British Government Links Higher-Education Funds to Progress on Energy Efficiency and Emissions

Many thanks to Niles Barnes, a past guest blogger who is projects coordinator for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, for pointing out this little news item: The British government will dole out funds for higher education institutions based in part on their performance in energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

John Denham, Britain’s secretary of state for innovation, universities, and skills, has asked higher-education institutions to figure out a strategy for curbing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

In a letter to the Higher Education Funding Council, Mr. Denham wrote: “One of my main priorities for the Council in 2009 is to support and encourage the sector to use all its huge capacity to train, research, innovate, and inspire, reaching into local communities to offer practical help to individuals and businesses through these tougher economic times while laying the foundations for the future.”

“This is encouraging news and prompts me to ask the question, ‘Could the U.S. be far behind?’” Mr. Barnes wrote in his own post on the news on AASHE’s blog. While more than 600 colleges have signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, even the goals in that commitment are voluntary and arbitrary.

“What would happen if institutions here in the U.S. had part of their state or federal funding linked to their performance in reducing emissions?” Mr. Barnes wondered. “There are a few existing statewide plans that some colleges and universities are mandated to follow but we have not (yet) seen the kind of leadership from our federal government that would mandate higher education to reduce emissions or potentially lose funding.”