Vision

Upon successful completion of our project, we will have empowered students not only to act as conscious individuals but also to engage in a sustainable community actively. We will help students identify unsustainable energy consumption patterns in their residential hall by providing regular reports. The objective of these reports is to induce behavioral change amongst the residents of this hall. This project will build a community with active student participation in energy efficiency.

Metrics for success  

By implementing a weekly newsletter, occupants of the selected student hall would be made aware of their energy consumption and carbon footprint. We will consider a constant or increasing opening rate of over 50% to indicate that the newsletter effectively sparks the students’ engagement in sustainable energy consumption. In addition, we will survey the students of the selected hall before the roll-out of the newsletter.

Final report 

The complex and multidimensional nature of sustainable energy consumption requires anyone to consider a variety of approaches that could introduce student engagement on the issue. Therefore, we shifted the focus of our project to improving the communication channels between the university and students to foster fair and sustainable energy policies in the residence hall that we had chosen as our pilot site. To this end, we decided to collect and analyze the needs and expectations of different stakeholders by interviewing university officials and conducting a survey among the tenants of our pilot residence hall (O’Shea North, University of Edinburgh). The initially proposed follow-up step was to recruit Residence Assistants in the student hall as our focus group. However, we could hardly realize this idea due to the disconnect with the students, lower feedback, and external constraints of COVID-19. A key lesson we took from this project is the importance of informing students about their rights and responsibilities and empowering them to claim access to fair and sustainable energy in their halls. In addition, it is crucial that the institution values student input actively seeks feedback from the student community and establishes opportunities for collaboration. One way to achieve this could be through permanent feedback channels between university and students to ensure the proper functioning of the energy system and efficient problem-solving mechanisms. We hope to take our project further by working out a detailed plan for student engagement which we hope can be streamlined into institutional energy policies in the future. 

Vision

Our ranking wants to show current and future Higher Education Institution (HEI) students which HEIs actually practice what they teach in terms of emission reductions. By this, we hope to make universities prioritize climate action – in addition to high-quality education and research. The goal is to see HEIs take the lead in the transition and reduce their emissions in line with the 1.5-degree target, taking into account aspects of equity and applying the precautionary principle, which is to have all HEIs reach near-zero by 2030.

Metrics for success  

We measure success based on the number of universities deciding to take part in our ranking: in 2020, we got 16 responses, and we expect at least 20 responses in 2021. The success of our project could also be measured based on the number of publications or mentions about our ranking in the media. Furthermore, the project’s success could be measured in the number of gym school classes we reach out to with our ranking if we decide to target school classes.

Final report 

Climate Students Sweden carried out the Climate Action Ranking 2021 as our Global Climate University Forum project. We have ranked Swedish HEIs based on their work to reduce Green House Gases emissions from their operations. The first Climate Action Ranking was made in 2020. Ideally, the ranking would position universities according to their total GHG emissions. Unfortunately, no university knows their total emissions. Instead, the ranking is based on four categories:

CO₂ emissions from aviation per full-time employee during the previous year

Changes in CO₂ emissions from aviation between the two last years

Goals and action plans for reductions in total emissions

Methods for measurement of total emissions

Categories 1 and 2 are based on official statistics, categories 3 and 4 are based on a survey sent to HEIs in Sweden. The pandemic raised the question of whether we still could use these categories. After dialogue with our advisor, we decided to do so and so we would be able to compare results between years. Moreover, we saw the dramatic reductions in flights during 2020 should be an eye-opener as to what is possible regarding reduced emissions from academic aviation.

The ranking has shown to be a powerful tool in pushing the universities to act on the climate crisis. This year 25 universities participated, which is nine more than last year and more than half of all Swedish HEIs. Several magazines reported when we published the results on March 15th, when applications for the autumn semester opened.

Vision

Evansville, Indiana, is located in the center of several super polluters. These power plants produce excessive amounts of carbon emissions. Our goal was to help the University of Southern Indiana (USI) lean more on renewable energy and find alternate power sources than these polluting power plants. By assisting USI to shift to more renewable energy, we would be setting a standard within the community that would inspire change among other public and private organizations.

Metrics for success  

To measure success, we relied heavily on actual changes that we could implement during the project period. Our plan comprised evaluating data, conducting cost-savings analyses, and communicating with community leaders and vendors to effectively engage in dialogue about alternate energy sources. By the end of the project, we hoped to provide enough information to the university to formulate a formal proposal to switch to cleaner and renewable energy.

Final report 

When formulating our original proposal, our team decided to work towards installing solar panels on specific sections of our university campus. At the time, this seemed like a feasible idea, but we were not sure how much work this would entail. As we spent months communicating with university members and solar energy providers, we concluded that the project would take more time than we anticipated. Since we were all graduating seniors, we decided to pursue a smaller, more realistic goal by researching the benefits of switching to LED lights on campus. This goal seemed manageable, and we hoped that our research could be used to create a formal proposal for the university. We worked closely with the Director of Facility Operations and Planning. He provided us with blueprints and maps of campus buildings, and we used those to begin calculating exactly how much our university would need to spend to implement this project successfully. We also communicated with local vendors to receive quotes and costs of switching to LED lights. We spent the last few months calculating the long-term cost savings and put all of our research into one solid proposal. We gave this proposal to the USI Student Government Association’s environmental committee. This committee will be working closely with the university to make more environmentally beneficial decisions in the coming years. Our research and analysis will be used to request the university switch to LED lights to limit energy consumption.

Vision

Proper use of photovoltaic cells will allow families in Sauz Seco to adopt and apply eco-technologies for their benefit and enhance their quality of life while reduce electrical spending and have clean energy in households. Furthermore, community members will participate in their own development by collaborating with our team and local authorities.

Metrics for success  

We will measure the impact of our intervention by identifying changes in energy consumption and well-being between the control and treatment groups. Positive changes will justify that monitoring is crucial to obtain effective results. If it turns out that the strategy does not make any difference in energy consumption, this is an indicator that empowering people is not a sufficient measurement of success.

Indicators used:

• User satisfaction scale
• System usage time
• Number of light hours provided by the system

Final report 

Our ENES León team implemented a proposal to improve a local public policy focused on installing solar panels in rural communities in the municipality of León. To develop our project, we selected the community of Sauz Seco in Guanajuato, Mexico. We believe that this eco-technology is of great importance to reduce carbon emissions in homes. In addition, it allows low-income families to have electricity service in their homes at a lower cost.

To achieve those goals, we conducted interviews and field exploration in the Sauz Seco community. We identified weaknesses while executing the project, as eco-technologies had been installed but the authorities did not follow up with them after installation. This was a problem because several photocells stopped functioning with time, so the benefits were only short term.

To strengthen the local program, we propose the design and implementation of a follow-up phase that includes monitoring and evaluation of the installations. In this phase, the authorities must implement indicators that reflect the operating condition of the equipment, the adaptation of families and eco-technologies in their daily lives, the environmental benefits (reduction of emissions, dependence on fossil energy). The information will be presented in a report to local authorities.

The successful implementation of a project of this type will allow it to be used as a public policy model so that low-income families in other regions of Mexico that lack electricity service can have access to it with a lesser impact on the environment. 

Vision

After six months, we hope to have consolidated the generation of a carbon sink through soil regeneration with plant strata and vermicompost. We also hope to establish a network of volunteers for the generation of vermicompost and a system for collecting and separating organic waste generated on campus, which will help reduce the amount of waste that goes to the city landfill. This will help consolidate the Sustainable Campus Model. 

Metrics for success  

We will measure impact through documentary, photographic, and video evidence and measurements (hard data) of the situation before and after each stage.  

• Before: Situation of the ecosystem (soil quality, quantity, and variety of plant species and animals).  
• After: Situation of the ecosystem at the end of six months   

•  Before: Amount of organic waste 
• After: Volume of vermicompost generated 

•  Before: Impression of people who visit the campus before   
• After: Impression of people who visit the campus after 

Final report 

The goal of this project was to support a more sustainable campus by reducing the ecological footprint with the creation of a pocket forest from soil regenerated with homemade vermicompost obtained from a network of students and teachers.

We did not achieve the desired results due to the pandemic, but we were able to build a network of volunteer students and teachers. We provided them with materials and taught them how to make homemade vermicompost, which will later be used to regenerate the soil of 200 square meters on the campus of ENES León, UNAM. This land plot was previously agriculture, and we will amend it to create a pocket forest with native trees from the Bajío region in León, Mexico.

During the process, we had several difficulties. For example, we have not been able to plant the trees because we were not able to enter the campus during the pandemic. However, with support from the campus director and our project advisors we have committed to continue with the project even though we are already out of time with the Climate Forum. We also view it as a positive result that we have created a network of enthusiastic students, teachers, and volunteers to generate homemade vermicompost. New alliances were also forged with some of the existing projects on campus, such as Dr. Paulina’s environmental education project, Dr. Ilane’s pollinator project, and establishing the project as an internship site for the subject of edaphology of the degree of Agrogenomic Sciences with Dr. Harumi.

Vision

With the University of St. Andrews developing a carbon offsetting forest, there is a need for greater student involvement and educational support. By creating a course that educates students on the climate crisis and the virtues of carbon offsetting, we hope to do just that. The end goal of the course is to design an interdisciplinary module that will aid the development of the offsetting forest through cutting-edge, student-driven research.

Metrics for success  

The key metrics of success are how many students sign up for and complete the course and how many module proposals will result from the course.  

Final report  

Education is a salient tool in the fight against the climate crisis. With this in mind, we developed the “Carbon Management and Sustainable Curriculum Design” course. Aiming to provide students with knowledge in climate science and carbon offsetting, this course complements the University of St Andrews’s long-term plans to develop a carbon offsetting forest. The end goal of the course was for students to design their own module outline that incorporated course themes with their own disciplines (e.g., students from Biology looked at the ecological basis of carbon offsetting). These various module outlines will then be collated into a “Vertically Integrated Project” (VIP), an interdisciplinary module focused on developing the University’s offsetting project. The workshop course and the module it will yield thus account for the research facet of the offsetting forest. To guide students’ curriculum outlines, the class conducted four respective workshops led by world-leading experts. These included a definitive guide to the climate crisis, the virtues of carbon offsetting, afforestation and nature-based climate solutions, and an introduction to the University’s offsetting forest. By the end of the course, over 80 students came up with 11 module proposals, providing a solid basis for the future VIP and the University’s offsetting plans. The workshop course will remain within the University’s professional skills services, thereby carving out an indelible legacy for the foreseeable future. 

Vision

Estimate the carbon sequestration and fixation capacity of mangrove forests with a 5-, 10-, and 20- years’ projection with local, academia, private (hotels), and government participation. 

Metrics for success  

We intend to promote the reduction in GHG through the maintenance and restoration of mangrove forests. Carbon (C) rates will also be useful as an opportunity in C global markets and encourage Cancun hotels, locals, and local government to participate. This is a one-year project. This is a perfect time to collect data field and spatial, analyze data, and generate visual results like C rates maps. All data generated will be open access. 

Final report 

Due to COVID-19 restrictions in Mexico, we were not able to return to normal activities until May-16-2021. During the course of our project, our activities have not been what we expected, but we still made progress. We held Zoom meetings every month and were able to generate above-ground biomass and carbon data organized by status (degraded, natural conditions, and type of mangrove). All data is open access and available online (Please visit: http://www.conabio.gob.mx/informacion/gis/). We decided to use modeling projections for different scenarios (natural, hurricane events, human effects) and develop forecasts for 5, 10, 20 years. When this is done, we will download the images, then collect all of the information and data to estabish preliminary results. After that, we will aco-author a paper and submit it to a journal (between June-July). 

Vision

The goal of this project is to disseminate the conditions of adaptation to climate change and other climate change data through social networks to two significant sites in Latin America.

Metrics for success  

Our metric for success was the number of people reached by our proejct. When we started, we thought it would be enough even if even five people. When we were done, we had reached over 11,000. 

Final report 

We have reached a lot of people, and we have also been able to interact and make partnerships with international people and gather ideas that have contributed to the project. Our project has also grown and evolved as we implemented it, as the people we have reached offerd comments on how to improve the project in the future. 

Vision

Our project will let us identify climatic hazards for coastal communities of the South of Jalisco in Mexico and design adaptation strategies accordingly. If we are successful, local people and decision-makers will be aware of such measures and their relevance, fostering their successful implementation. Ideally, adaptation strategies will be implemented, and the vulnerability of the region will be reduced. Efforts of local adaptation to climate change will serve as examples to the region.  

Metrics for success  

We have two indicators of success. The first is the number of materials designed for outreach material to local inhabitants of coastal communities in Jalisco state regarding climatic hazards, vulnerability drivers, and adaptation measures. The second is the number of members of local governments receiving the technical analysis report

Final report 

At the beginning of the project, we were unsure how to start identifying the climatic hazards. However, we both attended a course at our university called “Climate change: impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation,” which helped us with this analysis and better understand vulnerability and adaptation needs in our country.

We believe that our project can definitely be replicated by others (students, NGOs or local governments). If this is the case, local capacities will be developed, and reducing vulnerability will be a reality.  

Developing this project was rewarding and complemented our own master’s projects. It was also useful to connect with others are doing around the world. However, interaction with other teams, even from our university, was not easy during the pandemic.   

Vision

The project’s Vision was to analyze the governmental policies in Mexico regarding the atmospheric emissions produced by activated sludge treatment plants. We realized that Mexico has a backward and stagnant operational and legal frameworks because they prioritize water treatment, but not sustainability or environmentally-friendly practices.

Metrics for success  

We believe that to measure the success of the project, it is necessary to see the recommendations we propose in action. Although we fulfill the objective of analyzing and investigating this issue in Mexico, we will not know its impacts because it is a practical issue with legal and governmental purposes, beyond numbers and formulas. Perhaps simply making this issue known is already a step forward, but there is still a long way to go. 

Final report 

We concluded from this project that Mexico needs to advance in the operational and legal frameworks of activated sludge treatment plants. We found that in environmental matters, Mexico is in a stagnant and monopolized place that prioritizes obtaining certifications and seals that serve industry. This means the government does not seek continuous satisfaction and progress in reducing environmental harm. We firmly believe that it is necessary to include sustainability principles in project planning so that environmental justification is easier and clearer. Furthermore, it is also essential to generate a culture and environmental awareness in society, starting with early education in sustainability and sustainable development, in the care of water, air, and soil, and above all in the care of the Earth, because we are only here once. We have the opportunity to care for the environment. 

Vision

We are very interested in diseases resulting from environmental pollution, especially those that affect the respiratory system, such as asthma. Our goals are to show the relationship between climate change and bronchial asthma using statistical graphs and increase awareness among policymakers, KSIU campus academics, and healthcare workers on bronchial asthma that would cause economic problems that can affect the quality of life. We hope to change the attitude of policymakers and stakeholders towards environmental and climate changes and their impact on public health, which can consequently reduce the incidence and prevalence of asthmatic disease in developing countries.

Metrics for success  

In our original proposal, we decided to make awareness campaigns, posters, an online questionnaire, a research paper, and field visits to healthcare centers. We successfully created a Facebook page to post videos and posters about the relationship between bronchial asthma and climate change, and we gained 284 likes and 299 followers. We have 106 views on the Forum website of our project. We collected several questionnaires from bronchial asthma patients during our field visits to multiple healthcare centers.

Final report 

Our project successfully met the accomplishments we needed. We filled out 100 surveys from asthmatic people. Our data shows that asthma attacks and severity are greatly affected by climate change since 96% of the respondents are non-smokers and do not own pets, and 72% of the respondents have controlled asthma by regularly taking treatment. Also, 57% of respondents found an increase in asthma attacks during extreme drops in temperature, and 72% of respondents got more asthma attacks during extreme storms and heat waves. This proves that climate change actually affects asthma and can even cause respiratory problems in non-asthmatic people. We have encountered many challenges, including getting the amount of collected data from in-person asthmatic patients in hospitals and going to their places to check the environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, and CO2, since there were many respondents, and our team has only three members. We got 70 responses for our in-person questionnaire and had to complete the responses left online. We changed our original plan of obtaining the data on environmental conditions from different certified websites since it’s easier to cover more areas this way. We have connected with our peers and community through online meetings, our Facebook page, and in-person. We were able to communicate with people from different backgrounds; we noticed an impactful relation between climate change and bronchial asthma’s severity and incidence. We were surprised by the number of respondents that we were able to get in person at different hospitals and were able to communicate with people from different backgrounds during the filling out of the questionnaire. We learned to protect our environment and health and to be careful of air quality in our surroundings. Our project makes people aware of air pollution, climate change, and the relationship between bronchial asthma and climate change. It can encourage people to plant trees, protect their environment, and stop or reduce factors that worsen climate change. We are planning to spread awareness among our classmates in our university, friends, and family members.

Vision

Most of the urban Peruvian population lives in the brightest dot of the coast, Lima City. However, light pollution is little addressed. This project will raise awareness of this issue and the municipality’s criteria for the improvement of lighting in the parks of Lima and other cities. 
By doing this, effects on citizens’ circadian rythm, wild animals, plants, and the ecosystem will be considered in the planning stages for future lighting structures. Thus, these will be more energy efficient. Our most significant success would be being taken as a reference for future research development.  

Metrics for success  

Our initial proposal included a plan to make a diagnostic report of the study areas, carry out perception surveys, and create a proposal document with which the town hall could improve lighting infrastructure and usage.

We weren’t able to achieve the last two metrics. However, we succeeded in creating a diagnostic report for Kennedy Park in the district of Miraflores. Also, we added light pollution as a topic in the symposium our research group is holding on climate change. We achieved an attendance of 223 people.

Final report 

At the beginning of the Forum, we proposed to measure illuminance in Lima’s busiest parks. However, for various reasons, we could only do this work in one of the most active parks, from which more reference municipal information was available, and measurements could be taken and compared with the methodology already used in the few sources found. We were able to take the measurements, discuss the results and analyze the new regulations that will come into force in our country. We were delighted to learn that regulations on light pollution are already being developed in our country. According to the established deadlines, the regulations should be published by January 2023. Even so, the technical standard for public roads enforced since 2002 in our country needs to reflect the levels reached in areas with the characteristics mentioned in their tables. We hope that they are adjusted in the regulation that is being prepared.

We can highlight two measurable products achieved:

• A diagnostic report on the illumination of the perimeter of a park. Which contains our illumination measurements on the perimeter of Kennedy Park in the district of Miraflores and analysis.
• Successfully holding a symposium webinar in our research circle on the subject, reaching more than 200 people.

For a reduction of light pollution, the efficiency of the use of electrical energy must be improved. Making eco-efficient changes such as the direction of the light, its levels and temperature, and creating a better distribution of lights are all essential to diminish light pollution, minimize the impact on birds’ behavior, and improve the sleep quality of neighbors. These are changes already being implemented in Kennedy Park, which can be replicated to achieve energy-efficient cities, thus combating climate change.

We want our project to be disseminated so more research circles, students, and authorities are interested in the subject and have regulations following the context and reality of the problem; otherwise, they will not be able to comply with the recommendations. For this, we plan to communicate our results and spread what we have learned about light pollution in a digestible way through CICC’s social networks (CICC being our research group).

Finally, with this project, we learned that organization, a schedule proposal, and modifying our plans over time are necessary to move forward in the face of adversity.

Vision

Most of the urban Peruvian population lives in the brightest dot of the coast, Lima City. However, light pollution is little addressed. This project will raise awareness of this issue and the municipality’s criteria for the improvement of lighting in the parks of Lima and other cities. 
By doing this, effects on citizens’ circadian rythm, wild animals, plants, and the ecosystem will be considered in the planning stages for future lighting structures. Thus, these will be more energy efficient. Our most significant success would be being taken as a reference for future research development.  

Metrics for success  

Our initial proposal included a plan to make a diagnostic report of the study areas, carry out perception surveys, and create a proposal document with which the town hall could improve lighting infrastructure and usage.

We weren’t able to achieve the last two metrics. However, we succeeded in creating a diagnostic report for Kennedy Park in the district of Miraflores. Also, we added light pollution as a topic in the symposium our research group is holding on climate change. We achieved an attendance of 223 people.

Final report 

At the beginning of the Forum, we proposed to measure illuminance in Lima’s busiest parks. However, for various reasons, we could only do this work in one of the most active parks, from which more reference municipal information was available, and measurements could be taken and compared with the methodology already used in the few sources found. We were able to take the measurements, discuss the results and analyze the new regulations that will come into force in our country. We were delighted to learn that regulations on light pollution are already being developed in our country. According to the established deadlines, the regulations should be published by January 2023. Even so, the technical standard for public roads enforced since 2002 in our country needs to reflect the levels reached in areas with the characteristics mentioned in their tables. We hope that they are adjusted in the regulation that is being prepared.

We can highlight two measurable products achieved:

• A diagnostic report on the illumination of the perimeter of a park. Which contains our illumination measurements on the perimeter of Kennedy Park in the district of Miraflores and analysis.
• Successfully holding a symposium webinar in our research circle on the subject, reaching more than 200 people.

For a reduction of light pollution, the efficiency of the use of electrical energy must be improved. Making eco-efficient changes such as the direction of the light, its levels and temperature, and creating a better distribution of lights are all essential to diminish light pollution, minimize the impact on birds’ behavior, and improve the sleep quality of neighbors. These are changes already being implemented in Kennedy Park, which can be replicated to achieve energy-efficient cities, thus combating climate change.

We want our project to be disseminated so more research circles, students, and authorities are interested in the subject and have regulations following the context and reality of the problem; otherwise, they will not be able to comply with the recommendations. For this, we plan to communicate our results and spread what we have learned about light pollution in a digestible way through CICC’s social networks (CICC being our research group).

Finally, with this project, we learned that organization, a schedule proposal, and modifying our plans over time are necessary to move forward in the face of adversity.