Declare Climate Emergency! Chalmers University of Technology

The Pope, former UN secretary general, leading climate scientist – voices are being raised across the globe to acknowledge the crisis we are currently in. Bristol University recently became the first academic institution to declare emergency, we urge Chalmers to follow.

Chalmers University of Technology should:

1. Declare climate emergency
2. Communicate to all student and staff why this is necessary
3. Act accordingly

Declaring emergency won´t solve our problems, but it could help form a collective will to actually try. A first step towards action is to admit the crisis which is already here.

Let´s take a stand, together.

For a sustainable future
Avancez

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Do you want to know more about why we are doing this?  

We have presented three major concerns to the management.

Keep scrolling and you will find them!

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1. Paris accord insufficient

The sum of all national commitments amount to more than 3 degrees of warming.

Nations appear not be able to hold their commitments, global emissions are still rising.

Models are based on future developments of systems to capture huge amounts of Co2.

Models are based on just 66% certainty, at “secure” levels significant risk of collapse remains.

Source: Warming Projections Global Update 2018, Climate Action Tracker

Source: Less than 2 °C warming by 2100 unlikely, Nature Climate Change

Source: Emissions are still rising: ramp up the cuts, Nature

Source: IPCC special report - Global Warming of 1.5ºC

2. Risk of systematic underestimation of the IPCC

The IPPC tend to a conservative logic with a long time delay to include new research.

The IPCC still lack access to fully integrated models for systems of positive feedbacks.

Significant risk that the basis for targets and commitments is insufficient.

Source: What Lies Beneath - The Understatement of Existential Climate Risk

3. The universities are not doing what is necessary 

University emissions are not decreasing.

Our experience is that universities do not communicate the serious issues stated above.

Our experience is that most staff do not have knowledge of issues stated above.

Future mitigation should address all points stated above.

We conclude that the universities are not securing the future of its students.

Source: Chalmers hållbarhetsrapport 2017, 2018

Source: Miljöledning i staten 2018, Naturvårdsverket

We have given Chalmers until the 14th of May to consider this proposal. Climate emerency must be declared before the end of this semester.