ABOUT
The University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) is a core program of Second Nature that connects 23 of the world’s leading research universities committed to accelerating climate action on campus, in communities, and at a global scale. Second Nature supports UC3 universities to collaborate effectively, share knowledge, foster cross-sector partnerships, and drive meaningful and scalable action on climate change.
For a comprehensive overview of the Coalition, please visit the University Climate Change Coalition Primer.
Core Values
Teaching and Applied Learning:
The UC3 is committed to fostering transformative teaching and real-world learning experiences that engage students in studies, reflective practices, and action around climate change.
Coalition-Wide Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing:
The UC3 is committed to fostering transformative teaching and real-world learning experiences that engage students in studies, reflective practices, and action around climate change.
Cross-Sector Partnerships and Place-Based Climate Action:
The UC3 recognizes the importance of climate action that is responsive to the local context and drives the need for developing cross-sector partnerships that build connections between students, faculty, and staff at research universities and key stakeholders in the community.
Generation of Useful, Impactful Knowledge and Demand Driven Research:
The UC3 values demand-driven research that addresses important gaps in climate action research and generates useful and impactful knowledge for timely climate solutions.
Institutional Leadership and Integration:
The UC3 member institutions seek to leverage the leadership of university presidents and chancellors and build institutional consensus to pursue climate action by integrating academics, operations, and community engagement.
Five-Year Strategic Plan
Moving into the third year since the launch of the UC3 at the 2018 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit, the Coalition has matured and refined its role as an accelerant of place-based climate solutions and leading voice on the urgency of emissions mitigation and climate resilience actions. The 2020-2025 UC3 Strategic Plan represents an updated vision and trajectory for the Coalition, building upon its successes and lessons learned over the past two years from cross-sector forums, internal collaborations, and partnerships with local and regional stakeholders.
In just two years of being in existence, the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) has taken major action in creating climate solutions to help local communities achieve their climate goals and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future.
Since the University Climate Change Coalition’s (UC3) launch in February 2018, UC3 universities have convened climate leaders in their region from local and state government, private industry and NGOs at cross-sector forums. In a report entitled Research for Solutions: Convening Stakeholders to Galvanize Local Climate Action, UC3 highlights how research institutions can play an invaluable role in stepping-up climate action in their communities. Each of the schools are making ambitious strides to reduce their institutional footprint and increase resilience to the shocks of climate change, read the report to find out exactly how.