Higher education’s role in adapting to a changing climate

This report highlights how colleges and universities face clear and growing risks from climate disruption, and asserts how it is critical that presidents, trustees and those with fiduciary responsibility for these institutions be aware of these risks. Addressing these risks can provide the opportunity to recreate institutions of higher education for the 21st century, equipping them to be safe and secure in the face of change, more actively engaged in solving real-world problems, and reorganized to better provide the education and research needed to create and maintain a sustainable society.

This report finds that higher education institutions: (i) have a critical role to play in preparing society to adapt to the impacts of climate disruption by providing research and education around adaptation strategies and science; (ii) need to increase their curricular offerings on climate adaptation, both through main streaming the information in core courses and offering electives that specialize in the topic; (iii) face direct risks to their operations and infrastructure from the impacts of climate disruption; (iv) have the unique opportunity to role-model solutions in their own operations; (v) can serve as ‘hubs’ in their local communities for creating, testing and disseminating knowledge about regional climate projections and adaptation strategies, and should work directly with their local communities to explain the science and implement solutions; (vi) should acknowledge the inequitable distribution of climate impacts across populations with low income and communities of color being in most need; (vii) should aim to identify adaptation strategies that also contribute to mitigation efforts.