Work

Carbon neutrality should not be the end goal: Lessons for institutional climate action from U.S. higher education

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Climate action pledges have increasingly taken the form of commitments to net carbon neutrality. Higher education institutions (HEIs) are uniquely positioned to innovate in this area, and over 800 United States (U.S.) colleges and universities have pledged to achieve net carbon neutrality. We examine the approaches of 11 U.S. HEIs that have already announced achieving net carbon neutrality, highlighting risks associated with treating carbon offsets, unbundled renewable energy certificates, and bioenergy (collectively 77% of reductions across institutions) as best practice under current frameworks. While pursuing neutrality has led to important institutional shifts toward sustainability, the initial mix of approaches used by these HEIs appears out of alignment with a broader U.S. decarbonization roadmap; in aggregate, these early neutrality efforts underutilize electrification and new zero-carbon electricity. We conclude by envisioning how HEIs (and others) can refocus climate mitigation efforts toward decarbonization and actions that will help shift policy and markets at larger scales.

Source: One Earth

DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2021.08.014

Authors: Alexander R. Barron, Maya Domeshek, Lucy E. Metz, Laura C. Draucker, Aaron L. Strong

Institutions: Smith College, Resources For The Future, Ceres, Hamilton College

Language: English

Topic: Sustainability in Higher Education

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $8,900