It was announced in October that Earth has reached its first catastrophic climate tipping point, with warm water coral reefs facing long-term decline.
The report was produced by the University of Exeter’s Global Systems Institute, a world-leading centre in climate change research, and it carries the stark warning of further impacts – like melting of the polar ice sheets, and dieback of the Amazon rainforest – that “would cascade through the ecological and social systems we depend upon, creating escalating damages.”
Despite such findings emphasizing the need for more effective and faster progress, the consensus about climate action needed to propel change that existed in 2019 has given way to scepticism and cynicism in some quarters.
Political parties and influential figures in the UK (and beyond) are turning their attention away from the climate crisis and Net Zero, if they don’t dismiss it outright. The Conservatives have pledged to repeal the Climate Change Act, claiming it has harmed the economy. Reform supports the continuing use of fossil fuels. Donald Trump has recently called climate change a ‘con job’.
So political support for Net Zero, and by extension the climate emergency, is shaky. As a result, there is a risk to climate action being perceived by the wider public to be unfair, something that forces a negative economic impact on their lives, and that’s out of touch with the concerns and needs of ordinary people.
A fair COP?
With these developments forming part of the backdrop of the COP30 global climate summit, that took place in Brazil in November, and mindful of there being a need to transform the narrative on climate action, the President of COP30 (Ambassador André Aranha Corrêa do Lago) made it his mission to turn the story about tipping points from one of doom and danger into one of hope, opportunity, and possibility.
Although confidently billed in advance as “the implementation COP”, in fact it concluded as anything but. One positive outcome of the event was agreement to establish a just transition mechanism that would enable equitable and inclusive transitions for communities of workers in high-carbon industries shifting to clean energy and a climate-resilient future: though participation in the mechanism is nonetheless voluntary.
There was a modest step towards the phasing out of fossil fuels amidst accounts of fractious talks and frantic negotiations. Outside, indigenous groups protested, and a thunderstorm caused flooding and brought down trees; the climate crisis visiting the venue, literally. Other commentators speak of underwhelm and disappointment, judging that COP30 did not deliver a turning point, and that not much will change if climate action is left to governments – it being instead down to other organisations and individuals to take collective responsibility.
What it means for the sector
Universities, with their core mission of delivering for the public good, have a pivotal role here. A poll published by the University of Cambridge last year demonstrated that nearly two-thirds of adults expect universities to come up with ways of fixing the climate crisis. The need for universities to “[ground] the realities of a sustainable future in the day to day of people’s lives” was advocated by James Coe in Wonkhe three years ago.
How does what UK universities are doing on climate action now reflect these matters and respond to the attendant challenges?
Here are some examples that offer reasons to have hope for the future.
The reassuring starting point is that there continues to be consensus within higher education about the need for climate action. The UK Universities Climate Network includes academic and professional services staff from over 90 institutions advancing climate action and promoting a “zero carbon, resilient future”, and the University Alliance of professional and technical universities aims to find “practical solutions to pressing climate challenges, making a difference for people in their everyday lives”.
Much of what universities do to exert influence on climate action is through research grounded in science which seeks to inform policy-making by developing human understanding of the consequences of climate change, and how its effects will play out in different geographical contexts. Leading academics in climate change contributed to the National Emergency Briefing in Westminster on 27 November, a gathering of political, media and business figures.
Meanwhile, research that leads to the design and implementation of scientific solutions provides tangible evidence of public benefit. The Sheffield Institute for Sustainable Food has recently published work on transforming food systems, addressing public health and biodiversity challenges. Its recommendations include incentivising the growing of beans and peas, which are both healthy for people and require less energy, land, and water to grow, have a lower carbon footprint compared with animal products, and are good for the soil.
A connection is made
One thing that’s persuasive about this is how it relates climate action to real lives and issues that carry significance for people, like health, food, and – this is the UK after all – the weather. Another fascinating example in this vein is the Weathering Identity: Weather and Memory in England project at the King’s Climate Research Hub. This involved the gathering of oral histories of the weather and how it has shaped individual lives, and considering how more frequent extreme weather events might alter human memory and sense of place.
A different way in which universities convince with their action on climate change, especially in a world where many are cynical about the established order, is by demonstrating they are not simply acting in a business-as-usual way and ‘admiring the problems’ caused by current policy. One example of critical thinking with reflection on radical policy change is James Dyke’s System Update film, which challenges the “incremental and timid policies of today” in search of a better world, putting the spotlight on the role that continuous economic and material growth has in causing ecological degradation. The film also suggests that citizens’ assemblies of people who are invested in meeting climate change challenges in the longer term could play a larger role in determining policy. In recent years several UK universities have convened their own climate assemblies mobilising students and staff.
Living through change
Building on that idea of public empowerment, there is a strand of university research focusing on the abilities and education needed to help people live through and address the challenges of climate change. Researchers at University College London have suggested ways of embedding climate education into the secondary curriculum, promoting emotional engagement with the climate crisis as a means of helping young people avoid negative feelings, and motivating them to take action.
Environmental and social justice go hand in hand and feature prominently in university climate action. The Priestley Centre for Climate Futures in Leeds has a study looking at how the climate crisis, decarbonisation, and net zero will impact the world of work, with the guiding principle that climate transformation measures should be just and fair for workers.
And across the Pennines, the JUST centre based at the University of Manchester but involving researchers from a group of northern institutions focuses on the pursuit of sustainability transformations that are people-centred, joined-up and socially just for citizens in regions that benefit the least from dominant economic and political systems.
The field of arts and cultures has always played a part in inspiring reflection – which is itself a form of action – sparking emotions, and firing the imagination of its audience, with the potential to ultimately lead that audience to doing something transformative. VOTUM at Hadrian’s Wall is an art project supported by Newcastle University, part of a programme where artists are invited to undertake research inspired by Roman archaeology and climate research. Interlocking mirrored shields arranged in the shapes of artefacts found at the Wall reflect the sky and show the viewer themselves in the landscape, holding a mirror up to people and challenging them to think about their impact on the environment.
What the examples above show is that, through work responding to climate change, universities are collectively addressing some of the concerns that are important to everyone whatever their background: healthy living, sustainable places and communities, and empowering people to maximise their potential.
They are aligned with the narrative of the future that the COP30 President said should be “not imposed by catastrophe, but designed through cooperation”. Universities are committed to urgent climate action, but the story these examples offer is not gloomy, alienating, or dispiriting; it is engaging, inclusive and hopeful.
It has the power to counteract climate denialism and allay doubts over net zero; it speaks of collective responsibility and points towards the possibility of a world that is fairer and greener.