President's Monthly Update: Committing to a Climate Action Plan

February 2021

Members of the Rutgers Community:
 
Before a pandemic turned the world upside down last March, Rutgers was hard at work on a project with its own global implications.

A university-wide task force called together by my predecessor, President Bob Barchi, was forming a plan to combat climate change by reducing our carbon footprint to zero—and to be a model and catalyst for institutions and communities across the state. Thirteen months ago, in a communication titled We Need You to Help Create Our Climate Action Plan, he wrote, “The goal of this plan will be to achieve carbon neutrality university-wide and enable Rutgers and the broader community to anticipate and deal effectively with the effects of climate change.”

That goal remains our goal. In fact, its urgency has only intensified over the past year. Recent extreme weather events—including the second highest number of Atlantic hurricanes on record, several of the worst wildfires Californians have ever seen, and this month’s devastating cold in Texas—have highlighted America’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change. And we continue to need your help.

Despite the enormous challenges of our response to COVID-19, the climate task force has carried on its work—including virtual town halls last fall to gain your input—and remains on target to complete the plan by this summer, as originally scheduled. A Phase 2 report issued earlier this month includes a baseline inventory of Rutgers’ greenhouse gas emissions, recommendations from seven working groups with potential climate solutions, a status report on the planning process, and a summary of the virtual town halls.

I encourage you to read the report, which can be found on the Climate Task Force website. You will be inspired by the care with which each working group has considered how we can reduce emissions in our operations—from energy and buildings to transportation and land use to food services and the supply chain—and how we can improve our climate preparedness and promote sustainable, equitable economic development. I hope you will also take time to provide feedback; the task force asks for your comments by Friday, March 5.

In the same spirit, I’m pleased to say that tackling the climate crisis is the focus of one of the Rutgers Big Ideas—twelve large-scale, multidisciplinary projects led by Rutgers faculty that will improve the human condition and make a global impact. I invite you to discover more about Big Ideas.

Sincerely,
 
Jonathan Holloway
President and University Professor