APPALACHIAN CLIMATE NEUTRALITY 2025

 

Dear Fellow Mountaineers,

The present moment leaves us no reasonable alternative but to embark on a transformational course of accelerated and intensified climate action. This proposal brings the actions of our university into the context of a global crisis. As members of the Appalachian State University community and residents of the state of North Carolina, the United States of America, and the greater global community, we declare that it is necessary that Appalachian State University rapidly respond to the harms and threats of climate change and thus act in consonance with the mission of the University and that of the University of North Carolina System. We urge you to continue reading and to sign on to our attached proposal.

—Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative

 

Urgency of Climate Action

There is a strong scientific consensus on human-caused climate change. In the fall of 2018, hundreds of the world’s climate experts issued an urgent call to climate action via the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 C1 and the United States Global Change Research Program’s Fourth National Climate Assessment.2 The growing threat of abrupt climate disruption constitutes a state of local, regional, hemispheric, and planetary crisis on a scale never witnessed before in humankind's history, and inaction imperils the prospects of humankind. Climate disruption consequences are disproportionately suffered by low-income communities, communities of color, and other traditionally marginalized groups, and they will therefore constitute one of the most significant and most predictable forms of injustice in the 21st century. The cascade of irreversible social and ecological impacts resulting from climate change demands a new level of ethical leadership and an unprecedented transformation of institutions at all levels of society.

 

Appalachian’s Responsibility

Climate change will affect the long-term success of our institution. The consequences of climate change harm Appalachia’s unique socio-ecological attributes such as scenic natural beauty that depends on our unique and rich biodiversity, a rich agricultural heritage that depends on a predictable growing season, tourism that depends on fall leaf color, and a winter sports industry that depends on winter weather. Further, urban areas in the southeast region of the United States are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts on infrastructure and human health.2 Ultimately, climate change will jeopardize Appalachian State University’s capacity to attract quality students, faculty, and staff. The impacts of climate change will also jeopardize Appalachian’s capacity to provide a safe campus and adequate resources to support our academic community.

 

Appalachian must take urgent climate action in order to meet our existing mission and commitments. The University can accomplish its mission of “prepar[ing] students to lead purposeful lives as engaged global citizens who understand their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all”3 only if we also model these same values by embracing a deep and far-reaching commitment to act upon our knowledge, to fulfill our responsibilities, and to establish ourselves as an engaged institution that is pursuing climate mitigation, climate justice, and the transformation of higher education for the challenges of the 21st century.

 

The State of North Carolina and Appalachian State University have repeatedly acknowledged that achieving climate neutrality is an obligation of the University. In 2010, Appalachian committed to climate neutrality by 2050,4 but our own institutional analyses demonstrate that we are nowhere close to meeting that goal, in large part because of insufficient institutional commitment to carrying through this policy, insufficient resources dedicated to the purpose, and lack of enforcement mechanisms. The technology necessary to achieving climate neutrality exists; thus, our lack of progress on climate neutrality is a failure of priorities.

 

Beyond sustainability and climate commitments, Appalachian also has significant commitments to diversity, which is recognized as “imperative for institutional, faculty, staff and student success,” and “an essential binding agent of the interdisciplinary approach to education, as well as to the greater life experience.”3 Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is meaningless if we ignore the disproportionate devastation that climate change inflicts on livelihoods, assets, and public services in low income communities and communities of color.

 

Appalachian State University has an obligation to our community and our region. Appalachian has many positive impacts on our community and our region, including as the region's largest employer. However, the University’s significant and ongoing growth also has a large ecological footprint, impacting multiple counties in the region through our increasing demands for land, water and other natural resources; our increasing pressure on regional infrastructure; and our increasing contributions to soil, water and air pollution. Our climate action will have not just global, but local and regional benefits by reducing our environmental impacts in the High Country of North Carolina. Appalachian’s aggressive climate action is also necessary from an ethical standpoint in order to keep pace with commitments and actions being taken by the Town of Boone.

 

Appalachian State University has an obligation to our students and alumni. Inaction puts their very future in peril.

 

Why 2025?

The most current science demonstrates that Appalachian State University’s current climate neutrality target of 2050 is inadequate. In order to successfully avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, “rapid and far-reaching transitions”1 must be initiated immediately and achieved before 2030. Further, 2050 represents the minimum under University of North Carolina System policy. We cannot call ourselves a leader in sustainability if we are not at least meeting the standards set by the international scientific community, nor can we call ourselves a leader if we are aiming only for the minimum goal of the UNC System.

 

The economic costs of doing nothing are quickly eclipsing the costs of action, and the costs of sufficient action increase significantly and steadily with delay. It is not just ecologically and ethically irresponsible to delay climate neutrality; it is also fiscally irresponsible.

 

 

Who We Are

The Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative formed immediately following the October 8, 2018 release of the IPCC’s special report. Our first meeting drew around two hundred people, including students, faculty, staff and community members, and we continue to grow. We share a deep concern about climate disruption, and we are committed to transformative change that protects, preserves, and serves the interconnected goals of social justice and ecological integrity. We are members of, and advocates for, our University, our community, and our ecosystem.
 

 

Sources

1.  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 C http://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf
 

2.  Fourth National Climate Assessment

https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/
 

3.  Appalachian State University’s current strategic plan, The Appalachian Experience: Envisioning a Just and Sustainable Future

https://www.appstate.edu/_documents/strategic-plan-2014-2019.pdf
 

4.  Appalachian’s current climate plan, Toward Climate Neutrality https://sustain.appstate.edu/_documents/Toward%20Climate%20Neutrality.pdf

 

Climate Neutrality 2025 Proposal

 

APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY’S COMMITMENT TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE BY MODELING A JUST TRANSITION TO A CLIMATE NEUTRAL INSTITUTION

 

WHEREAS climate change already harms communities around the world, including in North Carolina, and further global warming would imperil all aspects of ecological integrity and of human well-being, including, but not limited to, food security, water security, international security, public health, social equality, justice, economic well-being, and the ability to obtain an education; and

 

WHEREAS the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report, Global Warming of 1.5°C1 (October 2018), reaffirms and magnifies the urgency to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and

 

WHEREAS the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Fourth National Climate Assessment Report2 (November 2018) warns that “Climate change creates new risks and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in communities across the United States;” and

 

WHEREAS North Carolina Executive Order 803 (October 2018) commits our state to fighting climate change and leading the transition to a low carbon energy economy; and

 

WHEREAS the University of North Carolina System articulates in its mission4 a commitment to “apply knowledge to address the needs of individuals and society” and the University of North Carolina System Policy Manual Section 600.6.15 commits constituent institutions to achieving carbon neutrality “as soon as practicable;” and

 

WHEREAS Appalachian State University has taken bold and exceptional leadership on sustainability in higher education, and to maintain that leadership position, Appalachian must act as a model, both within the UNC system and nationally, by taking decisive action to address climate change; and

 

WHEREAS the responsibility to address climate change is central to Appalachian State University’s mission6 to “prepare students to lead purposeful lives as engaged global citizens who understand their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all;” and

 

WHEREAS in order to successfully avoid the most catastrophic levels of climate disruption, rapid, substantial, and sustained action must be initiated immediately;

 

THEREFORE, WE RESOLVE that Appalachian State University take aggressive action to achieve climate neutrality by 2025 by pursuing all available options for decarbonization, including, but not limited to, cultural, educational, technological, and institutional approaches. This goal will be met through just and transparent measures and enforced by a system of accountability.

 

TO ACHIEVE THIS, THE UNIVERSITY SHALL:

 

Develop a new climate action plan that outlines just, transparent, mandatory, and enforceable steps to achieve climate neutrality by 2025, to replace the 2010 plan Toward Climate Neutrality7; and

 

Form a Climate Neutrality Advisory Panel made up of members of the university community, and approved by the university community, who have the expertise and authority to develop a climate action plan and oversee its implementation; and

 

Immediately mandate that all units begin reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and the University will begin systematic and rapid implementation of the updated climate action plan as soon as it is completed; and

 

Provide transparent accounting of our trajectory of progress towards climate neutrality that is easy to access online; and

 

Ensure the University Priorities & Planning Council’s new strategic plan is consistent with the goal of climate neutrality by 2025; and

 

Respond to this proposal immediately and develop a plan for implementation, in collaboration with the Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative and other relevant stakeholders, by Earth Day 2019.

 

Sources Cited

 

1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 C http://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf

 

1. Fourth National Climate Assessment
   https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/

 

1. North Carolina Exexcutive Order 80 https://governor.nc.gov/documents/executive-order-no-80-north-carolinas-commitment-address-climate-change-and-transition

 

1. UNC System Mission Statement
   https://www.northcarolina.edu/about-our-system/our-mission

 

1. UNC Policy Manual (600.6.1)--UNC Sustainability Policy https://www.northcarolina.edu/apps/policy/index.php?pg=dl&id=5606&format=pdf&inline=1

 

1. Appalachian State University’s Mission Statement
   https://www.appstate.edu/_documents/strategic-plan-2014-2019.pdf

 

1. Appalachian’s current climate plan, Toward Climate Neutrality https://sustain.appstate.edu/_documents/Toward%20Climate%20Neutrality.pdf

 

Other Sources

 

1. Appalachian’s 2017 Strategic Energy and Water Management Plan https://sustain.appstate.edu/_images/AppState-2017-Strategic-Energy-Plan-signed.pdf

Definition of carbon neutrality, via Second Nature, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s partner in leading the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment: “For purposes of the Carbon and Climate Commitments, carbon neutrality is defined as having no net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to be achieved by minimizing GHG emissions as much as possible, and using carbon offsets or other measures to mitigate the remaining emissions. To achieve carbon neutrality under the terms of the Carbon and Climate Commitments, all Scope 1 and 2 emissions, as well as those Scope 3 emissions from air travel paid for by or through the institution and regular commuting to and from campus, must be neutralized.” https://secondnature.org/signatory-handbook/carbon-management-greenhouse-gas-mitigation/