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Purdue faculty senate passes resolution calling on university to make clear climate commitments

The Purdue University faculty senate passed two resolutions calling for clear climate commitments from the school. (FILE PHOTO WBAA News/Ben Thorp)
The Purdue University faculty senate passed two resolutions calling for clear climate commitments from the school. (FILE PHOTO WBAA News/Ben Thorp)

The Purdue University faculty senate passed two resolutions on Monday calling on the school to take action on climate change.

The call is part of increased efforts to persuade Purdue to make clear climate commitments.

One resolution calls for Purdue to join the Greater Lafayette Climate Plan, which regional officials adopted earlier this year.

The second resolution asks the school to make a commitment to carbon neutrality in line with its Big Ten peers, mirroring similar calls from students and faculty members of the Purdue Climate Action Collective.

Amanda Darbyshire is chair of the faculty Sustainability Committee. She said the committee removed language calling for the university to commit to carbon neutrality by 2030.

“I know there was some concern that the 2030 date was too ambitious, so we have removed the date and changed the language to say ‘by a date aligned with our Big Ten peers’,” she said.

A majority of Big Ten schools have commitments to achieving carbon neutrality by at least 2050.

Darbyshire also clarified that the adoption of the resolution endorsing the Greater Lafayette Climate Action Plan did not mean that the university could not also create its own plan.

“This does not mean we have to follow the plan of the county and the cities,” she said. “This allows Purdue to make our own plan and just be open to conversation.”

In a statement following the vote, Michael Johnston with the Purdue Climate Action Collective said that the group “applauded” the faculty senate’s move to pass both resolutions.

“The message is now clear and completely consistent: The students and faculty all want the university to act on this issue,” he wrote. “So we now hope that President Chiang and the Board of Trustees will take notice of these resolutions and adopt swift action.”

In a written statement, a Purdue spokesperson said that the university is “always open to new conversations and ideas around climate initiatives”, pointing to the ongoing partnership with Duke Energy to explore nuclear energy options.