How Higher Education is Tackling Climate Change

At the beginning of August, This is Planet Edreleased the Higher Ed Climate Action Plan, a roadmap to support comprehensive climate action across higher education with recommendations for different stakeholders to catalyze and scale these efforts around the country. The Higher Ed Task Force, consisting of leaders from all aspects of higher education, identified recommendations, bright spots, and insights towards building a sustainable future through collaboration and innovation.

There's something for everyone in this plan-whether you're a student, professor, administrator, policymaker, or work in philanthropy or the private sector, there are recommendations to support all individuals and organizations in fulfilling their social responsibility and accelerating society-wide climate action.

To mark the release of the plan, This is Planet Ed and the task force hosted convenings in both Maryland and Washington, D.C., bringing together local and national experts to discuss their reactions to the plan and engage in dialogue about what it will take to unlock the power of the higher education sector to accelerate climate action.

Keep reading to see some of the key takeaways from these roundtable discussions.

1. Students want climate action embedded across ALL their courses-not just new courses added on.

Perhaps the most crucial voices in developing this plan are those of students. Nathalie Saladrigas, a student at Boston University and environmental activist, served on the Higher Ed Task Force. During the roundtables, she shared her frustrations with climate change education being treated as something "separate" to other disciplines, when in fact the effects of climate change are transforming all subject areas. Having to deliberately seek out climate education means that many students who do not have adequate resources or time to do so are being left out of climate action-and they are often the ones being most affected by climate change.

Jay Perman,Chancellor of the University System of Maryland, echoed Saladrigas' points and reemphasized what he had heard from listening sessions with students. Education around climate action shouldn't be relegated to a separate, individual course-students want climate to be embedded across all of their courses. Greg Gershuny, Vice President and Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program, points out just how important climate education is across disciplines: students in the business schools will be working on climate investments; students in medical school will be working and treating those affected by climate change; students in computer science will be working on AI chips and energy efficiency. Everyone should leave their higher education experience prepared to be a climate champion, not just environmental science majors.

2. Culturally competent communication is key.

Carla Walker-Miller is the founder and CEO of Walker-Miller Energy Services, and she approaches her work through an equity lens to make sure that the benefits of clean energy are available to all, including marginalized communities. In these discussions, she reminded attendees of the importance of accessible language when communicating around climate change. Especially given the historically overwhelming whiteness of environmentalism as a movement, the typical language of "climate change" may feel exclusionary or unrelatable. Walker-Miller argues that it is essential to meet communities of color where they are and frame language around the things that are important to that individual community and its unique needs.

Competent communication also means approaching climate action through a nonpartisan lens in many parts of the country. Kim Hunter Reed, co-chair of the Higher Ed task force and Commissioner of Higher Education for the state of Louisiana, calls them "purple pathways." By focusing on positive outcomes of climate action that individuals of any political affiliation can agree on-clean air and water, economic benefits, creation of jobs-it is much easier to form coalitions across the political aisle and bring about positive change.

3. Policymakers at all levels have a role to play, but concrete measurements of success are needed to drive change.

The plan makes it clear: policymakers at every level of government have a major role to play in supporting higher education to achieve its full potential in driving society-wide climate action. Maryland state senators Malcolm Augustineand Sarah K. Elfreth joined the Maryland roundtable to provide a legislative perspective on higher ed's role in climate action. Sen. Augustine stressed the importance of concrete, measurable successes that lawmakers can bring to the statehouse to convince their colleagues of the importance of investments in higher ed climate action. Whether that's increases in the number of individuals achieving degrees in clean economy and climate-related fields aligned with the state's economic development goals, or decreases in the carbon footprints of a state's colleges and universities, these measures can drive progress at the state policy level that sets higher ed up for success.

Recommendations from the plan for policymakers cover all facets of climate action, from encouraging local policymakers to create accessible public transportation routes to higher education campuses to increase enrollment, to asking state legislators to allocate state resources through state bonds, revolving loan funds, and higher education appropriations to help public institutions modernize existing buildings, develop new infrastructure, transition to clean energy, and create hand-on learning opportunities for students.

The name of the game is collaboration. By bringing in all aspects of higher education-institutions, systems, faculty, students, and statewide networks-to collaborate with federal, state, and local policymakers, business, philanthropy, and community-based organizations, we can maximize opportunities to spur climate action and support the next generation of climate champions.

You can read the full Higher Ed Climate Action planand view the recommendationson This is Planet Ed's website. Follow This is Planet Ed on Instagramand X/Twitterto keep up with their work.

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