It’s Getting Hot In Here

President William Brody of Johns Hopkins has just announced the adoption of a new climate change policy that seeks to make the university a leader in the fight against global warming. “Johns Hopkins is eager to rise to this immense challenge,” Brody announced. “As of today, I am committing The Johns Hopkins University to become a driving force for developing solutions to the climate change problem.” In a university-wide email sent out early this week, Brody set forth an ambitious initiative to be guided by a comprehensive set of principles:

• Reduce, with the vision of carbon neutrality, the emissions of greenhouse gases produced by university operations.
• Share knowledge and experience with the community, offering leadership and assistance on actions that can improve the university’s surroundings while reducing the carbon footprint of the Baltimore-Washington region.
• Leverage university strengths in science, technology, public health, and public policy to contribute to finding solutions to issues related to climate change on a global level.
• Incorporate student involvement as an essential element in all relevant greenhouse gas emissions reductions strategies.

To implement these principles, Brody is forming a President’s Task Force on Climate Change that will consist of energy experts, students, and national leaders such as the CEO of Constellation Energy and the chief sustainability officer at Citibank, to bring attention to the initiative and help bankroll a serious effort. Within one year, the task force will accomplish three goals:

• Develop a comprehensive Climate Strategic Plan to achieve the climate recommendations of the Johns Hopkins Sustainability Committee.
• Create an interdisciplinary working group, comprising university experts from different divisions, to focus on innovative and novel approaches to creating the appropriate incentives for individual, group and societal behavior changes as they relate to climate change.
• Begin developing strong relationships with state and local governments within the greater Baltimore-Washington region, exploring how to collaboratively address climate change issues.
  

The announcement also puts pressure on other universities to make similar efforts. Brody makes it clear that Johns Hopkins will not be alone and that a dozen other major universities – including the Ivy League institutions, Stanford, the University of Chicago and MIT – are “exploring a strong, climate-focused collaborative.”

The announcement marks a major shift in university policy and is the result of a year-long effort by the Hopkins Energy Action Team (HEAT), a student coalition and member of the Campus Climate Challenge, founded in 2006 with the goal of achieving a climate-neutral energy policy. HEAT began as a handful of energy activists and grew to represent over 20 student groups, 2500 students, and dozens of faculty – one of the largest movements in JHU history. It worked closely with university administrators to negotiate a policy, and its representatives will help shape the outcome of the President’s Task Force.