FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas is the first higher education institution in the state, and among the first 100 in the nation, to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. The commitment is a pledge by the presidents to reduce and ultimately neutralize greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses.

In signing the Presidents Climate Commitment the University of Arkansas is pledging to take three basic actions: to develop a comprehensive plan by 2009 to achieve “climate neutrality” on campus; to implement at least two specific programs for reducing greenhouse gases while the comprehensive plan is being developed; and to make the action plan and all progress reports accessible to the public.

“The University of Arkansas is proud to be among the first 100 institutions to sign the Climate Commitment,” said Chancellor John White. “We have already made a commitment to sustainability on campus, and this enables us to be part of a coordinated national effort. The Climate Commitment lays out an ambitious timetable for taking concrete, effective steps to address the issue of climate change. The University of Arkansas has a responsibility to lead the way in our state, to demonstrate what can be done now while researching new technologies and new approaches. The real goal, of course, is to produce the students who will put what they learn into practice, finding the breakthroughs we will need to achieve climate neutrality in the future.”

The Presidents Climate Commitment expresses deep concern about global warming and “its potential for large-scale, adverse health, social, economic and ecological effects.” The statement recognizes the scientific consensus that global warming is real, that it is largely caused by humans, and that an 80 percent reduction is greenhouse gases is needed before 2050 “in order to avert the worst impacts of global warming and to reestablish the more stable climatic conditions that have made human progress over the last 10,000 years possible.” The higher education leaders who signed the statement endorse the belief that “there will be great short-, medium- and long-term economic, health, social and environmental benefits, including achieving energy independence for the U.S. as quickly as possible.”

The commitment to sustainability has direct long-term benefits for the University of Arkansas as well, White said. “The steps we are committing to take will ultimately cut our energy costs, bring in new funding sources and strengthen support from alumni, as well as local and state government. Perhaps most important, this will ensure that we can continue to compete for the best students and faculty in the nation,” he said.

The interim steps the university could take while developing the comprehensive plan include requiring that new construction on campus meet the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council and the Green Building Initiative, purchasing only energy-efficient appliances, and providing access to public transit for all faculty, staff, students and visitors on campus.

The full text of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment is available at http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/pdf/commitment.pdf.

The Commitment is modeled after the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Among the first 100 administrators to sign the Climate Commitment are the presidents of Cornell University, the University of Florida and University of Pennsylvania and the chancellors of the University of North Carolina and University of Tennessee.