Dear Colleagues,
The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) is circulating a petition to faculty members across Canada. The petition calls on university presidents across the country to endorse the United Nations (UN) climate emergency letter. This letter calls on endorsing institutions to declare a climate emergency and commit to:
- Mobilize more resources for action-oriented climate change research and skills creation;
- Go carbon neutral by 2030 or 2050 at the very latest;
- Increase the delivery of environmental and sustainability education across curriculum, campus and community outreach programmes.
The UN letter currently has the support of 60 national associations that work to advance sustainability goals in higher education, along with endorsements by 259 post-secondary education institutions from about 46 countries, including 14 Canadian institutions.
The petition is an initiative of the Climate Action Coalition at the University of Alberta. Their plan is to the send the petition to Universities Canada and presidents of post-secondary institutions across the country, urging them to sign the UN climate emergency letter.
We encourage you to review the letter and consider adding your name.
Alan Richardson,
President
