'At Glasgow University, we have a duty to lead from the front'

But 2020 had different ideas. In the blink of an eye, the pandemic has turned the world on its head and reminded us of how fragile society and our economy can be.  

While COVID-19 and the climate emergency are distinct crises, they resemble each other in three key respects: they are truly global problems, just like viruses, carbon emissions care little for borders; both threaten to impact our poorest communities disproportionately; and each demands coordinated action of a magnitude not usually seen in peacetime. 

This is not to say that as individuals, we cannot do our bit. From donning our protective facemasks and observing social distancing; to recycling more and leaving the car in the garage for short journeys– all of us have a part to play and each of our choices makes a difference. 

Nevertheless, global challenges require a global response and it falls to governments and institutions to lead the way. While we continue to make progress in the fight against climate change – last year, for instance, more of the UK’s electricity production came from zero carbon energy sources than fossil fuels for the first time – Earth Overshoot Day, the moment when our demand for ecological resources exceeds what nature can regenerate this year, reminds us of the scale of the challenge that remains. 

At University of Glasgow we recognise that given the scientific and academic expertise at our disposal, and as a world-changing centre of educational and research excellence, we have a duty to lead from the front. 

That is why in 2014 we became the first UK university to commit to fully disinvesting from fossil fuels. Why in 2017, we signed the Sustainable Development Goals Accord, committing us, amongst other things, to combatting climate change and environmental degradation. And why last May, we became the first Scottish university to declare a climate emergency.

Since then we have been developing Glasgow Green, the University’s Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. In the final stages of production, this document commits us to the ambition of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. 

We understand that meeting this target will be challenging. It will require further concerted action across the University, buy-in from students, staff and our wider community, a review of current practices – including the frequency of international travel, the leveraging of assets such as the Centre for Sustainable Solutions, gold standard carbon offsetting and significant investment in greening our estate, at a time when resources across higher education are under strain. But it is achievable. And, more importantly, it is the socially responsible thing to do. 

Recent times have shown all of us what rapid change feels like and, just as significantly, the clout required to make it happen. In applying these lessons to the climate emergency, it is clear universities are among the handful of organisations with the reach, expertise and resource base to affect real and impactful change. 

To evidence this you only need to look at the pivotal role Scotland’s universities have played in the fight against COVID-19, via vaccine development, world-leading research and the deployment of staff and students to the NHS frontline. As we look to the future, we must ensure that our response to tackling the climate emergency is similarly robust and wide ranging. 

Working in concert with partners from industry, the third sector, local and national government, the University of Glasgow is determined to continue to play our part in tackling the environmental crisis – both in terms of reducing our own carbon footprint and by acting as a centre for ideas, initiatives and innovative research which will help accelerate Scotland’s transition towards becoming a low-carbon economy, particularly as we build back from the pandemic. 

The environmental crisis remains one of the most pressing issues we face. Earth Overshoot Day is an opportunity for all of us to take stock on what we are doing, and what more might be done, to help move the date. 

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Centre shows the University’s desire to be part of the solution

By Professor Jaime L. Toney, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Solutions

The University of Glasgow’s Centre for Sustainable Solutions was established in April 2020 to respond to the climate crisis and enhance the growing ambition for the University and its community to be part of the solution.

The centre demonstrates the University of Glasgow’s commitment to playing an active role in preventing Earth’s temperature rising above the 1.5°C threshold defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 

The centre also recognises the social, cultural, and geopolitical complexities related to the climate emergency. The only way to manage these challenges is for multiple sectors and disciplines to come together to reduce our reliance on carbon, support the social implications of that, and #movethedate 

Behaviour, choices, and systems must be addressed to enable change, innovation, and sustainability. The centre is dedicated to undertaking activities that will enable individuals, communities and organisations to act towards a sustainable future through education, research, and partnership.

In education, the centre is using the university’s academic expertise to educate the next generation of climate and carbon literate students who are capable of critically engaging with climate and carbon challenges.

We are creating bespoke courses that are accessible to all staff and students. We are aligning our work with wider partner initiatives, such as those of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society who have created climate solutions modules for business management, and Education Scotland who are developing primary and secondary education policy in this area.

We aim to ensure a common message, language and understanding of the challenges we face and choices that will lead to solutions.

The centre seeks out our vocal and engaged student community, finding ways to raise their collective voice. We are proud to support the tremendous effort of the coalition of students and societies who joined together to form the ‘Glasgow Green New Deal’ and spent six months producing a strategic document on priority areas and practices of change that has fed into our University Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.

We work closely with the Glasgow University Environmental Sustainability Team (GUEST) who are a team of highly motivated and professional students employed by the university to work on improving the environmental practice of the university. The sustainability agenda is rooted within the core values of our students; we recognise them as partners and essential drivers of change for an equitable, as well as sustainable future of our one planet.

The Centre for Sustainable Solutions is raising the visibility of research related to environmental sustainability, climate change and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals across the University of Glasgow through our website and social media to reach out and make synergistic connections with collaborators and partner organisations.

The centre is partnering with Glasgow City Council and Policy Scotland this autumn to mobilise individuals and organisations through a structured series of dialogues which will inform and encourage partnership to achieve the city’s ambitious target of net zero by 2030.

Through the dialogues we will identify common issues and innovate potential solutions, paving the way for collective impact on challenges posed by climate change.

This week, the Global Footprint Network, which leads the Earth Overshoot Day initiative, is focusing on changing the climate trend and #movethedate by reducing population growth through empowering women.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow are committed to empowering women and girls to be equal partners through work on understanding and ending violence against women, for example in Brazil and El Salvador, work aimed at changing policies and practices that lead to gendered health inequalities, and reducing gender inequalities in the global south, including understanding trajectories of women in STEM disciplines from higher education into employment. 

The centre is a new venture but growing quickly in response to the urgency of the issues we face. We are motivated by the enthusiasm of partners in and beyond the University and welcome the participation of others interested in contributing to our work. We embrace the Scottish ethos focused on inclusion, where the sustainable and just transition are synonymous.

We intend to find creative and explicit ways to be inclusive by drawing on the diverse range of expertise across and beyond the University to ensure we address the multi-faceted and complicated challenge of sustainability that has never been more urgent than it is today.  

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Students demand action that reflects their climate fears

By Amy McKenzie Smith, Vice President of Student Activities, University of Glasgow

For students, there’s a real sense that universities have a duty to be leaders and drivers of change in society. If you ask a student “what do you want from your university”, you will hear obvious answers such as “a decent education’”, “a global reputation’” or “excellent job prospects”. 

Yet, you would struggle to find a student who doesn’t also expect their institution to place strong values at the forefront of its mission; students want their university to demonstrate ethical standards that align with their own.

One of those core values for many students across the UK right now is caring about the environment and sustainability, something students want universities to take a lead in addressing. 

Universities have always been a melting pot of activism and Glasgow is no different. 

Over the past year alone we have seen many student campaigns; these included a coalition called the ‘Glasgow Green New Deal’, which set out a 54-page document detailing exactly how they want their University to tackle climate change. 

This clearly demonstrates the students’ desire for rapid progress on this issue.
Students don’t just expect universities to be at the helm of research but also to act on the findings of that research. 

Part of the thinking here is that if universities don’t operate in sustainable ways, then how can we expect industry, government and society in general to do so either.
When looking back over the last year, it’s difficult to recall anything apart from COVID-19 and its massive impact on our lives. 

But we shouldn’t forget that in January, Australia was experiencing record-breaking temperatures and one of its worst ever bushfires, destroying an area the size of South Korea.

We should also remember the turn of the year, which witnessed one of the biggest climate strikes to date; many students in Glasgow and across the U.K. turned out to show their dismay at the lack of action by political leaders.

In many ways, COVID-19 has heightened the discourse on climate change – something that is especially on our minds as we approach Earth Overshoot Day.

We now have a golden opportunity to reposition and restart the ‘green revolution’– a small silver lining when considering the awful pandemic that has taken over the world. 
There are not many instances, if any, in modern human history where the planet has ‘paused’; now, as and when normal life resumes, many students want their institutions to do things differently.

The way we recover from COVID-19 is incredibly important. COP26 in November 2021 could be a pivotal moment for the planet – and for universities, it will be a fantastic opportunity to influence public thinking, harnessing the enthusiasm of our students and staff alike. 

Students expect the University of Glasgow to take a leading role in COP26 and show it can live up to its reputation as a world-leading, world-changing University. 
With the world’s eyes on Glasgow, students want their alma mater to put climate change at the heart of its agenda.