Universities urge world leaders to act on the climate crisis

A global coalition of universities have joined together to urge leaders to act now to avoid catastrophic environmental consequences. 

The International Universities Climate Alliance includes 48 of the world’s top universities.

The group has issued its first declaration ahead of the G20 Summit this weekend, where leaders of the largest economies of the world will be discussing financial and socioeconomic issues.

The declaration implores world leaders to use the post-covid recovery to implement measures to counteract climate change.

It warns that failure to do so will lock in catastrophic consequences for generations to come.

The universities will work to support world leaders, policymakers and industry in planning for and responding to climate change.

The alliance will provide a central hub for universities to share the latest climate research and enable greater collaboration between leading research teams.

Professor Ian Jacobs, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of New South Wales in Australia – a founding member of the Alliance, said: ‘Many challenges lie ahead of us in combatting the existential crisis in which the world finds itself.

‘The International Universities Climate Alliance is a rich resource upon which governments, business and industry – and individuals – can rely for evidence-led advice.’

Professor Nick Plant, the deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Leeds, added: ‘Universities are uniquely positioned to provide evidence-based knowledge which clearly shows the need and opportunities for raising both national and global ambitions to support urgent climate action and a green recovery.’

In related news, earlier this week the University of Oxford launched a new initiative to address the issue of how to reach net-zero.

The Oxford Net Zero project has just received a £2.2m investment from the University’s new Strategic Research Fund (SRF). This funding will be used to draw on the universities leading academics from across various disciplines.

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