The Balsillie School of International Affairs has developed and released a Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions Plan with a goal to reach net zero by 2040. The School’s new Plan declares a climate emergency and sets short-, medium- and long-term targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions. To demonstrate its solid commitment to this goal, the School has also joined the Race to Zero for Universities and Colleges.
The Plan develops a set of climate initiatives that are over and above those already being undertaken by the School’s partners (the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the Centre for International Governance Innovation) and that seek to respond to the existential challenge of climate change. The Plan’s core aspects include a commitment to reach net zero GHG emissions by 2040; medium-term targets for reducing emissions from the School’s building and from travel by 2026; and short-term commitments to establish processes for measuring and determining baselines for relevant school emissions, for creating carbon budgets for School-funded travel, and for reporting School carbon emissions by May 2022. It calls on the School to raise awareness and reduce GHG emissions across a wide range of areas.
The Balsillie School has also joined more than 1,000 institutions of higher education representing almost 10 million students in the Race to Zero for Universities and Colleges. The School’s new Plan lays out the ways that it will approach the Race to Zero’s Pledge, Plan, Proceed and Publish commitments.
The BSIA Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions Plan was developed by the School’s Global Climate Action Committee and approved by BSIA Council and the BSIA Board. The Global Climate Action Committee will work on implementing the Plan in the years to come, and looks forward to working with the School, its partners, and Sustainable Waterloo Region to reach these important goals.