UC3: Scaling Up Climate Solutions

Mission Statement

The University Climate Change Coalition is committed to leveraging their institutional strengths as leading research institutions to foster a robust exchange of best practices and lessons learned in pursuit of accelerating local climate solutions that reduce greenhouse emissions and build community resilience. UA President Robert C. Robbins, a member of the organizing coalition’s steering and advisory committee, QUOTE TK.

UC3 by the Numbers

2018: Year the coalition was formed

2,600: Number of leaders convened from academia and the public and private sectors

2,000,000+: Number of students, faculty and staff represented in UC3

2050: Year by which the coalition has committed to achieving carbon neutrality

12: Number of cross-sector climate forums held in the coalition’s first year

The Mothership

UC3 is a select subgroup of the Second Nature Climate Leadership Network, founded in 1993 to make the principles of sustainability a priority in higher education.

UA Divisions Involved

• Arizona Institute for Resilient Environment and Societies 
• Institute for Energy Solutions
• Transportation Research Institute
• Water Resources Research Center
• Biosphere 2

2ºC

A chief goal of the American UC3 members: meeting the target agreed to in 2015’s Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

5 Elements of Success

• Institutional Leadership
  The head of each university appoints liaisons involved in several sustainability efforts to build a team.
• Collaborative Networks
  The university teams meet monthly to share their knowledge and provide peer feedback.
• Cross-Sector Convenings
  Member schools gather various stakeholders in their region to discuss climate risks, challenges and paths to solutions.
• Demand-Driven Research
  The coalition evaluates forum outcomes and develops research priorities and ideas on how to engage additional stakeholders.
• Solutions-Oriented Partnerships​​​​​​
  The coalition leverages existing relationships to establish cross-sector partnerships in each community.

Big-Picture Challenges

Water Shortages

Carbon Neutrality

Clean Energy

Climate-Friendly Investments

University Eligibility

• Pledges to reduce its institutional carbon footprint, consistent with the Paris Agreement objectives
• Is designated an R1 research institution by the Carnegie Classification
• President/chancellor’s office commits to the UC3 mission; appoints and supports key liaisons
• Agrees to hold a cross-sector climate change forum, convening within a year of joining the coalition

Cross-Sector Collaborators

• Businesses
• Local and state governments
• Nonprofit organizations
• Community leaders
• Higher education

University Key Roles in Cross-Sector Collaboration

1. Knowledge Generator, through research performed and innovations undertaken
2. Community Anchor, as a long-standing and credible local institution
3. Collaborative Convener, bringing together public officials, business professions and community leaders

Members

• Arizona State University
• Boston University
• California Institute of Technology
• Tecnológico de Monterrey
• La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
• Queen’s University
• The Ohio State University
• The State University of New York
• University of Arizona
• The University of British Columbia
• The University of California
• University of Colorado, Boulder
• The University of Connecticut
• University of Maryland, College Park
• The University of New Mexico
• University of South Florida
• University of Toronto
• The University of Utah
• The University of Washington
• Washington University in St. Louis