The University issued a statement yesterday indicating it will not sign the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, citing practicality concerns.
The commitment intends to address global warming by asking schools across the country to "neutralize greenhouse gas emissions, and to accelerate the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth's climate," according to the commitment's mission statement.
According to the University's statement, administrators believe the commitment does not significantly reflect the agreement reached among college and university presidents but instead was formed by a group of environmental activists and companies that sell environmental services.
Anthony Cortese, president of non-profit environmental group Second Nature and a co-organizer of the commitment, said this notion "is not correct."
"There have been no corporate businesses that have provided in any way to the Presidents Climate Commitment," Cortese said.
Currently, 146 colleges and universities have agreed to sign the commitment out of the 2,700 asked. Public schools that have signed include the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Florida and Norfolk State University in Virginia.
The University's press release expressed concern about the commitment's requirement to commit future institutional resources, including tax dollars, without what the University feels is "appropriate planning or cost justification."
"This statement deals only with greenhouse gas emissions," University President John T. Casteen, III stated in an e-mail. "One of my concerns about this approach is that the cost of developing functional technologies appears to be too great for the private sector, certainly too great for universities that rely on government funding for research."
Concern about using taxpayers' resources has not been cited by any other college or university as a problem, according to Cortese, who has not yet officially responded to the University's statement.
UNC-CH's Sustainability Office Director Cindy Shea said spending tax dollars has not been a concern for UNC-CH because energy efficiency is the least expensive use of energy.
"Climate change is one of the greatest problems currently facing our society," Shea said. "As universities we need to lead in dealing with these issues, both with how we run our campuses, the education we provide and the research our faculty engages in."
Although the University did not sign the commitment, several environmental initiatives are moving forward on Grounds, including those focused on gaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for all new or renovated buildings, using bio-diesel fuel in University Transit Service buses and improving storm water management.
"We are doing so many different things, we have signed on to other commitments previously, and there are just certain things that we didn't feel were the right things for us to do at this time," University spokesperson Carol Wood said.
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