Introduction The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes scientific assessments on climate change and communicates the associated implications and future risks of a changing climate. According to the IPCC, human activities such as burning coal, natural gas, and oil, have already transformed the planet at a pace and scale unmatched in recorded history. The 2023 IPCC synthesis report confirms that humanity has fundamentally and irreversibly transformed the Earth’s system, primarily caused by the combustion of fossil fuels and significant deforestation. In short, the vast majority of the global scientific community knows four things with very high confidence, 1) The Earth is warming, 2) Warming is caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels for energy, 3) Human-caused warming is disrupting the Earth’s entire planetary climate system, and 4) Climate change poses extreme risks for humans. Additionally, the United Nations Paris Agreement, entered into force in November 2016, sets long- term goals for 195 members (194 states plus the European Union) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to, “substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to hold global temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.” As of the second half of 2023, global average air temperatures have already exceeded the 1.5 Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) threshold since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
The extent to which current and future generations will experience a hotter and different world depends on choices now and in the near-term.
2020
Future emissions scenarios:
Current and future generations of students have a unique stake in how quickly institutions significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Considering humankind has never been on this warming trajectory, climate mitigation and resiliency strategies implemented during the 2020’s and 2030’s will have profound impacts and consequences for the next several decades and potentially centuries. Washington State is already experiencing the impacts of climate change, including warmer temperatures, more frequent heat waves, changes in extreme weather patterns, increased risk of high severity wildfires, drought, reduced snowpack, and sea level rise. CWU is committed to achieving the following objectives: 1) implementing climate mitigation strategies to achieve a zero-carbon campus no later than 2050, 2) building and instituting climate resiliency to withstand the shocks of a changing climate and warming world, and 3) supporting front line communities and producing equitable outcomes, and, 4) equipping students, staff, and faculty with the knowledge, resources, and competencies to advance a healthy, equitable, and sustainable future. CWU’s CAP produces an ambitious, yet realistic roadmap to achieve the objectives listed above. After extensive engagement with the campus and local community, this Plan outlines overarching goals, key performance indicators, objectives, strategies, and action steps to support CWU’s commitment to reducing climate change impacts and ensuring a livable, equitable, and sustainable community for current and future generations.
1940
1980
2060
2100
1900
very high high intermediate low very low
Warming continueʼs beyond 2100
Global temperature change above 1850-1900 levels ( º C)
born in 2020
70 years old in 2090
00.5 1 1.5 22.533.5 4
“Climate Change 2023 Synthesis Report - Summary for Policymakers”. A Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf
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