Higher Education at COP 28

IAU and its Member institutions are committed to working together towards a more sustainable future, including for SDG 13: Climate Action ahead of COP27. Key concepts are:

• ESD: Education for Sustainable Development and the Greening Education Partnership (UNESCO)

• ACE: Action for Climate Empowerment (UNFCCC)

• CCE: Climate Change Education (MECCE)

Several initiatives are in place to stress the role of higher education in research, teaching, student and community engagement, and more at COP28.

• IAU HESD Cluster on SDG 13

  The University of the West Indies leads SDG 13: Climate Action in the global IAU HESD Cluster. It is located in the Caribbean with campuses in Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and hence in one of the regions already affected by climate change. The University has multiple initiatives focusing on sustainable development: the Climate Studies Group Mona (CSGM), Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD), the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), and the cross-campus UWI Resilience Working Group (UWIRWG).

  More information on their SDG13 Activities with the University Consortium on SDG 13 is available here.

• IAU Partners Working on Higher Education and Climate

  • UNESCO just launched the Greening Education Partnership and will be active again at COP28.

  • The MECCE Project, in which IAU is a partner, also send a delegation to COP 27 and is involved in discussions around ACE (Action for Climate Empowerment). More information on how MECCE is involved at COP27 is available on the MECCE website. Furthermore, MECCE launched an interactive data platform on CCE around the globe.

  • The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), a close partner of IAU for HESD. The ACU Commonwealth Futures Climate Research Cohort was created in the lead-up to COP26 with an aim to accelerate knowledge transfer across the Commonwealth. The Cohort will be continued, more information on the ACU and BC Cohort is available here.

  • SOS-UK is a student-led education charity focusing on sustainability. SOS is represented at the COP and involved in various activities.

  • The Global University Climate Forum brings student activists together to share ideas, learn, connect, and act on the global imperative of addressing climate change. Offered in the context of the global climate negotiations, this program challenges student teams around the world to propose ideas for local-scale projects that will yield measurable results over the course of six months. Accepted teams become a cohort that learns together, networks, shares ideas, and contributes to a growing body of inspirational projects that demonstrate the capacity of today’s youth to lead and have an impact. An outcome publication is to be presented at the COP.

  • Second Nature organised several events for and with higher education at COP27 here .

  • The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI).

  • Universities and individuals can sign on to the SDG Accord and "Race to Zero" commitments. More information here.

  • Updates on general COP negotiations can also be found on the UNFCCC page here.

• Open Letter to COP21 Ministers and Governments (2015)

  On 1 December 2015, a global alliance of higher education sustainability networks, including the IAU, representing more than 3,000 universities and colleges worldwide, jointly issued an Open Letter urging Ministers and Governments to acknowledge and strengthen the research and education role that universities and colleges play in addressing climate change.