New York, N.Y.- Columbia University has signed on to President Barack Obama’s Higher Education Climate Pledge, recently announced by the White House Council on Environmental Quality in advance of the upcoming United Nations conference on climate change in Paris.
Columbia joins more than 200 colleges and universities in signing the “American Campuses Act on Climate Pledge” to demonstrate support for strong climate action by world leaders in Paris in December, the White House said in a statement.
The pledge calls for universities to “accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy while enhancing sustainable and resilient practices across our campus.”
Columbia also participated in a Facebook live event where YouTuber Emily Graslie, the Chief Curiosity Correspondent of The Field Museum in Chicago and host of the educational YouTube channel The Brain Scoop interviewed EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
For more information and to stay up-to-date, follow @WhiteHouseCEQ and #ActonClimate.
American Campuses Act on Climate Pledge:
“As institutions of higher education, we applaud the progress already made to promote clean energy and climate action as we seek a comprehensive, ambitious agreement at the upcoming United Nations Climate Negotiations in Paris. We recognize the urgent need to act now to avoid irreversible costs to our global community’s economic prosperity and public health and are optimistic that world leaders will reach an agreement to secure a transition to a low carbon future. Today our school pledges to accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy while enhancing sustainable and resilient practices across our campus.”
