Climate change is causing devastating consequences in Australia and all over the world. The exacerbated impacts of floods, bushfires, storm surges and heatwaves are a reminder that society is not acting with the urgency required to keep temperature rises within globally agreed limits. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in their Sixth Assessment Report, identified the current state of the climate and what is required to avoid catastrophic climate change impacts. The science is clear, we need urgent and drastic reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission to zero, as soon as possible.

Transformational change is necessary, across all sectors in society. As The Australian National University, we have a responsibility and mission to contribute to global environmental sustainability.

• First and foremost, reducing emissions as rapidly as possible. Our evidence-based approach considers our main sources of emissions and includes, among others: 1) a university-wide travel emissions reduction program which can lead to a 25% reduction in our overall emissions; and 2) transition from natural gas-powered boilers to electric heat pumps and reducing these operational emissions down to zero as fast as possible. For the first time this winter, ANU had multiple buildings heated without using fossil fuels.
• Secondly, by removing more emissions than we produce. This can be either by offsetting difficult to abate emissions using only high-quality, carbon credits on Australian land or through carbon removal activities connected to ANU land, research, teaching or partnerships (“ANU-connected carbon removal activities”).