In my role as International Lead for the UK Universities Climate Network (UUCN), I co-convened two workshops at COP27 for senior higher education representatives from around the world to discuss how we can better coordinate our work to support climate action. Building on our success in mobilising the UK higher education sector in support for COP26, I wondered whether it would be possible to take this model to an international level.
It is a busy space, and it is getting busier – a lot of the networks didn’t even exist five years ago. Universities are varied, the context they work in is varied, the structures, outputs and communities are varied, and no one network can do everything. The broader the representation within any network, the harder it is to create focus.
I've written a post on the UUCN blog to share my experience with holding these events, the key outcomes and thoughts on next steps. It's an exciting time and there is much enthusiasm - we need to make sure that whatever we do brings greater added value by building on and supporting activity already taking place, and so we'll be working on this over the next few months as we prepare for COP28.
Steve Davison is Director of Strategy for Cambridge Zero at the University of Cambridge and International Lead for the UK Universities Climate Network (UUCN).
