An international coalition of leading climate research universities – including the University of Southampton – have issued a declaration ahead of this weekend’s G20 Summit (21 and 22 November 2020) for global leaders to prioritise net zero emissions.
The International Universities Climate Alliance (IUCA) spans all populated continents, representing one-third of the 100 highest performing climate research universities and a quarter of the top 100 environmental research universities worldwide.
The Alliance declaration implores world leaders to use the post-COVID recovery to implement measures to counteract climate change, warning that failure to do so will lock in catastrophic consequences for generations to come.
“Now is the time for action, we need to shift our behaviours, provide technological solutions at pace and work collectively across international boundaries to achieve global change,” says Professor Rachel Mills, Southampton’s Dean of Environmental and Life Sciences and Sustainability Champion for the University. “The IUCA Declaration is a call to arms for G20 leaders and us to commit to work together to achieve these goals via our new ambitious University Sustainability Strategy.”
The Climate Alliance declaration was shared and discussed via a live online launch in the UK involving a panel of university experts and representatives on climate change and sustainability including Emily Harrison, Southampton’s Sustainability Stakeholder Engagement Co-ordinator.
“By joining with Universities across the globe, we are able to have a much more powerful voice than we would individually and hopefully can influence them to act now,” says Emily. “Universities continue to be a vital hub of change and, together, we can have a huge impact in encouraging more sustainable actions from the leaders of today and shaping our students who will be the leaders of tomorrow.”
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