Devine and Biggar
Common Energy, a network of students, staff, faculty and regional partners at the University of Victoria, released a progress report June 12 on its emerging strategy to make the university a leader in the local and regional challenges of climate change.
The report, “Going Beyond Climate Neutral: Planning for Climate Change Leadership with the University of Victoria,” outlines actions and proposals in six key focus areas: creating a local “green” business cluster, reducing the impact of energy use, developing the local sustainable food supply, revitalizing buildings and infrastructure, creating a climate-friendly transportation system, and engagement in university governance and regional planning.
It also includes three overarching projects that bridge focus areas: a climate trust to finance local carbon dioxide reduction projects, a university challenge to support university units in their sustainability efforts, and integration into the curriculum of the goal of going beyond climate-neutral.
“Our work can be boiled down to answering this question: How can we do more to solve the problems of climate change than we do to cause them?” says Jamie Biggar, member of Common Energy and UVic’s board of governors. “The university combines research capacity, creativity and energy with the expertise and knowledge of a massive company, and the physical presence and economic power of a city. That gives us a lot to work with.”
The report focuses on strategies that integrate those diverse abilities. For example, it notes that while transportation is the biggest contributor of direct greenhouse gas emissions in the region, UVic’s transportation demand management strategies have been extremely successful. With interdisciplinary research and a range of partnerships the university could be instrumental in the creation of a sustainable regional transportation network.
The report is authored by dozens of people using a collaborative planning process called Common Ground. “The political climate has shifted toward climate action, and people want to be part of solutions that will make a difference,” says Naomi Devine, a member of Common Energy and of UVic’s senate. “Through our collaborative process, we are engaging the diversity of people we need to create a plan that is both realistic and effective. We are also working with Common Energy UBC, and plan to connect climate change action from universities and colleges across the province.”
Over the coming months Common Energy will expand this process to engage more people, culminating in a conference on Sept. 28–30 where students, staff, faculty and regional partners will finalize the plan.
To read the report or find out more about the project, visit www.commonenergy.org, or contact info@commonenergy.org.
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