Background

We are part of a UC-wide movement to make the 10 University of California campuses fossil free. A 9-minute background video created by UCSD students on why the UC system should become fossil-free is at https://vimeo.com/546258204. Additional background is at https://electrifyuc.org.

Impetus for student/faculty action came in the early 2020s because data obtained through a Public Records Act request to the UC Office of the President showed that on-campus GHG emissions (Scope 1) at all campuses failed to decline during the 2010s.

The status of GHG reduction efforts at UC Davis

In response to the Fossil Fuel Free Pathway Plan, the addition of 16+ MW of photovoltaics, energy efficiency improvements, and the ongoing “Big Shift” replacing district heating steam pipes with hot water pipes across campus (thus allowing electrification of the building heating and cooling system), UC Davis central campus greenhouse gas emissions have fallen about 15% since 2005. They are poised to drop another 22% by 2030 as the result of Phases 2 and 3 of the Big Shift. But further phases aren’t funded, and emissions from the Health Campus in Sacramento have actually increased due to expansion. Stronger action is needed if UCD is to continue its role as a global sustainability leader.

Since UC Davis’ 2009 Climate Action Plan the university has begun transitioning its district heating/cooling system from steam to hot water allowing electrification of this central emission source. It has also installed > 16MW of photovoltaics and is buying cleaner electricity from the grid. However, UCD still uses large amounts of methane (“natural gas”) for heating and cooling. Scope 3 emissions (off-campus) have not yet begun to fall.

Here is a little history on UC Davis efforts to reduce GHG emissions:

  • 2007: UCD organizes large Focus-the-Nation climate teach-in
  • 2010: UCD opens phase 1 of West Village (intended to be ZNE but only 80%)
  • 2010: UCD adopts its first Climate Action Plan (goal of 1999 levels by 2014, 1990 by 2020)
  • 2016: UCD builds 16MW of solar photovoltaics S of I-80
  • 2016: The College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences adopts climate leadership as 1 of 4 Strategic Plan priorities; does a cluster hire in climate adaptation but not mitigation (GHG reduction)
  • 2017: One Climate Initiative begun; mainly a license to fundraise
  • 2018: Climate Science & Policy minor begun
  • 2019: 70+% of UCD faculty vote to support UC divestment from fossil fuels
  • 2019: UCD Chancellor Gary May joins other UC Chancellors and heads of >7,000 universities in signing Climate Emergency Letter recognizing “the need for a drastic societal shift to combat the growing threat of climate change”
  • 2020: UCD begins the Big Shift to switch from steam to hot water heating and cooling pipes across campus; sets the stage for electrification
  • 2020: ~30 UCD faculty, staff & students meet with Chancellor May and others to ask for a fossil-free commitment. UC begins to set up a new Sustainability Committee.
  • 2024: UC Davis releases a Fossil Fuel-Free Pathway Plan (FFFPP). The FFFPP details actions that could lead to a 75% reduction of fossil fuel use on UCD campuses by 2030 and a 95% reduction by 2040.
  • Early 2025: Despite calls for much steeper reductions, UC Davis administration submits a weak goal to UCOP of only 15% reductions by 2030. The stated reason is lack of funding for larger reductions.
  • Fall 2025: UCD begins a more comprehensive Climate Action Plan updating the 2010 plan.

Here is a little history on system-wide efforts:

  • Late 2000s: The UC Policy on Sustainable Practices requires campuses to reach 2000 GHG emissions levels by 2014, 1990 levels by 2020, and carbon neutrality eventually at an unspecified date.
  • 2013: UC President Janet Napolitano announces the Carbon Neutrality Initiative (CNI), committing UC to net zero for Scope 1 and 2 (on-campus+ purchased) emissions by 2025 and Scope 3 (off-campus) emissions by 2050. Campuses begin working to meet the CNI goal.
  • 2019: After a 10-year campaign, faculty on all campuses vote to ask UC Regents for fossil fuel divestment (ending investments in fossil fuels). The U.C. Chief Investment Officer announces that UC will do this.
  • 2020: UC announces that its $215B in investments are fossil-free, though these appear to still include suppliers to the oil and gas industry.
  • 2020: It becomes clear that UC will need to rely on large amounts of offsets to meet the 2025 CNI goal, and has no plan for reducing these over time. The goal of climate activists becomes for UC to end use of fossil fuels altogether, without offsets.
  • 2021: Faculty from all campuses meet with leadership of the systemwide Academic Senate and receive strong support for pushing their campuses to be fossil-free.
  • 2021 UC Green New Deal organization developed. For info, see http://ucgreennewdealcoalition.net.
UC Davis students participate in 2023 climate action demonstration