President's Climate Commitment at Cornell
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), in partnership with ecoAmerica and Second Nature, is promoting a national effort to address climate change known as the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. It is a statement to be signed by university presidents that commits the university to taking steps to move towards carbon neutrality. It seeks to address the university's impact on the climate by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in campus operations, and integrating sustainability into the curriculum.
*Note: If you would like to see the specific language of this initiative, please see http://www.aashe.org/presidentsclimatecommitment.php
We, the undersigned faculty, hereby call on Cornell University to take immediate steps towards the mitigation of global climate change.
As recognized faculty, we know that Cornell is well-positioned to lead society through innovation, world-class teaching, and effective problem-solving. We have seen what this great institution has been capable of doing in terms of research, training, and outreach. We also know that Cornell has strived to reach the goal of sustainability and has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the levels agreed upon in the Kyoto Protocol. For all these efforts, we are proud of this institution and recognize its important leadership role in tackling society's problems. However, it is now widely understood that society must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% as soon as possible to avoid unprecedented climate changes and prevent millions, if not billions, of people from suffering the worst effects of our changing climate.
Therefore, we request that Cornell President David Skorton sign the American College & University President's Climate Commitment. It is this sort of university-wide commitment that is necessary for Cornell to be a leading institution in addressing such an all-important issue.
