HARVARD UNIVERSITY CLIMATE ACTION PLAN A FOSSIL FUEL-FREE FUTURE
Harvard researchers are tackling climate change by helping us better understand the scope of its effects and generating promising new solutions. On campus, the University community is also taking action. In 2016, Harvard achieved its 10-year goal to reduce on-campus greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent, even as square footage increased by 12 percent. Now, a new set of ambitious, science-based climate commitments build on this progress by providing a blueprint for the transition to a healthier, fossil fuelfree future. Harvard’s climate action plan gives the University a unique opportunity to use the campus to directly engage faculty and students in addressing the difficult and unanswered questions and pressing challenges posed by human-induced climate change.
FOSSIL FUEL-FREE BY 2050 FOSSIL FUEL-NEUTRAL BY 2026 These ambitious goals will be challenging to reach, but the grave risks climate change poses to our health and our planet’s future require essential action. Harvard must remain vigorous in supporting students, faculty, and staff who are championing ideas, expertise, and action related to climate change. - HARVARD PRESIDENT DREW FAUST
ADDRESSING THE FULL SCOPE OF SOCIAL DAMAGES ASSOCIATED WITH FOSSIL FUEL USE HEALTH IMPACTS OF FOSSIL FUEL USE: • Aggravated asthma rates and respiratory problems • Heart attacks and cardiovascular diseases • Increased hospitalizations and premature deaths
As Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Dean Michelle Williams has said, “health is the human face of climate change.” The University recognizes that its energy choices not only contribute to our planet’s changing climate, but that there are enormous public health, ecological, and economic effects that are also associated with the burning of fossil fuels. As a society, the full scope of the social damages associated with fossil fuel use cannot continue to be ignored as we frame policy. As a University, our community has a moral responsibility to help create a better understanding of these impacts through multi-disciplinary research and exploration. GREEN.HARVARD.EDU/CLIMATE
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MOVING TOWARD A FOSSIL FUEL-FREE FUTURE Science shows that in order to mitigate the impacts of climate change, we must aggressively move to eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels. Rapidly shifting changes in technology and the growing global consensus for action now make it possible for society to shift the world’s energy choices to a more sustainable path.
FOSSIL FUEL-FREE BY 2050 Our long-term goal is to seek to be fossil fuel-free by 2050, shifting to fossil fuel-free sources for operating and maintaining Harvard’s campus. This means: •
The electricity Harvard purchases from the regional electric grid and through power purchasing agreements will come from cleaner sources of energy that do not burn fossil fuels, such as solar and offshore wind.
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Harvard’s district energy system will operate without fossil fuels.
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Vehicles owned by Harvard will operate without fossil fuels.
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Setting targets for purchasing externally-provided services or activities that rely as little as possible on fossil fuels.
FOSSIL FUEL-NEUTRAL BY 2026 Our short-term goal is to strive to be fossil fuel-neutral by 2026 by prioritizing aggressive reductions of our campus energy use, and then offsetting or neutralizing any remaining greenhouse gas emissions by investing in off-campus projects such as renewable energy. Harvard will engage its researchers and industry climate leaders to identify and, where feasible, invest in projects that credibly reduce emissions while providing other positive benefits for human health, social equity, and ecosystem health.
WHY FOSSIL FUEL-FREE INSTEAD OF CARBON FREE? A focus on only carbon, or greenhouse gas emissions, is restrictive because it leaves out the full scope of impacts on human health and ecosystems from other pollutants and wastes associated with the sourcing, production, and burning of fossil fuels.
Harvard will help advance these new goals by establishing a Sustainability Executive Committee to oversee progress and by launching cross-disciplinary working groups that will research and provide recommendations in key areas including maximizing on-campus energy efficiency, exploring development of a carbon price or surcharge on on-campus fossil fuel energy use, evaluating off-site emissions reduction projects, and developing guidance for addressing the University’s Scope 3 emissions.
LEVERAGE NEW RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES BY USING OUR CAMPUS AS A LIVING LAB Students and faculty will continue to collaborate with Havard on living lab projects that have the potential to inform the strategy for transitioning away from fossil fuels, and, more importantly, serve as examples for more effective responses to climate mitigation and preparedness across society.
Harvard’s new climate commitments are based on the recommendations of the 2016–2017 Climate Change Task Force, a multi-disciplinary group of faculty, students, and senior administrators appointed by President Drew Faust.
HARVARD’S PATHWAY TO FOSSIL FUEL-FREE 30% net emissions reduction from 2006-2016 Energy-efficient buildings and rooftop solar Fossil fuel-neutral by 2026 100% renewable regional electric grid
FOSSIL FUEL-FREE BY 2050
Fossil fuel-free district energy system Emissions-free transportation
HOW ARE WE ADDRESSING SCOPE 3 EMISSIONS? Harvard will continue its work to track and quantify the fossil fuel emissions associated with our supply chain for purchased goods or services that support campus operations. Once the magnitude of these so-called Scope 3 emissions are better known for areas such as food, air travel, and commuting, the University can explore ways to ensure that externally purchased services or activities rely as little as possible on fossil fuels.
Since 2014, Harvard’s Climate Change Solutions Fund has awarded nearly $4 million in support of 31 multi-disciplinary climate research projects. The University has also provided $7.7 million in funding for 10 projects involving 20 faculty studying climate change and the environment through the Harvard Global Institute, launched in 2015.
FUELING NEW INSIGHTS AND IDEAS How will we help transition the world away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible? By bringing researchers together across disciplines, forming coalitions of like-minded leaders in business, higher education, and the social sector, and welcoming diverse viewpoints to the conversation, Harvard is positioned to help address the sustainable development and energy challenges facing our global society at an accelerated pace.
The Climate Solutions Living Lab is a three-year, multi-disciplinary course launched in 2017 that immerses teams of graduate students in hands-on research to design feasible, practical, scalable projects that help organizations achieve ambitious climate goals. It was created as part of a unique collaboration between Harvard Law School’s Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic and the Office for Sustainability to help inform the University’s on-going climate action strategy.
FUTURE RESEARCH POSSIBILITIES: •
Studying the effectiveness of renewable energy projects and carbon offsets in reducing pollution, enhancing human health, and benefiting the climate. Then, developing criteria that guides the purchasing decisions of organizations.
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Analyzing the emissions footprint of purchased goods and services such as food, air travel, and commuting, and identifying actionable opportunities for reducing the damages associated with their use.
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Collaborating with regional partners in higher education and government on preparedness planning with shared climate projections, vulnerability assessments, and resiliency strategies.
CHANGING THE CULTURE OF HOW WE WORK AND LIVE The process of meeting Harvard’s 2006-2016 climate goal was at its heart a transformational organizational change effort. By establishing clear priorities, ensuring equity in decision-making, and developing policies which provided alignment—but also the ability to adapt based on local circumstances—the community rallied to achieve aggressive reductions in campus energy use. Led by the Office for Sustainability in partnership with the Schools and units, this strategy ensured people at every level of the organization could contribute to the University’s progress. From the energy we buy and use, how we travel to or from campus, or the products we purchase, we will now need to leverage that entrepreneurial culture to redouble our efforts to fundamentally transform the way we work and live without the use of fossil fuels. GREEN.HARVARD.EDU/CLIMATE
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