The University of Waterloo joins communities and other post-secondary institutions around the world in declaring a Climate Emergency.
With this declaration, we recognize:
- That the impacts of climate change are already being felt both in Canada and around the world and will continue to intensify, posing acute and lasting risks for communities, business, and natural ecosystems. These risks include, but are not limited to, damages from extreme weather, threats to human health and wellbeing, economic disruption, food and water insecurity, and social instability. These risks also include threats to all other life on earth, and to the richness and complexity of global biodiversity.
- That the University’s own stakeholders, including its students, employees, partners, alumni, and neighboring communities are and will continue to be among those who experience these impacts.
- That the climate crisis compounds existing social and economic inequities, creating additional hardships for already marginalized groups including Indigenous people, racialized people, low-income communities or those living in poverty, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
- That human activity is understood to be the main cause of recent experienced climate change and dominant driver of future climate change, and urgent global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is needed to avoid worsening impacts.
- That efforts across many levels of government and industry have yet to reach the scale and speed necessary to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement to limit global average temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius, much less the 1.5 degrees Celsius target that would, according to the best available science, ensure a climate-safe future.
- That there are tremendous opportunities for transformation to a future defined by equitable, inclusive, resilient, and prosperous global societies supported by low-carbon, clean, and circular economies.
- That, as a public institution with a robust academic reputation for research and teaching on climate change and energy, the University of Waterloo has a crucial role to play in climate action.
- That meaningful climate action must build on the support of the community and on respect of Indigenous Peoples’ human rights.
- That our students, faculty and staff have demonstrated strong support for climate justice and have called on the University to act accordingly.
The impacts of climate change are already being felt both in Canada and around the world and will continue to intensify, posing acute and lasting risks for communities, business, and natural ecosystems…These risks also include threats to all other life on earth, and to the richness and complexity of global biodiversity.
In declaring a climate emergency, the University of Waterloo acknowledges the urgency of the climate crisis and strengthens its commitment to taking bold climate action.
As a hub of expertise, change leaders, educators of the future, and conveners of multi-stakeholder action and collaboration, our climate action is centred on four key pillars:
- Innovating in discovery and applied research that leads to better understanding of and breakthrough solutions to address climate change.
- Empowering learners to succeed in careers which will be impacted by climate change and transformations to address it, and to actively contribute to those transformations.
- Aligning institutional practice and policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including in operation of the campus and in the University’s investments.
- Engaging all levels of society to drive broader transformations of climate action and resilience.
In declaring a climate emergency, the University of Waterloo acknowledges the urgency of the climate crisis and strengthens its commitment to taking bold climate action.
Reflecting on this understanding of the University’s role, the following are our key commitments to advance climate action and meet this pressing global challenge:
- We will mobilize and enable researchers to support and influence meaningful transformations to mitigate and adapt to climate change, in areas including but not limited to low carbon and net-negative technologies, policy and governance, accelerating just transitions, climate change impacts and adaptation options in both natural and human systems, and climate modelling, projections, and scenarios.
- We will continue to participate and lead in meaningful partnerships to mobilize expertise around climate change and sustainability challenges, including as host of Sustainable Development Solutions Network Canada, and as a founding member of the University Global Coalition.
- We will continue to strengthen integration of sustainability and climate in our teaching and curriculum. Our Faculty of Environment is the largest and most programmatically diverse such faculty/school in Canada, and we also offer many degree programs related to sustainability and climate change across a number of our faculties. We will leverage this expertise and leadership to explore new opportunities at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
- We reinforce our goal to reach carbon neutrality in University operations by 2050, as outlined in Shift: Neutral, the University’s roadmap to carbon neutrality, and to reach interim targets by 2025 and 2030.
- We will continue to explore ways to align investments with climate risks and opportunities, building off our existing commitments to integrate ESG considerations and our commitment to the Investing to Address Climate Change Charter, including through the ongoing work of the Responsible Investment Advisory Group which will be brought forward to the Board of Governors in June 2021.
- We will enhance our programming to engage employees and students as agents of change, including through the Green Office and Green Residence programs, and launching a new Green Labs program.
- We will leverage our leadership and reputation to spur broader change within our local communities and globally, from becoming a Pledging Partner with the local Regional Sustainability Initiative and encouraging global leadership through our partnerships and networks.
- We will make sustainability and climate action a strategic lens through which we view and evaluate all University decisions, such as through implementing the goals set out in our Strategic Plan.
- We will approach our climate action efforts alongside considerations of equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenization, and will listen to and be informed by Indigenous traditional knowledge.
- We will report on our progress on these commitments annually, and engage our university community for input through town halls, open houses and other community forums.
This approach will evolve over time. We know that it will not be an easy journey, and we don’t have all the answers for how we will achieve a resilient, inclusive, and low carbon future.
But it is urgent we take action, individually and collectively, to leverage Waterloo’s strengths and spirit of innovation to address the climate crisis.
There are tremendous opportunities for transformation to a future defined by equitable, inclusive, resilient, and prosperous global societies supported by low-carbon, clean, and circular economies