Executive Summary
The University of Glasgow declared a climate emergency in May 2019 and has since published a Climate Change Strategy, which commits the University to be ‘net zero’ for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030.
The University has committed to setting a GHG reduction target that aligns with the UN Environment Programme Emissions Gap Report (to prevent global warming greater than 1.5⁰C); currently a 7.6% reduction in GHG emissions per year, for the next decade. Over the period 2020/21 to 2029/30 this translates to a reduction in GHG emissions from 60,358 to 27,000 tonnes CO2e per annum. If the University maintained its pre Covid-19 trajectory, our carbon footprint would rise to 64,940 tonne CO2e by 2035 and to 75,366 tonne CO2e by 2045.
The 2021/22 carbon footprint for UofG (40,803 tonne CO2e) was greater than that reported for 2020/21 by ~7,000 tonne CO2e, however this increase in emissions was largely due to post-Covid resumption of business travel (+4,000 tonne CO2e) and staff/student commuting to and from campus (+6,500 tonne CO2e). In the coming years we must take steps to minimise the rebound that we are seeing in emissions from staff and student commuting and business travel. We must continue to make it easier for staff and students to access the campus using active travel or via public transport, support more agile/flexible working patterns and ensure that emissions from flight-related business travel are minimised. In addition, we must make it a priority to develop and then install low carbon heating solutions across our estate.
This Carbon Management Plan highlights various and often challenging interventions around the University, that we will need to take if we are to reach our stated emissions target of 27,000 tonne CO2e by 2029/30. The forecast position in 2029/30 is 24,000 tonne CO2e and thus below our current target of 27,000 tonne CO2e, per annum. However, it is recognised that given cultural and financial factors outlined in the paper, achieving that position will remain challenging.