Next steps

Next Steps

It is hard not to be inspired by what the Global University Climate Forum students were able to accomplish in just six months. During a pandemic. With few or no resources. They identified problems and tested ways to solve them. I suggest now that the reader pause to consider the transformative change that might result from dramatically expanding this same model – to empower a whole generation of innovators to play an active role in shaping the future we need. 

This program offers remarkable evidence that academic institutions are home to thoughtful, energetic students who will become informed and empowered professionals. Many of the projects also demonstrate the potential of universities as anchor institutions in their communities, as well as their capacity to act as conduits for connection, collaboration, and change. What they only hint at is the ground-breaking research that is happening in higher education throughout the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that came out in September 2021 is a resounding wake-up call – we need to organize swiftly and act with much more urgency and in new ways that transcend traditional thought and systems patterns. 

Academic experts played active roles in developing the IPCC report, and academic institutions and networks are remarkably well-suited for researching, testing, and advancing solutions. In addition to scholarly activities, as institutions focused on generating knowledge rather than profits or advocacy, colleges and universities can and should be convening thought-leaders and empirically evaluating progress on commitments. It must be admitted, however, that one thing most higher education institutions are not practiced at is communicating the value of their resources to the public: There is an inherited sense that pivoting knowledge into action may diminish analytical rigor. While conducting research for commercial or promotional purposes could certainly do this, there are many ways that the extraordinary assets of the knowledge sector can and should be brought to bear on the issues we face with the climate emergency.  

 Culpability for the disconnect between academia and the entities responsible for global governance does not fall solely on higher education institutions. There are well-defined pathways for the business sector and civil sector to directly connect with and influence global policy, but there is no such conduit for the knowledge sector. This may be attributed in part to the aforestated disinclination to self-promote but has also probably been hindered by the narrow science-policy interface lens that is so often offered when academia is looking for a seat at the table. In addition, the opportunities are so myriad and broad that structuring viable, impactful, inclusive ways to engage these institutions may feel elusive. 

In this spirit, over the next 18 months, the Global University Climate Forum will host workshops and other collaborative gatherings to explore possible concrete next steps, including: 

  • Courses that connect UN challenges to classrooms 
  • A network of faculty members teaching on related topics 
  • A network of mentors for students 
  • A platform to allow policymakers to pose challenges to researchers and foster collaborative research 
  • Academic tracks for conferences 
  • A curated set of resources for policymakers such as the  Environmental Performance Index  and Environmental Conventions Index 
  • Additional informal action-oriented programming like the Forum to connect students to real-world scenarios 
  • Structured student cohorts within academic networks such as the International Sustainable Campus Network
  • Internships with UN entities and think tanks 
  • Topic-specific conferences to bring together researchers of all disciplines with policymakers

This is important work that must be done through active collaboration. For updates and notifications of events and activities, please join the Global University Climate Forum’s LinkedIn group or contact Melissa Brown Goodall directly to be added to the contact list. 

 

Christiana Figueres 

Former Chair of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and co-founder of Global Optimism