UC Davis’s Sustainability office is host to two fellowship programs for the ‘22-’23 academic year. The Bonnie Reiss Climate Action Fellows and The University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) Climate and Environmental Justice Fellow. This team of six graduate and undergraduate fellows joined UC Davis Sustainability in Fall 2022, tasked with improving the sustainability of the Davis and Health campus operations. Each fellow is focused on improving a different facet of sustainability and climate action planning, including equitable engagement, climate resiliency, carbon neutrality, and environmental justice. 

In the spirit of Sustainable Development Goal Action Week which occurred March 6-March 10, 2023, our fellows describe how their work embodies Goal 13: Take Urgent Action To Combat Climate Change and its Impacts. 

Sustainability Everywhere, for Everyone 

Sustainable Development Goals Action and Awareness Week is a global movement by colleges, universities, and partner organizations to promote information on the SDGs and inspire change. SDGs are a part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that was signed by all UN members in 2015. Totalling 17 Goals and 169 Targets, the UN SDGs are a global partnership and call to action pushing forward imperative objectives to protect the planet, ensure access to clean water and energy, decrease inequalities, and more. With 2030 approaching, The UN Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) is committed to engaging stakeholders and supporting outreach, advocacy, capacity building and implementation efforts.

Resilience, Now and Forever 

Natalie Kataoka has conducted research on climate hazards that may impact UC Davis communities and infrastructure. These hazards include: drought, flooding, wildfire, sea level rise and heat. Her priority is the development of UC Davis’s first Climate Resiliency Plan, with the goal of ensuring campus operations are sustainable and serve the institution’s most vulnerable populations. Among the most valued stakeholders are the students the academic campus serves and the patients of the health campus. Target 13.1  perfectly describes Natalie’s work; “Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters…”.

I absolutely agree that UC Davis as an academic institution must act with urgency to combat climate change, as stated in SDG Goal 13. Climate hazards increase in severity and frequency every year, and as a first step, UC Davis identified there is a need to adapt. My job, step two, is to create a plan that will detail how the campus can improve the resiliency of its systems. It is a largely collaborative process that requires involvement from a variety of stakeholders to ensure the drafting process is equitable and reflects the needs of the community it represents."

Equity in a Changing Climate 

Trish Reardon is conducting research focused on developing metrics to evaluate the impact of the UC Framework for Incorporating Environmental & Climate Justice into Climate Action on advancing equity for on-campus communities. She is also researching UN SDG Targets relevant to university level climate action planning, as well as supporting the creation of the health and academic campus first-ever climate-focused resiliency plan, ensuring the plan addresses climate impacts and potential inequities on our most vulnerable populations. Through community collaboration and engagement, her priority is updating campus climate action plans to integrate the Framework’s principles and best practices for proactive climate and environmental justice action.

Goal 13’s third target is to Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. I believe this target aligns with core components of UC Davis’s sustainability goals, including promoting equity among traditionally marginalized groups. Fostering education and awareness of climate change impact and resiliency, especially at the community level, is a critical element in advancing environmental justice goals. By using best practices to engage and elevate diverse affected stakeholders, UC Davis can pursue continuous integration of environmental justice in its climate planning in a meaningful way.”

Ambition for Zero-Emission

Annika Krueger is working on decarbonization and Scope 3 Emissions for the academic and health campus. Scope 3 emissions are upstream emissions that are not directly emitted from UC Davis but are indirectly related. Some examples include the emissions emitted by student and employee commuting, and the transportation of goods and waste. Her work embodies the improvement of “human and institutional capacity on climate mitigation” detailed by Target 13.3, as UC Davis continues on its path to zero-carbon emissions. 

Goal 13 is focused on taking action to combat climate change and decrease the amount of Greenhouse Gases emitted into the atmosphere. I am working on understanding how both the academic and health campuses can further decrease their Greenhouse Gas footprint. Scope 3 emissions are hard to account for since they are indirectly related to UC Davis but my goal is to figure out the best strategy to calculate these emissions. Once we have calculated emissions, we can work on the best mitigation strategies to limit the amount of emissions associated with UC Davis."

Looking Ahead

The Fellows will continue their work until the end of their terms in June, having laid foundational relationships and created a variety of resources for future Fellows to reference and build on. Climate Action Fellows will present the culmination of their work in poster format at the conclusion of their fellowship. UC3 Climate and Environmental Justice Fellows will share developed tools to help other campuses sustainability staff, Fellows and students implement DEIJ into existing and future climate action plans. Both UC Davis Health and Main Campus are working with the consulting company Introba to identify climate hazards and begin stakeholder engagement. UC Davis plans to finalize its Climate Resiliency Plan by the end of 2023, in accordance with the White House Health Sector Climate Pledge. 

More Information 

• Action and Awareness Week: https://universityglobalcoalition.org/sdgactionweek/ 
• Events: https://universityglobalcoalition.org/events-calendar/ 
• Sustainable Development Goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals 
• Goal 13 Overview: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal13
• Goal 13 Progress Report: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/Goal-13/ 
• UC Davis Voluntary University Review (VUR) on the UN SDGs: https://vur.ucdavis.edu