IUCA Co-hosts ACE Workshop in London Climate Action Week

International Universities Climate Alliance (IUCA), University College London’s (UCL) Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education, and the Network of Climate Networks co-hosted a workshop during London Climate Action Week (LCAW). The workshop provided an opportunity to build on the outcomes of the SB64 ACE Technical Workshop and Dialogues held in Bonn, by facilitating discussions on how higher education institutions (HEI) can contribute in shaping the next phase of ACE.

Alison Kitson, Programme Director for UCL’s Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education, welcomed everyone to UCL. She then handed the floor over to Fleur Newman, UNFCCC ACE lead and Stephen Davison, Director of Strategy, Cambridge Zero and the co-convenor of the Higher Education Network of Networks (NoN). Fleur provided an overview of the current development of the ACE Action Plan and the opportunities for HEIs to contribute. Building on this, Stephen reflected on the evolution of ACE over time and emphasised the important, yet often underrepresented, role of HEIs within these frameworks. Together, their introductions set the scene for an interactive discussion on how HEIs are already advancing ACE priorities and how the sector can strengthen its contribution to implementation, knowledge exchange, capacity building, and reporting in the years ahead.

Discussions illustrated the breadth of existing activity across HEIs, while also identifying opportunities for greater coordination, and more effective mechanisms for sharing knowledge and demonstrating impact. Rose Armour, Secretariat Director at IUCA, highlighted, “We brought together five climate alliances, IUCA, EAUC, ACU, NoN, and UK UCN representing hundreds of universities globally and emphasised the collective strength of the sector and its commitment to advancing the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) agenda.” A workshop summary will be prepared and circulated to participants’ for feedback and to determine next steps moving forward.

A huge thank you to everyone that participated and to UCL for their hospitality and support with the venue.

Organisations that attended:

  • Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) | UNFCCC
  • Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
  • British Council
  • Cambridge Zero
  • EAUC
  • International Universities Climate Alliance (IUCA)
  • Network of Climate Networks
  • Office for Climate Education (OCE)
  • QS
  • SOS UK
  • UCL Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education
  • UK Universities Climate Network (UK UCN)
  • University of Exeter