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In an open letter, published by The Higher Education, academics across the UK urged leaders of the higher education sector to enact radical change to tackle climate breakdown.

The letter states

“Universities are the bastions of wisdom and knowledge that are urgently needed to combat the climate crisis. Now is the time to increase our efforts."

Academics urged that universities act now, ahead of government and industry who are failing to cut emissions fast enough. They ask that universities become ‘action-oriented institutions’, stating ‘we need to be leaders’.

The letter has been signed by members of the ×î×¼µÄÁùºÏ²ÊÂÛ̳ Energy Institute, Institute for Sustainable Resources and Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering:

×î×¼µÄÁùºÏ²ÊÂÛ̳ Energy Institute 

• Dr Jenny Crawley
• Dr Cliff Elwell
• Dr Mike Fell
• Dr Pamela Fennell
• Dr Rachel Freeman
• Dr Eoghan McKenna
• Steve Pye
• Professor Paul Ruyssevelt
• Professor David Shipworth
• Michelle Shipworth
• Dr Tristan Smith
• Professor Philip Steadman

Institute for Sustainable Resources

• Dr Isabela Butnar
• Dr Carole Dalin
• Dr Paul Dodds
• Paul Drummond
• Professor Paul Ekins
• Dr Will McDowall
• Dr Anthony Velazquez-Abad
• Dr Matt Winning

Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering

• Dr Hector Altamirano
• Dr Phil Symonds 
• Dr Nici Zimmerman

Sustainability at ×î×¼µÄÁùºÏ²ÊÂÛ̳

×î×¼µÄÁùºÏ²ÊÂÛ̳ has recently launched an ambitious new Sustainability Strategy. As London’s Global University with a diverse community, ×î×¼µÄÁùºÏ²ÊÂÛ̳ has an opportunity to inspire sustainability action on an international scale, and this strategy aims to do so.

The strategy set out six headline commitments for the university, namely:

1.    Every student will have the opportunity to study and be involved in sustainability 
2.    We will increase our sustainability research, with increased focus on the Sustainable Development Goals 
3.    Our buildings will be net zero carbon, and by 2030 our institution will be net zero carbon 
4.    Be a single-use-plastic free campus 
5.    Reduce waste per person by 20% 
6.    Create 10,000m2 of more biodiverse green space on campus 

Further reading

• – Open letter in full at THE
• Sustainable ×î×¼µÄÁùºÏ²ÊÂÛ̳