The ACUPCC Implementer

Dear Implementation Liaisons,

September was an exciting month for the ACUPCC, with the first group of signatories submitting their Climate Action Plans. Although many institutions requested extensions, more than 100 plans have been submitted to date. This is a landmark accomplishment, representing the first sector-wide effort in the U.S. to publicly establish concrete goals to address greenhouse gas emissions. An emerging theme from the CAPs is a shift toward renewable energy, and, below, Jim Martin-Schramm lays out the financial issues driving efforts to bring wind energy to Luther College. Schools that are still in the process of preparing their greenhouse gas inventories should check out a new offer from greenerApplications - the first 20 signatories who sign up will gain use of their greenerAccountant software on a "pay what you can" basis for one year. The ACUPCC also recently agreed to partner with the United Nations Environment Programme's Climate Neutral Network, which aims to share best practices from schools across the globe and provide greater linkages to international actions around climate change, such as the first "Go Climate Neutral Day" held on September 23rd. Finally, exciting resources from the 2009 Climate Leadership Summit are now available online, including videos, presentations, and interviews, and you can join the hundreds of people now following the ACUPCC on Twitter by checking out the new Twitter feed on the ACUPCC homepage.

With regards,
Toni Nelson

Climate Policy: The Current State of Play
Promoting Climate Neutrality at Universities Across the Globe
Campaign for Environmental Literacy Fills Critical Gap
Financing a Large Wind Turbine Project: The Luther College Experience

Climate Policy: The Current State of Play

by Karen Florini, Director of Strategic Alliances, National Climate Campaign, Environmental Defense Fund

On September 30, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) introduced the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act, which would create an economy-wide system for capping and reducing America's emissions of greenhouse gases. The bill is generally patterned on the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) bill (also known as the Waxman-Markey bill), which the House of Representatives passed in June. Continued progress by the Senate on climate legislation is important to build momentum and signal U.S. leadership as the nations of the world gather on December 9 in Copenhagen for the next round of climate-treaty negotiations. It is crucial for climate-action supporters to urge the Senate to "put the pedal to the metal" and move climate legislation forward - pronto... Read more.

Promoting Climate Neutrality at Universities Across the Globe

by Xenya Cherny Scanlon, Information Officer,
Division of Communications and Public Information, United Nations Environment Programme

How can a university in Asia or a college in Africa get the best and latest knowledge about climate neutrality? How can ACUPCC members share their achievements in tackling climate change with the rest of the world? Can low-carbon, green campuses truly go global? A new partnership between the ACUPCC and the Climate Neutral Network led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) seeks to achieve just that: promoting international knowledge-sharing of academic expertise to accelerate the global transition towards low-carbon economies and societies. The partnership between UNEP and ACUPCC, announced on September 23rd "Go Climate Neutral Day" held as part of Global Climate Week, will bring together UNEP's expertise and platform for global outreach and ACUPCC's technical capacity in promoting climate neutrality on campuses and within curricula... Read more.

Campaign for Environmental Literacy Fills Critical Gap

by Jim Elder, Director, Campaign for Environmental Literacy

The Campaign for Environmental Literacy (CEL) was founded in 2004 to fully engage the federal government in closing the nation's growing environmental and sustainability literacy gap. CEL provides leadership and coordination to catalyze advocacy efforts for environmental literacy, and experience to date has confirmed our hope that environmental and sustainability education can attract bi-partisan and widespread support both within Congress and among the public. CEL has succeeded in getting the University Sustainability Program authorized and two other bills have been introduced. In addition, CEL helped restore $80 million in environmental education funding cuts and increase this funding by $11 million. We have worked extensively with Second Nature, the American Association of Community Colleges, hundreds of ACUPCC members, and many others to make this all happen. This article provides an update on legislation and appropriations regarding sustainability and higher education... Read more.

Financing a Large Wind Turbine Project: The Luther College Experience

by Jim Martin-Schramm, Professor of Religion, Luther College

One of the goals in Luther College's new five-year strategic plan is to reduce the college's carbon footprint by 50 percent. Luther College, located in Decorah, IA, has already achieved a15.5 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions via a $1.5 million investment in energy efficiency. We hope to reduce our emissions by another 15 percent through an investment in a 1.5 - 1.65 MW wind turbine near the Luther campus. This article discusses the two options Luther has explored to finance the project. The first financing option involves Luther College owning the turbine and consuming the electricity on campus. The second option involves Luther College Wind Energy Project, LLC (LCWEP) owning the turbine and selling the electricity to an investor-owned utility. In both cases, Luther would be able to reduce its carbon footprint by either retaining or acquiring from LCWEP at a nominal cost the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) associated with the turbine's electricity generation... Read more.

Membership in AASHE provides excellent value for signatories of the ACUPCC, offering access to a rich array of online resources and numerous opportunities for networking, information sharing, collaboration, and professional development. Join now!

Opportunities

greenerApplications GHG Inventory Software
One year offer to "pay what you can" for first 20 signatories.

Advancing Green Building in Higher Education
AASHE membership discounts available for the first 100 under-resourced schools that sign up.

Events

Bioneers Conference Pre-Conference Workshop: Education for Action in the Age of Climate Change
October 15, 2009
San Rafael, CA
Signatory Discount

Campus Sustainability Day
October 21, 2009

International Day of Climate Action
October 22, 2009

Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium
October 26-27, 2009
Burlington, VT

Greenbuild
November 11-13, 2009
Phoenix, AZ

Resources

Climate Neutral Campus Report

Critical Path Issues on the Way to Carbon Neutrality

Leading Profound Change: A Resource for Presidents and Chancellors (PDF)

Climate Action Planning Wiki

ACUPCC 2008 Annual Report

ACUPCC Reporting System

Implementation Guide (PDF)

Climate Action Plans

Academic Guidance Document for ACUPCC Institutions

Energy Financing Toolkit

Webinars

Clean Air-Cool Planet Webinar Series
September-November, 2009

Powered by the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment
The ACUPCC Implementer
Issue 13, October 5, 2009


The ACUPCC Implementer

Dear Implementation Liaisons, September was an exciting month for the ACUPCC, with the first group of signatories submitting their Climate Action Plans. Although many institutions requested extensions, more than 100 plans have been submitted to date. This is a landmark accomplishment, representing the first sector-wide effort in the U.S. to publicly establish concrete goals to address greenhouse gas emissions. An emerging theme from the CAPs is a shift toward renewable energy, and, below, Jim Martin-Schramm lays out the financial issues driving efforts to bring wind energy to Luther College. Schools that are still in the process of preparing their greenhouse gas inventories should check out a new offer from greenerApplications - the first 20 signatories who sign up will gain use of their greenerAccountant software on a "pay what you can" basis for one year. The ACUPCC also recently agreed to partner with the United Nations Environment Programme's Climate Neutral Network, which aims to share best practices from schools across the globe and provide greater linkages to international actions around climate change, such as the first "Go Climate Neutral Day" held on September 23rd. Finally, exciting resources from the 2009 Climate Leadership Summit are now available online, including videos, presentations, and interviews, and you can join the hundreds of people now following the ACUPCC on Twitter by checking out the new Twitter feed on the ACUPCC homepage. With regards, Toni Nelson Table of Contents Climate Policy: The Current State of Play Promoting Climate Neutrality at Universities Across the Globe Campaign for Environmental Literacy Fills Critical Gap Financing a Large Wind Turbine Project: The Luther College Experience Climate Policy: The Current State of Play by Karen Florini, Director of Strategic Alliances, National Climate Campaign, Environmental Defense Fund On September 30, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) introduced the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act, which would create an economy-wide system for capping and reducing America's emissions of greenhouse gases. The bill is generally patterned on the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) bill (also known as the Waxman-Markey bill), which the House of Representatives passed in June. Continued progress by the Senate on climate legislation is important to build momentum and signal U.S. leadership as the nations of the world gather on December 9 in Copenhagen for the next round of climate-treaty negotiations. It is crucial for climate-action supporters to urge the Senate to "put the pedal to the metal" and move climate legislation forward - pronto... Read more. Promoting Climate Neutrality at Universities Across the Globe by Xenya Cherny Scanlon, Information Officer, Division of Communications and Public Information, United Nations Environment Programme How can a university in Asia or a college in Africa get the best and latest knowledge about climate neutrality? How can ACUPCC members share their achievements in tackling climate change with the rest of the world? Can low-carbon, green campuses truly go global? A new partnership between the ACUPCC and the Climate Neutral Network led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) seeks to achieve just that: promoting international knowledge-sharing of academic expertise to accelerate the global transition towards low-carbon economies and societies. The partnership between UNEP and ACUPCC, announced on September 23rd "Go Climate Neutral Day" held as part of Global Climate Week, will bring together UNEP's expertise and platform for global outreach and ACUPCC's technical capacity in promoting climate neutrality on campuses and within curricula... Read more. Campaign for Environmental Literacy Fills Critical Gap by Jim Elder, Director, Campaign for Environmental Literacy The Campaign for Environmental Literacy (CEL) was founded in 2004 to fully engage the federal government in closing the nation's growing environmental and sustainability literacy gap. CEL provides leadership and coordination to catalyze advocacy efforts for environmental literacy, and experience to date has confirmed our hope that environmental and sustainability education can attract bi-partisan and widespread support both within Congress and among the public. CEL has succeeded in getting the University Sustainability Program authorized and two other bills have been introduced. In addition, CEL helped restore $80 million in environmental education funding cuts and increase this funding by $11 million. We have worked extensively with Second Nature, the American Association of Community Colleges, hundreds of ACUPCC members, and many others to make this all happen. This article provides an update on legislation and appropriations regarding sustainability and higher education... Read more. Financing a Large Wind Turbine Project: The Luther College Experience by Jim Martin-Schramm, Professor of Religion, Luther College One of the goals in Luther College's new five-year strategic plan is to reduce the college's carbon footprint by 50 percent. Luther College, located in Decorah, IA, has already achieved a15.5 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions via a $1.5 million investment in energy efficiency. We hope to reduce our emissions by another 15 percent through an investment in a 1.5 - 1.65 MW wind turbine near the Luther campus. This article discusses the two options Luther has explored to finance the project. The first financing option involves Luther College owning the turbine and consuming the electricity on campus. The second option involves Luther College Wind Energy Project, LLC (LCWEP) owning the turbine and selling the electricity to an investor-owned utility. In both cases, Luther would be able to reduce its carbon footprint by either retaining or acquiring from LCWEP at a nominal cost the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) associated with the turbine's electricity generation... Read more.	Membership in AASHE provides excellent value for signatories of the ACUPCC, offering access to a rich array of online resources and numerous opportunities for networking, information sharing, collaboration, and professional development. Join now! Opportunities greenerApplications GHG Inventory Software One year offer to "pay what you can" for first 20 signatories. Advancing Green Building in Higher Education AASHE membership discounts available for the first 100 under-resourced schools that sign up. Events Bioneers Conference Pre-Conference Workshop: Education for Action in the Age of Climate Change October 15, 2009 San Rafael, CA Signatory Discount Campus Sustainability Day October 21, 2009 International Day of Climate Action October 22, 2009 Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium October 26-27, 2009 Burlington, VT Greenbuild November 11-13, 2009 Phoenix, AZ Resources *Climate Neutral Campus Report* *Critical Path Issues on the Way to Carbon Neutrality* Leading Profound Change: A Resource for Presidents and Chancellors (PDF) Climate Action Planning Wiki ACUPCC 2008 Annual Report ACUPCC Reporting System Implementation Guide (PDF) Climate Action Plans Academic Guidance Document for ACUPCC Institutions Energy Financing Toolkit Webinars Clean Air-Cool Planet Webinar Series September-November, 2009
Powered by the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment The ACUPCC Implementer Issue 13, October 5, 2009

Dear Implementation Liaisons,

Table of Contents

Climate Policy: The Current State of Play

Promoting Climate Neutrality at Universities Across the Globe

Campaign for Environmental Literacy Fills Critical Gap

Financing a Large Wind Turbine Project: The Luther College Experience