COP26

EAUC – is the Alliance for Sustainability Leadership for Education in the UK and Ireland

As Observers at COP26, we are university, college and student climate leaders and EAUC sustainability professionals. We are here to represent our 7000 members and ensure that education is at the heart of climate action.

View our daily updates from COP26

Our Delegation

Our delegation is a mixture of staff, trustees and fellows. The following are representing EAUC at COP26:

Week 1

• Iain Patton, CEO
• Fiona Goodwin, Director of Operations & Planning
• Manveer Gill, Student Climate Commissioner
• Katie Major, Student Climate Commissioner
• Jill Burnett, Carbon & Estates Project Officer
• Rebecca Petford, Scotland Manager
• John Wincott, Trustee (Fife College)
• Zoe Robinson, Trustee (Keele University)
• Pete Smith, Trustee (North East Scotland College)

Week 2

• Iain Patton, CEO
• Lucy Patterson, Curriculum Project Officer
• Damian Dallton, Trustee (University College Dublin)
• John French, Trustee (Glasgow School of Art & University of Cambridge)
• Eunice Simmons, Trustee (University of Chester)
• John Thorne, Fellow (Glasgow School of Art)
• Jamie Pearson, Fellow (Edinburgh Napier University)
• Fraser Lovie, Fellow (University of Aberdeen)
• Paulo Cruz, Fellow (Glasgow Caledonian University)

EAUC at COP26

Our delegation will be attending a variety of events in both the Blue Zone and the Green Zone at COP26. The key events are:

• Launch of the Department of Education Sustainability Unit Strategy with the Secretary of State for Education, The Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP
• Education & Environment Ministers Summit
• Race to Zero Roundtable (official partners only)
• Co-hosting a reception with Glasgow School of Art for education partners (by invitation only)
• Supporting our global partners in the Morocco Pavilion, Japan Pavilion and the US Climate Action Centre
• Supporting our strategic partners such as SOS-UK, Youth4Climate, WWF, and the COP26 Universities Network 

A full list of events is available here.

About us

Our passion is to create a world with sustainability at its heart. That's our vision. We exist to lead and empower the post-16 education sector to make sustainability 'just good business'. 

Membership of the EAUC comprises higher and further educational institutions, with a combined budget of some £43 billion, responsible for educating over 4.5 million students supported by over half a million staff. Learn more here.

We Believe 

• That UK and Irish education should be a global leader in sustainability
• That educational institutions have a responsibility as anchors in their communities to be agents of change
• That education has a unique opportunity to transform lives and communities
• That education is at the heart of global sustainability
• That every student should have access to sustainability education
• That education should reflect best practice in operational sustainability
• In being flexible and adaptable to find solutions for a resilient future
• In the value of international collaboration

We call on COP26 to ensure:

1.            Net-zero

That UK and Irish Governments expect and enable all colleges and universities to become net-zero by 2030 (for scopes 1 & 2) and for scope 3 by the relevant national timescale and 2050 at the latest. Plus, that Governments facilitate colleges and universities to publicly report emissions using a consistent and comparable methodology.

2.            Investment

That UK and Irish Governments provide investment at scale to enable the transition of university and college estates to become Net Zero, and support the adaptation actions for them to be resilient to the disruptions which climate change is causing.

3.            Leadership

That UK and Irish Governments expect every college and university to have a nominated member of the Executive, Governance and staff who are responsible for institutional climate and sustainability performance, and that, working with the recognised student body at all relevant committee structures, are responsible for the creation and implementation of an institution climate action plan, no later than 2022.

4.            Education and Skills

That UK and Irish Governments expect climate and sustainability education and skills to be integrated into all disciplines across colleges and universities curricula alongside climate and sustainability career pathways in place no later than 2023 with urgent training being provided to upskill teachers and academics where required.

COY16 Student Climate Commissioners Statement

The Student Commissioners of the Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education have published their COY16 Student Statement. Supported by the Student Commissioners experiences to date and with input and feedback from student focus groups, the COY16 Student Statement includes nine demands to address identified gaps or issues within the UK FHE sector in tackling the climate and ecological emergency. 

1. Mandatory Emissions Reporting for all Colleges and Universities
2. Mandatory Climate Education and Embedding of Education for Sustainable Development Within Curriculum
3. Government Home Improvement Schemes To Be Based On Council Tax Bands and Provide Support For Students
4. Student Engagement in Sustainability Target Setting and Delivery
5. Improving Access to Education Through Technology
6. All Capital Building Projects are led by Fabric-First principles and Passivhaus standards or equal
7. Partnerships and Funding available for educational institutions to support  Net Zero targets
8. Partnerships and Funding - Research funding bodies should demand net-zero targets to be in place and minimise travel requirements
9. Partnerships and Funding - Learning, Teaching and Research - create and support a Green Skills Hub

Some of our flagship work: 

Daily Updates from COP26
EAUC COP26 Campaign
Pre-COP26 Overview
COY16 Student Statement
Race to Zero for Universities and Colleges
The International Green Gown Awards
The SDG Accord
The Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education