Conference: Catalyzing University Climate Action Workshop

气候变化是我们这个时代的主要和紧迫的挑战之一。大学、学院和其他高等学府嵌入国家结构，并广泛分布在全国各地。这次为期两天的会议将汇集来自全国各地与气候有关的学院和大学的高级官员，以及联邦机构和利益相关者组织的选定代表，探讨利用高等教育的集体贡献来应对气候危机的机制。会议的目标将是分享最佳做法；改善机构和政府之间与气候有关的沟通；促进高等教育机构以及高等教育机构和政府之间有目的、协调和集体的行动。讨论的问题将包括：一个将校园气候行动领导人彼此联系起来并与联邦政府的努力联系起来的正式网络将如何加强个别校园正在进行的工作？高等教育机构网络如何在学术界内部和这些机构所在的地理区域激发对气候挑战的更多反应？创建、构建、支持和维护这样一个机构网络的最佳方式是什么？最后，该网络将如何与现有网络交互？这项工作的更广泛影响是加强了高等教育机构之间的联系、信息交流和潜在的资源共享，从社区大学到关于气候变化主题的研究密集型机构，以及应对气候变化对国家构成的挑战。这种互动将有助于使高等教育机构以气候为重点的努力更加协调、有效、公平，并与美国各地的校园、社区和决策者更相关。另一个影响是降低气候行动的障碍，并确定大学参与者在应对气候变化及其挑战的联邦和州项目中可以在哪里弥合差距。会议：催化大学气候行动研讨会将在华盛顿特区举行，为期两天。它涉及大约100名与会者的讨论和规划，其中大多数将是来自高等教育机构的代表。与会者还将包括联邦机构的代表，他们与学术机构就气候相关问题进行互动。会议将集中讨论四个主题，以组织对在全国各地校园内开展的各种活动的讨论。它们是：(1)校园可持续努力，以减少排放和其他旨在增加可持续性的活动；(2)气候教育--包括正式和非正式教育--以及劳动力发展；(3)公共气候服务，帮助各州、市政当局、当地工业和其他合作伙伴评估气候风险，评估适应和缓解战略，并确定可实施的行动，以实现其气候目标；以及(4)开发、示范和测试校园气候缓解和适应的新技术、行为和战略，并与研究人员和创新合作伙伴合作，将新的想法和发展转化为商业可用的解决方案。会议的第一天及其发言将进行现场直播，以最大限度地方便所有感兴趣的各方访问，并允许与召集人进行沟通。第二天将有突破小组，包括那些亲自出席的人。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

Climate change is one of the main and urgent challenges of our time. Universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher learning are embedded in the national fabric and widely distributed across the country. This two-day conference will bring senior officials from a diverse set of climate-engaged colleges and universities from across the country together with selected representatives of federal agencies and stakeholder organizations to explore mechanisms for leveraging the collective contributions of higher education for addressing the climate crisis. Goals of the meeting will be to share best practices; improve climate-related communication among institutions and the government; and facilitate intentional, coordinated, and collective actions of institutions of higher education as well as those between higher education and the government. Questions addressed will include: How would a formal network that connects campus climate action leaders to each other and to federal efforts strengthen the work being undertaken on individual campuses? How could a network of institutions of higher education stimulate additional responses to the climate challenge both inside academia and in the geographic regions in which these institutions reside? What are the best ways to create, structure, support, and maintain such a network of institutions? And finally, how will the network interact with existing networks? Broader impacts of the work are strengthening the ties, information exchange, and potential sharing of resources between institutions of higher learning, from community colleges to research intensive institutions on the topic of climate change and addressing the challenges it poses to the Nation. The interaction will help make climate-focused efforts at institutions of higher education more coordinated, effective, equitable, and more relevant to campuses, communities, and to decision makers across the US. An additional impact is lowering barriers to climate action and identifying where university actors can bridge gaps in federal and state programs that address climate change and its challenges. The conference: The Catalyzing University Climate Action Workshop will be a two-day meeting held in Washington DC. It involves discussion and planning among approximately 100 attendees, most of whom will be representatives from institutions of higher education. Attendees will also include representatives from federal agencies who interact with academic institutions on climate-related issues. The meeting will concentrate on four themes to organize discussions of the diverse activities that take place on campuses across the country. They are: (1) Campus sustainability efforts towards reduced emissions and other activities aimed at increasing sustainability; (2) Climate education—both formal and informal education—as well as workforce development; (3) Public climate services that help states, municipalities, local industry, and other partners assess climate risks and evaluate adaptation and mitigation strategies as well as identify implementable actions for meeting their climate goals; and (4) Developing, demonstrating, and testing new technologies, behaviors, and strategies for climate mitigation and adaptation on campuses as well as working with researchers and innovation partners to translate new ideas and developments into commercially available solutions. The first day of the conference and its presentations will be live streamed to maximize the accessibility of all interested parties and allow communication with the conveners. The second day will have breakout groups involving those present in person. These will focus on forging a plan for developing a network of climate-active academic institutions and how it could be structured, implemented, and sustained.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.