Hands holding an Earh-shaped ball of grass

Joint Declaration on Embracing a Living Lab Approach to Promote Carbon Neutrality

According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the window of opportunity for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C is rapidly vanishing. To collectively avoid the worst effects of climate change, there is an urgent call for implementing deep and sustained reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 also recognizes climate change as a key barrier to sustainability, and highlights the important and interconnected role climate action plays securing a sustainable future for all.

 

We Recognize:

  1. Universities play a vital role in driving research and innovation needed for society to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
  2. As institutes of knowledge creation, our unique responsibility to ambitiously advance solutions for carbon-neutral campuses will shape and contribute to a sustainable future for all.
  3. In pursuit of carbon neutrality, we regard our physical campuses as “living labs” that represent a vital asset in the research and development of solutions, serving test-beds for hands-on learning and advancing applied research.
     

We Pledge to:

  1. Affirm and uphold the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
  2. Create and uphold an environment that encourages hands-on research and learning by students, staff, and faculty that advance novel ideas that contribute to carbon neutrality.
  3. Proactively foster diverse partnerships among campus stakeholders to promote campus-based testing and learning,
  4. Share and exchange best practices in “living lab” initiatives, and embrace opportunities to embrace this approach to testing, demonstrating, and advancing research on campus that reduces greenhouse gas emissions from campus operations

Participating Universities 
(in alphabetical order) - updated as of February 3, 2025

Chulalongkorn University logo

Chulalongkorn University

Khalifa University of Science and Technology logo

Khalifa University of Science and Technology

Korea University logo

Korea University

KTH Royal Institute of Technology logo

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore logo

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

National University of Singapore logo

National University of Singapore

Nazarbayev University logo

Nazarbayev University

Taylor's University logo

Taylor's University

HKJST logo

The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

Tongji University logo

Tongji University

The University of Liverpool logo

The University of Liverpool

The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) logo

The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)

University of Science and Technology of China logo

University of Science and Technology of China

Universiti Brunei Darussalam logo

Universiti Brunei Darussalam

University of South Africa logo

University of South Africa

University of Toronto logo

University of Toronto

Western Sydney University logo

Western Sydney University

Zhejiang University logo

Zhejiang University

Joint Declaration on Embracing a Living Lab Approach to Promote Carbon Neutrality

HKUST officially announced the Joint Declaration to promote carbon neutrality at the Global Sustainable Development Congress (GSDC) in Thailand on June 12, 2024. Representatives from Chulalongkorn University, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Taylor’s University and The University of New South Wales attended the ceremony at the GSDC.

 

 

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