By SUSAN JONES
Pitt has long put an emphasis on climate change issues and sustainability, and now Chancellor Joan Gabel has taken that message to an international audience as a participant in the U.N. Climate Change Conference held in early December in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Conference of the Parties (COP28) brought together representatives from governments that have promised to act on climate change, along with thousands of other interested parties.
Gabel’s attendance at the conference coincided with Pitt releasing the latest numbers in its goal to achieve carbon neutrality for the Oakland campus by 2037 — part of the University’s first climate action plan released in 2022.
“We were standard setters when we originally set these sustainability goals, and we remain committed to meeting them as part of the next iteration of the Plan for Pitt,” Gabel said in response to questions about her time at the conference. “As we take next steps, my participation in the conference helped to forge important opportunities for collaborations and partnerships related to our commitments and goals. I’m optimistic about our shared work in this space and how it will bear fruit as we lean into our strengths to deepen understanding and find solutions.”
At the conference, Gabel, in her role as academic vice chair of the Council on Competitiveness board, was one of the organizers of the “Innovation Arena” symposium, which featured panel discussions and short chat sessions.
She also participated in the panel discussion “A Leadership Dialogue: Amplifying the Role of Universities and Research Laboratories in the Innovation and Sustainability Ecosystem — and Connecting with Others.” The panel included other university presidents, leadership from the National Laboratories, as well as representatives from the African Academy of Sciences, Brazil’s National Confederacy of Industry and others.
It was Gabel’s first time at the conference — “the largest single gathering I’ve attended,” she said — and she was “pleasantly surprised by the importance placed on the role of higher education as thought leaders and scholars who bring fresh ideas to the table.”
There were tens of thousands of people — government, business and higher ed leaders, scientists, activists and journalists — from all over the world at the conference. “This kind of collaboration and intersectional effort at one time, in one place, was energizing,” said Gabel, whose trip to Dubai was paid for from the chancellor’s travel budget.
“I’m inspired by the wide range of talent and experience represented at the COP and by the many ways we can be contributors moving forward,” she said. “I understand much better now how relevant global policy is set, and where some of the most exciting innovations are taking place — many of which tie directly to work happening here.”
She told Senate Council last week that “It was a very interesting experience as we move forward in the different work that we’re doing on campus around sustainability, both in terms of our own commitments, and then in terms of research partnerships, potential teaching, partnerships, etc. I think there will have been some very valuable lessons there.”
One of the key outcomes from the conference was a recognition of the science that indicates global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut 43 percent by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C, according to the United Nations. But there also was an acknowledgement that many in the Conference of the Parties are off track when it comes to meeting their Paris Agreement goals. The concluding “stocktake” calls on all parties to take actions toward tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030.
At Pitt, the Climate Action Plan goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent from a 2008 baseline by 2030, which would be less that the COP plan. Gabel said the University expects to keep and meet the goals it has already set. “While COP is setting floors and establishing benchmarks for climate action, we intend to reach the goals we’ve set for ourselves.”
Aurora Sharrard, executive director of sustainability, told the Senate Campus Utilization and Public Safety committee in December that Pitt defines sustainability as “balancing equity, environment and economics so current and future generations can thrive.”
In the 2023 Sustainability Literacy and Culture Survey, which Sharrard’s group does every three years, just less than 50 percent of respondents got the definition right. But the survey also found that almost 95 percent believe that Pitt’s commitment to sustainability is moderately, very or extremely important.
Numbers released in December by Pitt’s Office of Sustainability for fiscal year 2021-22 show a 36.7 percent drop in greenhouse gas emissions from the 2008 baseline and a 20 percent decrease from fiscal year 2018-19 — the year before the pandemic.
The report also said that:
-
Greenhouse gas emissions from purchased electricity were down 53 percent compared to FY08.
-
Pitt increased the electricity it gets from renewable sources to 17.9 percent. The goal is to reach renewable production and procurement of 50 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2037.
-
Total campus-wide electricity usage in FY22 was 19 percent lower than FY19, which the report attributed partly to fewer hot days.
-
While emissions from commuting increased 42 percent from 2020-21 (the peak of the pandemic), the numbers were down by 57 percent from 2018-19.
“The more I understand about our sustainability goals, the happier I am with them, and they certainly have strong support across our community,” Gabel said. “We expect to stay on schedule and follow the roadmap laid out by Aurora Sharrard’s leadership, as well as a community that is committed to these goals.”
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
Have a story idea or news to share? Share it with the University Times.