It is news like this that makes me happy with my decision to study with University of Tasmania. An email from the Vice Chancellor Rufus Black (very Harry Potter) proudly announced the university had been ranked number one in the world for Climate Action in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.I haven’t been able to confirm this on the THE web site yet but here is Professor Black’s announcement:
In a testament to the values, excellence, and hard work of so many of our staff and students, the University of Tasmania has been ranked number one in the world for Climate Action in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.
Released today, the rankings measure universities around the world against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Across all goals, the University was ranked at 25 overall in the world, which itself is a considerable achievement. For Sustainable Development Goal 13 – Climate Action – we are the number one university.
This is an achievement to be proud of, and one that reflects the importance we place on addressing the critical challenge of climate change.
We face an urgent climate crisis, and we must do all we can to effect real change.
Our approach is concerted and comprehensive and we strive to have a positive impact through our research, our teaching, our work with the community and our operations, including how we invest and how we build.
The University of Tasmania has been certified carbon neutral since 2016, we moved away from carbon-intensive investments in 2021 as part of our divestment strategy, and we are dramatically reducing embodied carbon in new buildings. We have also committed to reducing gross carbon emissions by a minimum of 50% by 2030 with a comprehensive plan to address all our remaining sources of carbon.
All of these steps, and more, contributed to our being named the number one university in the world for climate action. It follows our university being named the Sustainability Institute of the Year at the 2021 Green Gown Awards Australasia.
Thank you to all the staff and students who have helped us create positive change. Our task is far from over. As we recognise and celebrate our achievements to date, we look ahead always at the challenges that still lie ahead.
Kind regards,
Rufus
Vice Chancellor
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash