University to nix greenhouse gas emissions by 2024

By Neil Offen

noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646

DURHAM -- Duke University plans to become climate neutral by 2024, committing itself to no net greenhouse gas emissions by that date.

"The choosing of the year 2024 is not just arbitrary," said Dan Blue, chairman of the university's Board of Trustees, which endorsed the goal of achieving climate neutrality earlier this month. "It is the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Duke University and it seems appropriate to celebrate that anniversary with such a commitment that keeps us in the forefront of this issue."

A committee of faculty, staff and students has worked on a plan for climate neutrality for the last two years, since university President Richard Brodhead signed on to the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment. By becoming a signatory, Duke pledged to eliminate or offset all campus greenhouse gas emissions over time.

Now the university is saying exactly how much time it will take.

The plan includes, first, reductions in the university's greenhouse gas emissions of around 300,000 metric tons, most of which come from energy and transportation uses.

"The reductions require that we make smarter choices about energy use, transportation, and other facts of daily life," Brodhead said. "We must challenge ourselves to be more thoughtful about our habits and imaginative about needed changes."

Duke then will mitigate the impact of emissions it cannot reduce by investing in "carbon credits" for projects such as methane capture from agricultural operations and specialized forest management that avoid, reduce or sequester greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere.

"Duke's plan will specifically target regional offsets rather than distant ones," said Executive Vice President Tallman Trask III, who was the co-chairman of the committee. "This will help us address our carbon footprint as well as improve the local environment and quality of life here in North Carolina."

Bill Chameides, the other co-chairman and dean of the university's Nicholas School of the Environment, said those offset projects will provide academic opportunities for faculty and students. They also will leverage Duke's interdisciplinary strengths by bringing together the university's expertise in environment, law, engineering, business and public policy, among others.

"These projects will also help us achieve one of the goals of the Climate Action Plan, which is to ensure all students at Duke graduate with the knowledge and understanding of climate change and sustainability," Chameides said.

Blue said it was essential that Duke act, and act quickly.

"There had been studies that showed that if we didn't take any steps, the university's emissions would increase by some exponential increase," he said. "Clearly, we have been making progress in [reducing emissions on campus], but by setting a specific year as a target, we now have a goal to measure ourselves against."

The plan, said Chameides, is a bold statement. Duke is "putting into practice its sustainability ideals and advancing knowledge in the service of society," he said. "The impact of the work we have set before us will hopefully be part of a global effort to improve the lives of those who come after."

And the plan, said committee member Tim Profeta, director of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, is very feasible.

"It will really be deploying Duke's strength," he said. "It will be using Duke's intellectual capacity to proactively develop projects both on and off campus. It's absolutely doable."

A copy of the plan is available at www.duke.edu/sustainability online.