The 2022 Global University Climate Forum is open for application. Led by the University of Pennsylvania on behalf of the International Sustainable Campus Network, the Forum brings students together to share ideas, learn, connect, and act on the global imperative of addressing climate change. Interdisciplinary teams of 2 to 5 students can apply by submitting their idea for a project that will yield measurable results over the course of six months. The application deadline has been extended to Friday, 1 April 2022, and student teams will be expected to participate from April through October. Please visit this site for more information about the Forum and the application process. All applications must be received through the online platform.
The Global University Climate Forum started in 2009 as a way to encourage students attending the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen to consider how to connect local action with global negotiations. Since then, events have been held in Rio during the 2012 Earth Summit, in Paris during the Paris Climate negotiations, and online in 2022.
Nearly 600 students from 134 universities in 44 countries participated in the 2020 Forum. Those who completed the full program contributed to the final publication, The Knowledge Sector: The role of Higher Education Institutions in addressing Global Environmental Challenges. With a foreword by Patricia Espinosa and Next Steps by Christiana Figueres, the current and previous Executive Secretaries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, this free online publication showcases the activities and remarkable contributions of the student participants and how we can and should rely on universities to research, teach, and garner action for transformative change. The publication was launched with a panel discussion called Educated Climate Solutions featuring renowned United Nations Scholar Maria Ivanova (UMass Boston) with Yolanda Kakabadse (former Ecuadorian Minister of the Environment and former president of WWF International), Jennie Stephens (Northeastern University), and Koko Warner (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).
Led by the University of Pennsylvania, the Global University Climate Forum is a program under the International Sustainable Campus Network in collaboration with an extensive and growing list of university and network partners and supporters. Melissa Brown Goodall is the Director of the Forum and Karla Terroba Rodriguez is the Program Coordinator.