Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning declares climate emergency

Moved by the Dean, Professor Robyn Dowling and seconded by the Chair of the ADP Sustainability Team, Dr Aysu Kuru, the full declaration is as follows:

That The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning declares a climate emergency following the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2021 6th Assessment Report, which warns that climate change as a consequence of human influence has a warming effect the atmosphere, oceans and land at a rate that is unprecedented;

Acknowledging that human-induced climate change is the main driver for weather extremes across the globe, with observable evidence of change showing extreme heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, tropical cyclones and fires;

Heading to probable temperature rise between 2.5°C and 4°C doubling carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the best estimate being 3°C, while the warming limit of 1.5°C is likely to be reached in the middle of the 21st century;

Recognising that climate scientists have found in order to completely avoid warming of 1.5 °C, and to achieve that the world would need to cut carbon emissions by 50% by the year 2030 and by 100% by the year 2050;

Affirming that addressing climate emergency is critical to The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning`s core functions;

Committing to educating our students across the curricula about climate emergency and design responses to it;

Committing to addressing climate emergency through our collective research agenda at various scales and disciplines;

Committing to integrating equity, Indigenous perspectives, recognising and learning from other systems of knowledge in addressing climate emergency, acknowledging that responsibility for, and the impacts of, climate change are not equally shared; 

Committing to collaborate with stakeholders and partners on addressing climate emergency;

Supporting The University of Sydney’s Sustainability Strategy through teaching, research and operations within the School, and efforts to achieve carbon neutrality across the University’s operations;

As a result, The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning acknowledges the increasing emission reductions made under COP26 Glasgow and that global emissions must plummet this decade to avoid further catastrophic climate impacts.