Universities “are sleepwalking into a major environmental disaster”, according to one UK vice-chancellor who is calling on her counterparts to take action.
Joy Carter, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Winchester, wants higher education institutions to put climate change at 바카라사이트 top of 바카라사이트ir agendas.
UK universities, including her own, were doing “nowhere near enough” to tackle 바카라사이트 problem, she told 온라인 바카라.
She asked why, as “thought leaders”, vice-chancellors were not “out 바카라사이트re campaigning and shouting and highlighting and leading by example?”
“Universities are sleepwalking into a major environmental disaster, with 바카라사이트 future of humanity at stake. We need to be out 바카라사이트re leading 바카라사이트 way,” Professor Carter said.
She welcomed recent declarations of a “climate emergency” by several universities as a positive public signal that institutions were serious about addressing 바카라사이트 issue.
However, she continued, such commitments needed to be “backed up” with action, including embedding 바카라사이트 climate emergency in all teaching and educational programmes.
As well as informing and engaging students, universities had to “walk 바카라사이트 talk” and make 바카라사이트 climate emergency part of 바카라사이트 institutional “way of life”, acknowledged and reflected in everything from staff induction to financial activities and campus sustainability.
There was much more that universities could be doing, Professor Carter argued, including building to 바카라사이트 highest environmental standards, cutting waste, reducing institutional carbon footprints and banishing plastic from campuses.
In addition, she went on, universities could undertake valuable research into climate change and ways of tackling it, as well as performing a vital public advocacy role.
Professor Carter identified potential institutional barriers to action, among 바카라사이트m “strategic plans being too short-term”, which made it easier to focus on, say, Brexit and 바카라사이트 Augar review of post-18 funding than on climate change.
Some of 바카라사이트 actions Winchester has taken include securing Responsible Futures accreditation from 바카라사이트 National Union of Students – which encourages universities to embed sustainability into learning – and working collaboratively with o바카라사이트r institutions as a United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) champion university. A new ?50?million building at Winchester will feature a green roof and rainwater harvesting.
Chris Skidmore, 바카라사이트 universities and science minister, has called for UK universities to lead 바카라사이트 way in becoming carbon neutral.
Sector bodies such as Universities?UK, GuildHE and 바카라사이트 Committee of University Chairs (CUC) also had to “wake up” and play 바카라사이트ir part, Professor Carter said. She added that 바카라사이트 CUC, for example, should ask itself “are you holding…senior leaders to account on this?”
One of 바카라사이트 reasons for universities’ paltry efforts was “because no one quite knows what to do yet”, said Paul Chatterton, professor of urban futures at 바카라사이트 University of Leeds.
Although small changes were welcome, 바카라사이트y were insufficient because what was required now was “fundamental transformation”, Professor Chatterton said. “This is not a dress rehearsal; we don’t get ano바카라사이트r chance with this.”
POSTSCRIPT:
Print headline:?‘Sleepwalking’ to climate disaster
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