U7+ alliance calls for climate change action
To coincide with the G7 Summit, the University joined its U7+ Alliance partners to call on global leaders to prioritise the climate crisis in the global post-pandemic recovery and to recognise the important role universities can play in supporting G7 climate action. The Alliance cited this priority was driven by the need to preserve the rights of the young and future generations.
The U7+ Alliance is particularly focussing on climate change now to coincide with the key meetings taking place in the UK this year; the G7 meeting that took place earlier in June and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) which will be hosted in Glasgow in November.
Edinburgh and U7+
The University of Edinburgh has been a member of the U7+ Alliance since 2019. This unique partnership brings together the presidents and principals of 100 global, research led, universities to make commitments to take concrete action on major global challenges. The partners meet at an annual Presidential Summit to agree a shared agenda and the key areas for collaborative action.
We recognise the power of collective action and see U7+ as an important platform for a group of leading global universities to help shape that debate and deliver meaningful change.
Edinburgh joined the Alliance in recognition that universities have a major role to play in addressing the environmental issues and challenges to sustainability such as climate change, biodiversity and energy transition, leading by example on their own campuses. The Alliance creates a platform for universities to be global actors on collaborative global strategy and debate.
Register for the workshop
To build on this momentum, the University of Edinburgh along with its U7+ partners, the University of Toronto and Paris Science et Lettres (PSL) are offering U7+ members a chance to participate in a workshop about promoting access to climate change-related degree programmes. This event is also designed to help further define the U7+’s shared commitments around climate action in advance of the Alliance’s next Presidential Summit.
"Promoting Student Access to courses relating to Climate, Biodiversity and Sustainability” Tuesday, 29 June 2021, 2pm - 5pm (BST)
The event is open to all U7+ presidential delegates as well as staff at U7+ member institutions that are engaged in this work.
Register for the workshop
Supporting the G7 to tackle climate change
In the official statement issued to G7 leaders, the U7+ partners emphasized the commitment of its members to addressing environmental issues through providing access to related courses, facilitating intergenerational dialogues and actively working to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions from by 2030.
The Alliance also urged leaders to recognise the role universities can play in supporting the G7’s efforts to tackle climate change and preserve the planet’s biodiversity, lead the global recovery from the coronavirus and to value education as a tool of resilience against future pandemics. It also called on world leaders to promote access to higher education for youth from marginalised backgrounds.
“The preparation of the next generation of leaders must be a paramount concern,” the Alliance’s joint statement reads: “As an alliance of universities, we sit at the crossroads of generations — in a space where knowledge is generated and new, bolder visions for the future are imagined — and have committed to serving as platforms for open intergenerational dialogue.”
The next Presidential Summit of the U7+ Alliance is due to take place later this year.
Find out more about U7+
U7+ Alliance’s statement to G7 leaders