Carbon emissions from higher education institutes- Dr Jasmin Cooper

The higher education sector plays an important role in mitigating the impacts of climate change and global warming through the education and research they deliver. However, they also have a role to play through the actions carried out in their day to day running. Universities around the world produce greenhouse gas emissions through their energy and resource consumption but the way these emissions are accounted for or are being tackled vary by institute. Universities are introducing policies and strategies to reduce their environmental footprint but there is no one fits all solution. Some are looking to swap carbon heavy fossil fuels with lower carbon alternatives, and others looking to create zero emission buildings and campuses.

An overview to the GHG emissions from higher education institutes, with a focus on UK institutes, along with the tools and methodologies used to estimate emissions will be given. From this it can be identified what is driving emissions, as well as what the discrepancies are in the methodologies and approaches used. The initiatives being implemented to tackle emissions will also be discussed, covering initiatives which impact both staff and students.