Climate Action at the University of Ottawa

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By Jon Rausseo

Sustainability Expert, Office of Sustainability

Living wall at the Faculty of Social Sciences
The University of Ottawa’s latest Climate Report highlights climate programs during the pandemic.

In 2017, the University of Ottawa published its first climate report to address growing concerns about climate change amongst calls for divestment. This inaugural report addressed the University’s desire to set goals and target climate change across all activities on campus as well as within their investments.

Half a decade later, uOttawa has developed a robust response to the climate crisis for its community. The latest report is broken into four major categories, each addressing a different dimension of campus activities: learning and research, knowledge mobilization, investments, and campus operations.

Learning about climate is primordial to addressing the crisis. In 2021, 59 courses at the University were climate-focused across both undergraduate and graduate offerings. As a result, there are currently 138 active research projects related to climate change that are growing our understanding of climate impacts. Projects are supported by the 13 research chairs linked to climate change and sustainability.

As the climate crisis is not limited to the campus, the University of Ottawa is working with the community to find and promote solutions. This year’s report highlights work done by the External Relations team to promote research and raise awareness about sustainability through workshops and fundraising with the community. Special attention was given to the uOttawa based Smart Prosperity Institute for their collaboration with government to implement green economy ideas related to climate change.

*New programs such as the new microprogram on the Anthropocene focus very strongly on human impacts to the environment.

rendering of an outdoor space

The transition towards greener investments over the past seven years has resulted in a total carbon footprint reduction of 87% for the long-term portfolio. This was bolstered by the University of Ottawa’s announcement to divest from its fossil fuel holdings. The University expects to be completely divested from direct equity fossil fuel holdings by 2023 and all indirect holdings by 2030.

As a result of these initiatives, power plant greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 17% over the past two years and a great deal of work was also put into growing programs to help the community reduce its own emissions. Earlier this year, Food Services joined the Cool Food pledge by committing to reduce greenhouse gases emissions associated with food by 25% which in turn will make it easier for the campus community to choose low carbon food options. As a step towards creating zero emissions vehicle infrastructure, the University is installing 20 new level 2 charging stations on campus.

We have seen some impactful changes on campus this year, but there is still work to be done.  Our goal is to create a complete greenhouse gas inventory for all climate related activity for future reports. In the meantime, you can do your part by exploring the many programs that exist to help reduce your emissions. Every little bit moves us closer to a more sustainable campus.

Read the full report