- Clark's cogeneration plant
The American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment
"The fight against global warming will shape the 21st
century. Colleges and universities must exercise
leadership in their communities and throughout
society by modeling ways to eliminate global warming
emissions, and by providing the knowledge and
educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality."
— The American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment
In June 2007 President Bassett signed the Presidents Climate Commitment. Through this action Clark University became a charter signatory to an exciting initiative aimed at mobilizing the resources of colleges and universities in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The core goal of the commitment is to find ways for colleges and universities to achieve climate neutrality, or net zero greenhouse gas emissions. This is a bold vision, one that we and other universities aspire to but do not yet know the pathways to achieve the goal of climate neutrality.
Coordinating campus activities aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the responsibilities of the campus sustainability taskforce. In the coming year we will take the initial step of expanding our greenhouse gas emissions inventory to include other campus activities, such as transportation. We will recommend interim targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and as we learn more about opportunities to reduce emissions, set a target date for becoming climate neutral. Making progress toward this goal will not be easy and it will require a willingness on the part of all members of the Clark University community to make this a priority for many years to come.