Jul 23 2009
Six universities from the US, UK, Spain and China have become the first academic institutions to come on board the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net) - an initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to promote global action to de-carbonize our economies and societies.
They are the pioneers among hundreds of universities, colleges and other academic institutions worldwide that are taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote "greening" of their campuses and invest in low-carbon research and development.
UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said: "The Climate Neutral Network was inspired by a simple idea that a transformation to a low, even zero emission future is a learning process. It is therefore fitting that universities from all over the world should join this global networking platform and help make the best knowledge on climate neutrality available to all."
"As think tanks, creativity hubs and change agents in our societies, we welcome universities on board the CN Net and hope that they will bring their vast libraries of knowledge to the Network and use it to accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient future."
From using renewable sources of energy such as wind, sun and biomass to developing fuel cell vehicles to encouraging neighbouring communities to take on the low carbon challenge, the new CN Net participants are taking leadership on the issue of climate change at the local, national and international levels.
In the United States alone, 645 colleges and universities are moving towards climate neutrality as part of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), and many of these schools are perfect candidates for the CN Net.
"Colleges and universities are arguably the most important institutions to address climate disruption because they can model climate neutrality on their campuses, and they can teach their students the skills and knowledge they need to address the climate crisis," said Anthony D. Cortese, coordinator of the ACUPCC and president of Second Nature - a nonprofit organization working to help colleges and universities make the principles of sustainability fundamental to every aspect of higher education.