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Fact Sheet: Ahead of the Conference on Climate Change, More than 200 Colleges and Universities Sign the American Campus Act on Climate Pledge to Demonstrate Support for Strong International Climate Action

The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, November 19, 2015

With less than two weeks until the President attends the Conference on Climate Change, the Administration is committed to building momentum and ensuring a variety of stakeholders are at the table to act on climate. As part of that effort, the White House today announced that more than 200 university and college campuses signed the American Campuses Act on Climate Pledge to demonstrate their support for strong climate action by world leaders in Paris next month. These schools include historically black colleges and universities, religious institutions, women’s colleges, technical schools, community colleges, all schools in the Ivy League, and a variety of public and private universities located across more than 40 states.

The institutions signing today’s pledge are also already taking significant action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase campus sustainability and resilience, and incorporate environmental action into academic curriculum. More than 100 of the schools that signed the pledge have also set goals to become carbon neutral within the next few decades. In addition, Defend Our Future launched a new climate change campus campaign to empower more than 1 million young Americans to take decisive action on climate change. Along with the launch of the campaign, a bikeshare company based in Santa Monica, California called Cyclehop, has committed to expanding access to smart-bikes on college campuses across the country.

As part of today’s announcement, university presidents, students, and NGOs are participating in a White House Summit with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Managing Director Christy Goldfuss to highlight the important work being done to act on climate at universities, voice support for a strong agreement in Paris, and discuss future steps that leaders in higher education can take toward a low-carbon, sustainable future. McCarthy will also participate in a Facebook live event with YouTuber Emily Graslie, the Chief Curiosity Correspondent of The Field Museum in Chicago, and host of the educational YouTube channel The Brain Scoop, to answer questions from students at over 140 campus watch parties across the nation.

The impacts of climate change are already being felt worldwide and President Obama recognizes the importance of collaboration and working across sectors to address the impacts of climate change. More than 150 countries representing around 90% of all global emissions have offered climate pledges and last month, 81 companies from across the American economy signed the American Businesses Act on Climate Pledge to demonstrate their commitment to climate action and show their support for a strong international climate agreement. Today’s actions are a great step forward in highlighting American leadership on climate action and ensuring a successful global agreement on climate change next month. 

American Campuses Act on Climate Pledge

Today, 218 campuses representing over 3.3 million students across the country are committing to take action on climate by signingAmerican Campuses on Climate Pledge:

“As institutions of higher education, we applaud the progress already made to promote clean energy and climate action as we seek a comprehensive, ambitious agreement at the upcoming United Nations Climate Negotiations in Paris. We recognize the urgent need to act now to avoid irreversible costs to our global community’s economic prosperity and public health and are optimistic that world leaders will reach an agreement to secure a transition to a low carbon future. Today our school pledges to accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy while enhancing sustainable and resilient practices across our campus.”   

Campuses joining the pledge include:

  1. Agnes Scott College
  2. American University
  3. Antioch University of New England
  4. Appalachian State University
  5. Auburn University
  6. Augsburg College
  7. Ball State University
  8. Bard College
  9. Bay de Noc Community College
  10. Bentley University
  11. Berea College
  12. Bergen Community College
  13. Boston Architectural College
  14. Boston University
  15. Bowdoin College
  16. Bowie State University
  17. Brandeis University
  18. Bristol Community College
  19. Brown University
  20. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
  21. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
  22. California State University Maritime Academy
  23. California State University San Marcos
  24. California State University, Bakersfield
  25. California State University, Channel Islands
  26. California State University, Chico
  27. California State University, Dominguez Hills
  28. California State University, East Bay
  29. California State University, Fresno
  30. California State University, Fullerton
  31. California State University, Long Beach
  32. California State University, Los Angeles
  33. California State University, Monterey Bay
  34. California State University, Northridge
  35. California State University, Sacramento
  36. California State University, San Bernardino
  37. California State University, Stanislaus
  38. Carnegie Mellon University
  39. Cedar Valley College
  40. Central Community College
  41. Chesapeake College
  42. Claflin University
  43. Clark Atlanta University
  44. Clarkson University
  45. Cleveland State University
  46. Colgate University
  47. College of Lake County
  48. Colorado State University
  49. Columbia University
  50. Coppin State University
  51. Cornell University
  52. Cuyahoga Community College
  53. Dartmouth College
  54. Denison University
  55. DePaul University
  56. Desert Research Institute
  57. Dickinson College
  58. Duke University
  59. Eastern Connecticut University
  60. Emory & Henry College
  61. Estrella Mountain Community College
  62. Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)
  63. Florida A&M University 
  64. Florida Climate Institute (FCI)
  65. Florida International University
  66. Frostburg State University
  67. Furman University
  68. Gateway Technical College
  69. George Mason University
  70. George Washington University
  71. Georgetown University
  72. Goshen College
  73. Goucher College
  74. Governors State University
  75. Hampshire College
  76. Harvard University
  77. Harvey Mudd College
  78. Haskell Indian Nations University
  79. Haverford College
  80. Howard University
  81. Humboldt State University (CSU)
  82. Iowa State University
  83. John Carroll University
  84. Johns Hopkins University
  85. Kaua'i Community College
  86. Kent State University
  87. Lane Community College
  88. Lasell College
  89. Lewis and Clark College
  90. Macalester College
  91. Maricopa County Community College District
  92. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  93. Middlebury College
  94. Michigan State University
  95. Millersville University
  96. Missouri University of Science and Technology
  97. Montgomery County Community College
  98. Morehouse College
  99. New York University
  100. Northeast Lakeview College (Alamo)
  101. NorthWest Arkansas Community College
  102. Northwest Vista College (Alamo)
  103. Northwestern University
  104. North Lake College
  105. Norwalk Community College
  106. Oberlin College
  107. Onondaga Community College
  108. Pacific University
  109. Palo Alto College  (Alamo)
  110. Paradise Valley Community College
  111. Paul Smith's College
  112. Pitzer College
  113. Pomona College
  114. Portland State University
  115. Princeton University
  116. Quinebaug Valley Community College
  117. Radford University 
  118. Ramapo College of New Jersey
  119. Randolph College
  120. Raritan Valley Community College
  121. Rochester Institute of Technology
  122. Rutgers University
  123. Salisbury University
  124. San Antonio College (Alamo)
  125. San Diego State University (CSU)
  126. San Francisco State University (CSU)
  127. San Jose State University (CSU)
  128. Santa Clara University
  129. School of International Training
  130. School of the Art Institute of Chicago
  131. Scottsdale Community College
  132. Shaw University
  133. Smith College
  134. Sonoma State University (CSU)
  135. Southern Connecticut State University
  136. Spelman College
  137. St. Phillip's College (Alamo)
  138. Stanford University
  139. Stonehill College
  140. SUNY Albany
  141. SUNY Binghamton
  142. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
  143. SUNY Cortland
  144. SUNY Empire State College
  145. SUNY Oswego
  146. SUNY Polytechnic Institute
  147. SUNY Sullivan
  148. SUNY University at Buffalo
  149. SUNY Upstate Medical
  150. Swarthmore College
  151. Syracuse University
  152. Temple University
  153. The New School
  154. The Ohio State University 
  155. Towson University
  156. Tufts University
  157. Tulane University
  158. Unity College
  159. Universities at Shady Grove
  160. University of Alaska - Southeast
  161. University of Arizona
  162. University of Baltimore
  163. University of California, Berkeley
  164. University of California, Davis
  165. University of California, Irvine
  166. University of California, Los Angeles
  167. University of California, Merced
  168. University of California, Riverside
  169. University of California, San Diego
  170. University of California, San Francisco
  171. University of California, Santa Barbara
  172. University of California, Santa Cruz
  173. University of Colorado
  174. University of Connecticut
  175. University of Delaware
  176. University of Hawaii - Kauai Community College
  177. University of Hawaii - Hawai'I Community College
  178. University of Hawaii - Hilo
  179. University of Hawaii - Honolulu Community College
  180. University of Hawaii - Kapi'olani Community College
  181. University of Hawaii - Leeward Community College
  182. University of Hawaii - Manoa
  183. University of Hawaii - Maui Community College
  184. University of Hawaii - West O'ahu
  185. University of Hawaii - Windward Community College
  186. University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
  187. University of Maryland - Eastern Shore
  188. University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences
  189. University of Maryland University College
  190. University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  191. University of Maryland, College Park
  192. University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  193. University of Michigan
  194. University of Minnesota
  195. University of Minnesota, Morris
  196. University of Mississippi
  197. University of Nevada, Reno
  198. University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  199. University of New Hampshire
  200. University of North Carolina Wilmington
  201. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
  202. University of Northern Iowa (UNI)
  203. University of Notre Dame
  204. University of Pennsylvania
  205. University of San Francisco
  206. University of Washington
  207. University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
  208. Vassar College
  209. Vermont Law School
  210. Villanova University
  211. Wake Technical Community College
  212. Wells College
  213. Wesleyan College
  214. Wesleyan University
  215. Western Technical College
  216. Willamette University
  217. Williams College
  218. Yale University