Ten Quebec universities unite to declare climate emergency

At the invitation of the Réseau universitaire québécois en développement durable, ten Quebec universities are joining the worldwide movement of higher learning institutions that aims to declare a state of climate emergency. By signing the declaration, these universities recognize the need for societal change in the struggle against the growing threat of climate change by making three overarching commitments:

1. A commitment to become carbon-neutral by 2030 or 2050 at the very latest.
2. Allocating more resources for research aiming to fight climate change and related skills.
3. Increasing the availability of environmental and sustainability education in academic programs, on campuses, and in community-awareness programs.

This movement was initiated by The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education (EAUC), Second Nature and the Youth and Education Alliance of the UN Environment Program. It represents 45 higher education learning networks spanning 8,411 institutions on six continents. In addition to these, 164 higher learning institutions have signed the declaration on an individual basis.

This declaration will be made official and broadcast to the main government representatives and media during the Conference of Parties (COP 25) which will take place from December 2nd to 13th, 2019 in Santiago, Chile. This collaboration between many Quebec universities illustrates the necessity of acting all together to face this global challenge. Universities signing the declaration intend to deploy every effort necessary to support this commitment with concrete, measurable actions in order to play a leadership role and to set an example within their community.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES:

Olivier Bouffard
Directeur des communications
819-822-9600 ext. 2840
olivier.bouffard@ubishops.ca