The University of Massachusetts is taking a stand, continuing to focus on climate education and committing to reduce climate impacts across the school's campuses.
During his state of the university speech in April, UMass president Marty Meehan shared his goals for the institution to cement its status as a leader in sustainability, clean energy, and climate justice, Inside Climate News reported.
"While forces seem determined to drag us backward, UMass and Team Massachusetts are going to continue to work together to move ourselves forward," Meehan said in his speech, per the outlet.
In an interview with Inside, Meehan expanded on his comments, saying, "Massachusetts has some of the strongest climate and clean energy laws in the country, and the state is a leader in clean energy transition, job creation and economic growth in the climate tech space. I've asked all of our chancellors in each of our five campuses to develop economic development strategies that align with the state climate tech economic development plan."
Among the university projects mentioned in the interview is the Clean Energy and Environmental Legacy Transition. The initiative was spurred in part by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey's first trade trip as a partnership between UMass and institutions in Ireland.
Another UMass project, based out of the medical school, focuses on educating future doctors about the disproportionate impacts of climate change on health and wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries and marginalized communities.
Meehan says the university would also like to renovate campus buildings to be more energy-efficient and sustainable, pending funding from a proposed tax policy that would have those making at least a million dollars contribute to public education infrastructure in the state.
Meehan also addressed some of the climate policies of the Donald Trump administration, telling Inside, "There's no question that the federal government is trying to take us backward on climate, despite the fact that climate change is the existential threat of our time, but I think in this instance, states are going to need to step up to the plate."
Meehan's work with UMass to commit to climate goals is especially notable as policies across the country are being rolled back at various levels of government.
There are other colleges, too, that aren't letting federal pressure get in the way of clean energy aims. At Loyola University in Chicago, 100% of the electricity now comes from the nearby Double Black Diamond solar farm, a 593-megawatt project. And Duke University in North Carolina introduced the Connected Plates program, which has a goal of increasing students' awareness of nutrition and sustainability.
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"We have a responsibility to meet our goals in climate tech, and the private sector is going to do it with or without the federal government," the UMass president told Inside Climate News, "and states need to do it with or without the federal government."
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