Archishman Bose: Universities will be at the forefront of climate action

Mon, 04 Dec, 2023 - 11:04

Archishman Bose

The 28th Conference of the Parties (Cop28) in Dubai is in full swing. Debates, negotiations, discussions, arguments, and counterarguments around the Green Climate Fund and the Loss and Damage Fund are the key talking points in the early days of Cop28.

Amidst these intense negotiations and complex financial debates, bold moves such as tripling the world’s renewable energy generation capacity by 2030 and cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030 are being agreed upon.

Amidst the whirlwind of Cop28 that we are witnessing, a central thread can be seen across all debates, the need for developing “trusted” partnerships, researched-informed transitions, and the development of green skills. Throughout the day, panel discussions, events, and networking sessions focusing on topics as varied as green steel and green mobility to alternative proteins, and represented by delegates from big multinationals such as Volvo to young entrepreneurs, highlighted that key to achieving just transition is the need to collaborate; collaborate with the state, with different organisations and societies. The collaborations, importantly, need to be honest and open and learning from mistakes must be made available without any finger-pointing. This should generate trust and cooperation which is the need of the hour to deliver smart and urgent societal transitions to keep the global temperature rise to less than 1.5 oC.

In addition, research-informed development and green skill development were also brought forward as key elements to drive the change. Indeed, to employ the vast resource utilisation proposed in Cop28 in terms of developing the hydrogen economy or reducing methane emissions from wastes or developing alternative food systems, we need developing personnel adept at operating and maintaining these novel systems. Indeed, this is vital in terms of Just Transition, a key theme of Cop28, as new industries and decarbonisation of conventional industries must lead to the creation of healthier and better jobs and not to the loss of jobs, especially within the current workforce.

Education

And this raises a central key point, which although not explicitly mentioned, but is being implied and understood: Universities will lie at the centre of driving our climate action targets. Universities, being institutions where the fundamental motivation is to drive honest conversations, learnings and research-informed creative solutions that will be a key enabler in driving honest dialogues and trusted partnerships between organisations and states.

Indeed, in partnership with public and private organisations, universities will be at the forefront of developing agile and rapidly evolving educational systems, aimed at creating critical thinkers, future leaders and entrepreneurs as well as re-skilling existing workforce through innovative curricula design.

Universities will thus lie at the forefront of climate action and just transition to a sustainable world; pledges of which are now turning into commitments at Cop28.