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Toward Carbon Neutrality in Higher Education
University campuses are part of the built environment, and in their role as educators and exemplars, college and university campuses are leading the way to a low-carbon future. Despite today’s immediate concerns, leaders in higher education are keeping their eyes on the horizon, and long-term net-zero planning and projects are continuing and finding ways to accommodate financial pressures resulting from COVID-19 related enrollment challenges.
Many campuses are considering the electrification of heating as a decarbonization pathway. Today’s status quo for heating – energy distributed through high-temperature networks – not only is over-designed and costly to maintain but also is basically incompatible with the low-carbon economy. Electrification is a proven route to enable lower-carbon buildings, led by heat pump strategies. Many have already been implemented throughout the province of Quebec.
This dynamic conversation will address the long-term planning and implementation of campus decarbonization, exploring actionable and cost-effective pathways to progress.
Panelists:
- Ruth Bennett, Director of Strategic Capital Programs at Tufts University
- Bert Bland, Associate Vice President for Energy and Sustainability at Cornell University
- JP Drouin, Project Development Director, Ecosystem Energy Services
Moderator:
- Tim Carter, President of Second Nature
Comments:
- Ms. Catherine Loubier, Delegate General of Québec in New York
- Marie-Claude Francoeur, Québec Delegate to New England
*Event not hosted by UCLA