Call on UBC to Fund the Climate Emergency Recommendations!
It’s been two years since UBC has declared a climate emergency, and the University has yet to allocate permanent funding to respond to this crisis. UBC’s 2022/2023 budget is being decided soon, and it’s time for them to put their money where their mouth is in committing to addressing the climate crisis.
In order to live up to the Declaration and implement the 28 Board-endorsed Climate Emergency Task Force Recommendations, UBC must:
Report on total climate emergency spending, both absolute and as a percentage of UBC’s total budget, in order to assess the adequacy of the financial commitment;
Create a standing allocation for climate emergency funding in the 2022/23 budget and all future budgets for programming and operations related to the Climate Emergency Task Force Recommendations;
Develop additional mechanisms to enable hiring of more permanent faculty and staff positions working on climate (e.g. integrating a climate lens in processes for filling retirements and resignations and providing short term (3-5 year) funding from the climate emergency allocation, after which faculties are responsible for funding the positions); and
Create permanent positions for Climate Emergency Project Managers.
Climate Justice UBC, alongside members of the Climate Emergency Task Force and Working Groups, the Climate Hub, the Centre for Climate Justice and many others have already sent a letter calling on UBC to make this a priority in the next and all future budgets. You can read our full letter and endorse it here.
We are asking you to help us put pressure on UBC to prioritize climate emergency funding by sending your own letter to the UBC Board of Governors and Administration. You can get started by filling out your information on the right.
The climate emergency is not a time-bound project that can be addressed through one-off funding initiatives. It is an ongoing emergency and requires sustained and consistent funding to be treated as such. With the rapidly dwindling timeline to cut global emissions in half and preserve life as we know it, UBC must do more to show it has moved into emergency mode. It’s high time to start spending what it takes to win.
