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In December 2019, UBC declared a climate emergency, which included a commitment to accelerate the reduction of emissions at UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan. A key step is UBC’s development of a Climate Action Plan 2030 (CAP 2030) for both campuses.
This ambitious initiative is aimed at implementing strategies that will result in emissions reductions from UBC’s core operations by 2030 through clean energy solutions and energy-efficient technologies, along with identifying new ways to reduce emissions through our day-to-day activities, including commuting, food, waste and air travel.
CAP 2030 helps advance our strategic plan: Shaping UBC’s Next Century (https://strategicplan.ubc.ca/) and supports the university to further key commitments of its climate emergency declaration. This work builds on past successes in climate change mitigation and action on both campuses, which have seen a significant reduction in emissions from core operations. The plans are also informed by the feedback we received from UBC students, faculty and staff through the climate emergency engagement process.
In order to be successful in our ambitions, we as an institution need to take a collective approach — in which we all make decisions that have positive impact and take responsibility for how we can support CAP 2030. Key to this process is sharing your voice on the emerging plan and the role it can play in advancing UBC’s commitment to tackling climate change.
How to get involved
Starting today, UBC is launching a three-week university-wide engagement process to create awareness about the climate action plans emerging on each campus, answer questions, and hear your perspectives. You can get involved in a variety of ways:
- Learn more about the emerging directions of UBC’s CAP 2030.
- Attend a virtual webinar to understand more about our evolving CAP 2030 initiative through a presentation and discussion.
- Share your voice in a survey and let us know how we can work collectively to reduce emissions in the coming years.
You can learn more about CAP 2030, access the online survey and register for a virtual webinar below.
UBC Vancouver: https://planning.ubc.ca/climate-action-plan-2030.
UBC Okanagan: https://sustain.ok.ubc.ca/cap/.
I strongly encourage you to participate in the survey, to help us shape CAP 2030 and determine the way forward. It will take less than 10 minutes to complete and responses will be confidential. The deadline for responses is 4pm on April 16, 2021. By sharing your thoughts, you will help inform our ongoing discussions around CAP 2030 and help us identify different ways in which we can achieve our CAP 2030 goals and ambitions.
As one of the world’s leading universities, UBC plays a critical role in being responsive to society’s key issues. In developing CAP 2030, careful consideration is being given to defining ways to reduce greenhouse emissions in an equitable manner. We believe this will position UBC as a model for demonstrating how universities can mobilize to address the climate crisis through bold, impactful actions.
I encourage you to add your voice to the dialogue and support this important initiative.
Santa J. Ono
President and Vice-Chancellor
This message was sent to faculty and staff in Vancouver and the Okanagan.
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