The UVic-UCC declares a state of climate emergency

The Governing Council of the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) has approved a manifesto produced "under the auspices of its scientific community and students" that expresses the institution's concern about the increasing global warming, and adheres to the Government of Catalonia's declaration of a state of climate emergency.

The document refers to point 13 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the eighth principle of the University's Code of Ethics, and asks individuals, government bodies and businesses in central Catalonia and those that are members of the Board of Trustees of the Balmes University Foundation in particular "to consider in depth what real and effective actions they are taking and can take in the coming years in order to reduce their negative contribution to the global climate emergency."

The text, which was approved unanimously, states that we are facing "a very real emergency" which means that all "individual, institutional, business, municipal and national spheres must work together in order to put an end to carbon emissions and global warming." As a result, the manifesto calls for "those around us to be made aware of the threat we face as individuals and as a society if we do not begin to take action immediately."  

The manifesto also includes a list of actions undertaken by the University to fight against global warming. One is the Ecocampus project, which works to create infrastructure, campus and facilities that are benchmarks for sustainability and efficiency, and which has succeeded in reducing electricity consumption by 14% since 2006, gas consumption by 3% and water consumption by 11%. In addition, in the teaching and academic fields, there are two research groups and four chairs working at the University to diagnose and relieve the climate emergency.

As a centre for knowledge and research in central Catalonia and after this approval, the University will engage in a series of measures to raise awareness of this problem, and it will propose initiatives to local institutions aimed at curbing emissions and global warming.