Decarbonization

UC Santa Cruz operates an on-campus power plant that burns fracked methane to generate heat and electricity for our campus. It releases 18,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide on an annual basis.

The good news: a study was released last October proving it would be technically feasible to close down the cogen plant and transition to (primarily renewable) electricity by as early as 2030.

The bad news: campus administrators feel no sense of urgency to facilitate this transition. In a statement this past summer, it was revealed that Chancellor Larive is not planning to close down the plant until 2035-2040, or possibly later.

What are we doing about it?

Sunrise Santa Cruz is mobilizing students to send a clear message to our campus administration: 2040 is too late.  HERE is a petition we gave the Chancellor in December '24 with over 500 student signatures.

UPDATE: the UC campuses have announced their decarbonization timelines.  UCSC is one of the system laggards.  :-((((  Details/links here.