addition, later in 2018, it will release a climate mitigation and adaptation report where it will synthesise the best practices, policies, and recommendations from all the UC3 institutions into a framework for continued progress.

The 13 participating research institutions are: Arizona State University, California Institute of Technology, Tecnológico de Monterrey, La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ohio State University, State University of New York, University of British Columbia, University of California, University of Colorado, University of Maryland, University of New Mexico, University of Toronto, and University of Washington.

Scott Miller from the University of Virginia said: "With global climate change accelerating, higher education is stepping up its mobilization of teaching, research, and operational change. UC3 represents a comprehensive approach, uniting leaders from many sectors of society to inspire solutions and make informed policy recommendations”.

You can read more about the new coalition here.