Carbon emissions have recently been a hot topic of conversation both at ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ and around the world. As the University engages in regarding carbon neutrality and carbon offsets, international reports on climate change emphasize the importance of mitigating carbon emissions.
On November 23, 2018, the US government released a . The scientific report, which was issued by 13 federal agencies, warned of the consequences of climate change. In addition to environmental degradation and threats to marginalized communities, America’s economy could be reduced by as much as 10% by the end of the century.
This report is one of many to have been recently released. In October, the IPCC released a about an impending climate crisis, advising nations to take urgent action in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5℃. Less than two months later, the UN released its annual to check on how well countries are doing at reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Alarmingly, global emissions currently are not on track to limit warming to 2℃.
While international communities are highlighting the importance of mitigating carbon emissions, ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ is taking responsibility for its carbon footprint and is on track to become .
For students interested in learning about national climate assessments, four ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ alumni who have worked on the National Climate Assessment Report will be on campus from Thursday, January 31 to Friday, February 1. The panelists are Ellen Mecray '90, Director, Eastern Regional Climate Services, Center for Weather and Climate, U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA; David Reidmiller '01, Director, National Climate Assessment at the U.S. Global Change Research Program; Dan Barrie '05, Program Manager with NOAA's Climate Program Office and NOAA representative to USGCRP National Climate Assessment Steering Committee; and Natalie Bennett '16, Adaptation and Assessment Analyst at the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
On Thursday evening, they will present
On Friday afternoon, they will present