Recent wildfires, heatwaves and flooding in BC have made it clearer than ever that climate change is impacting everyone.

What: UBCO Climate / Justice Teach-In
Who:  UBCO campus community: students, faculty, staff and alumni
When: Tuesday, March 29, from 6 to 8 pm
Venue: Free online virtual event

While UBC’s Okanagan campus released its Climate Action Plan in December, it’s now turning to its own community, both on- and off-campus, to help turn plans into action.

The campus community is participating for the first time in the global Climate / Justice Teach-In event, an educational forum that was developed to discuss and debate complex issues. It will be focusing on how research on campus is contributing solutions to the climate crisis as well as how all community members can take specific actions to reduce emissions from food, travel and waste.

“Recent wildfires, heatwaves and flooding in BC have made it clearer than ever that climate change is impacting everyone and that the consequences of inaction are dire,” says Dr. Rehan Sadiq, UBC Okanagan’s Provost and Vice-President, Academic pro tem. “As a research-intensive and community-focused campus, UBCO is the perfect place to marry the latest technological innovations, social insights and individual actions to address this existential threat.”

Lesley Cormack, UBC Okanagan’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal, agrees and points to the campus’ proven track record on sustainability.

“Whether it’s the first Passivhaus student residence building in Canada, or our district energy program, we have a demonstrated history of being strongly committed to sustainability,” she says. “But we also invite discussion on ways to build on that great foundation”

The teach-in will consist of two sessions. The first will feature concurrent panels of UBCO faculty members from a variety of disciplines across the campus. From Indigenous perspectives to humanities, economics, engineering and materials science, panellists will tackle complex, interconnected climate and justice issues and their solutions. The second session will begin with a panel of UBCO staff introducing the newly launched Climate Action Plan 2030, and participants will be asked to share their views and suggestions for achieving ambitious, as well as equitable, action on climate change at UBCO.

“Coming up with our Climate Action Plan is just the first step,” says Dr. Sadiq. “If we’re to have any chance at success, we must all embrace it and take meaningful individual actions to turn planning into reality. I hope this community teach-in will help us do just that.”

This virtual event is free and open to everyone. Advanced registration is required here: ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5cvcuGsrj4oH90PbMla3JyxJqMcAmCYi18K

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