U. of I. declares climate emergency
President Killeen joins more than 200 universities in signing letter delivered to Madrid climate conference
The University of Illinois Alma Mater embraces Mother Earth as the college joins more than 200 others worldwide in declaring a climate emergency. (Wikimedia Commons/Pwojdacz)
By Ted Cox
The University of Illinois has joined more than 200 colleges around the world in signing a letter declaring a climate emergency.
University President Timothy Killeen — representing all three campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield — signed the letter, delivered this week to the climate conference held in Madrid, known as COP25 as the 25th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change.
“We call on governments and other education institutions to join us in declaring a climate emergency and back this up with actions that will help create a better future for both people and our planet,” the letter states.
The letter commits the university to mobilizing more resources for research and developing the skills to confront climate change, to going carbon-neutral by 2030 or at latest 2050, and to increasing environmental and sustainability education both in the college curriculum and in campus and community outreach.
“As institutions and networks of higher and further education from across the world, we collectively declare a climate emergency in recognition of the need for a drastic societal shift to combat the growing threat of climate change,” the letter states.
“The young minds that are shaped by our institutions must be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and capability to respond to the ever-growing challenges of climate change. We all need to work together to nurture a habitable planet for future generations and to play our part in building a greener and cleaner future for all.”
The letter was posted on the website of UIUC’s Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared Sunday on the eve of the conference’s opening that the world was facing “the point of no return” in combating global warming.
Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, Tuesday to make her way to the conference after sailing to Europe following an extended stay in North America where she rallied support at a series of what she’s called “school strikes.”
Locally, Illinois Youth Climate Strike has a protest set for 11 a.m. Friday in Chicago starting at the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park and proceeding with a march to Federal Plaza.