When wildfire smoke darkened the skies over Southern Oregon, daily life was abruptly reshaped. Extreme heat, power outages, and disrupted services revealed just how vulnerable communities can be and how essential trusted local institutions are in times of crisis. For Southern Oregon University (SOU), those experiences emerged as a turning point, clarifying its role not only as a place of learning but as a community anchor committed to resilience in practice.

That commitment is centered in the Institute for Applied Sustainability, which has developed as a hub for energy and local resilience work. During emergencies, the university operates under formal agreements with partners like the City of Ashland and local school districts, stepping in as essential regional infrastructure, feeding first responders, coordinating support, and providing safe spaces when other systems are strained. In Southern Oregon, resilience is not an abstract concept; it is a shared responsibility defined by lived experience.

That same philosophy guides SOU’s approach to energy resilience. The university has steadily expanded on-campus solar generation, currently supplying about 12% of campus electricity, with a long-term goal of reaching 100% daytime solar power. This progress puts them on track to be the first US public university to reach this goal. Battery storage is being integrated not just to reduce emissions, but to ensure continuity during outages. These investments are designed to function on both “blue sky days and gray sky days,” serving everyday needs while standing ready in emergencies. Even neighboring community assets, like a children’s science museum with solar panels owned by SOU, are being considered for inclusion in future emergency management plans, expanding shelter-in-place capacity for first responders and community residents alike.

Together, this infrastructure forms the backbone of SOU’s living laboratory, an experiential learning model that intentionally blurs the traditional walls of the classroom. In this environment, students, faculty, and community partners learn side by side, merging academic theory with real systems, real buildings, and real community knowledge. Solar arrays, battery storage, and emergency planning are not just topics of study; they are the curriculum.

Fundamental to this living laboratory is the Community Resilience and Leadership (CRL) Student Fellows Program. Designed as a cohort-based, interdisciplinary experience open to students across majors, the program focuses on systems thinking, leadership, and applied skill development. Fellows participate in hands-on projects such as powering down campus buildings to identify energy and resilience gaps, assessing how systems perform under stress, and translating their findings into actionable insights for policymakers and community partners. Learning flows in both directions: students receive practical experience, and the community benefits from student-led analysis and innovation.

The impact of this work reaches well beyond campus boundaries. Insights generated through the living laboratory inform local emergency managers, community organizations, and decision-makers, positioning SOU as a regional convener for resilience rather than a passive participant. Just as importantly, the model offers a blueprint that other institutions in disaster-prone regions can adapt.

What began as a response to wildfire has grown into a scalable vision for the future—one grounded in renewable energy, deep community partnerships, and education that prepares students for complexity and uncertainty. At Southern Oregon University, resilience is not built alone. It is taught, tested, and strengthened together with the community it serves.

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• Tim Carter, President, Second Nature
• Stephen M. Gavazzi, Director, CHRR at The Ohio State University
• Meredith Leigh, Climate Programs Senior Manager, Second Nature

Four years can feel like a lifetime in the conversation about climate. In 2021, CHRR at The Ohio State University partnered with Second Nature to track public perceptions of climate-related issues over time. Back then, when we first surveyed members of the American Population Panel about climate change, concern was high. When we returned to those same respondents in 2025, the shift was unmistakable: Americans are more worried than ever about the impact of climate change on themselves, their families, and their communities. And they increasingly expect colleges and universities to lead the way and take more action.

What the Data Tell Us

The longitudinal study began with 5,530 respondents in 2021, and we followed up with 2,050 of them in 2025. The demographic profile skewed older (average age 57), predominantly white (82 percent), and urban (87 percent).

• Personal concern surged. In 2021, 34percent of respondents said they were “very concerned” about climate change’s impact on their own lives. By 2025, that number rose to 42 percent. Concern for children’s futures saw an even sharper increase, with “very concerned” responses rising from 49 percent to 61percent among those with children.
  
  
• Higher education matters more. When asked how important climate-related work should be to colleges and universities, the percentage answering “very important” increased significantly. In 2021, 63 percent of respondents rated climate-related work by colleges and universities as “very important.” By 2025, that number had increased to 67 percent, reflecting a growing expectation that higher education plays a central role in climate solutions.
  
  
• But perceived current action lags behind belief in what is possible. Across both waves, roughly 31 percent of respondents consistently said that colleges and universities are “doing too little” when it comes to providing information to the public about climate action. While some movement occurred toward “doing the right amount,” the perception of insufficient action remained dominant.
  
  
• Trust increases expectations. In 2025, 44 percent of respondents reported “high trust” in their state’s public universities. Among them, 78 percent rated climate-related work by universities as “very important,” compared to just 54 percent among those with “low trust.” This suggests that trust in institutions amplifies expectations for climate leadership.

Why This Matters

Universities are uniquely positioned to address climate change—not only through operational decarbonization, research, and innovation, but also through education, public engagement, and policy influence. Yet, the public perception that we are “doing too little” should be a wake-up call. If higher education wants to maintain credibility and relevance, climate leadership must expand beyond on-campus sustainability plans and carbon audits buried in annual reports.

This is about widespread visibility and public impact. It’s about making climate work central to the mission, not peripheral. It’s about ensuring that the public sees colleges and universities as trusted partners in solving the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.

What Higher Education Should Do

1. Lead visibly… (words optional). Communicate climate initiatives in ways that resonate beyond campus walls. Transparency builds trust. Each community will have different priorities, as others have shown, so talk about climate in whatever is most resonant. Moms and dads like clean air for their kids. Farmers like healthy soil. Anglers like clean water.

2. Educate broadly. Integrate climate literacy across disciplines—not just in environmental science courses.

3. Engage communities. Partner with local governments, schools, and organizations to translate research into action.

4. Advocate responsibly. Use institutional voice to support evidence-based climate policy.

As the impacts of climate change on the public increase, they are looking to higher education for answers. Our data show that Americans believe universities should be at the forefront of these efforts. The question is whether we will rise to meet that expectation—or continue to be seen as “doing too little.”

Fortunately, there are promising models to build on. The Climate Leadership Network, led by Second Nature, aligns the climate action of hundreds of colleges and universities across the US. In recent years, Second Nature has implemented a strategy to recognize and support institutional leaders across various institution types and roles, driving more meaningful climate solutions in their communities. A few examples include:

• Southern Oregon University is building energy and community resilience into the curriculum through the Institute for Applied Sustainability. The University is piloting a scholarship program for non-STEM students to participate in the resilience curriculum, access energy dashboards, and explore the co-benefits of the campus, which includes a powered-by-solar disaster shelter and other resilience resource available to the community at large.
  
  

• Carleton College students worked with the Northfield Community Action Center to recover food that would otherwise be wasted from area groceries and dining facilities and expand a community food shelf for underserved families. Food that cannot be donated is composted or fed to pigs. Alongside the initiative, students researched the methane avoided by diverting the food from the landfill and quantified the carbon benefit to help Carleton College offset its carbon footprint. The project provides funding to support the Northfield Community Action Center in continuing its mission, while educating students and advancing campus carbon neutrality goals.

In summary, the public is increasingly concerned about climate change and views higher ed as a vital component of the solution. Our data show that trust in universities strengthens expectations for climate leadership, and that perception of institutional action still lags public hope. Fortunately, initiatives like Second Nature’s Climate Leadership Network offer tangible examples of how colleges and universities can lead in ways that are visible, community-centered, and impactful. By scaling these efforts and communicating them clearly, higher education can meet the moment—and help shape a more resilient future.

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When Second Nature convened campus leaders two decades ago, climate action often lived at the margins of institutions, championed by a few dedicated individuals. While still constrained by limited resources, climate action in higher education is much more prevalent today because of the Climate Leadership Network. What began as the world’s largest and longest-standing voluntary carbon commitment has helped establish campus sustainability professionals as necessary changemakers.

Collective Action Is the Catalyst

The Summit reaffirmed what we knew, but needed to feel: higher education remains one of the most powerful drivers of climate solutions in our society. In the opening remarks for the Summit, Second Nature’s President Tim Carter acknowledged the headwinds facing the sector, including political pressure, cultural pushback, and uncertainty about funding, policy, and the pace of change. Yet he reminded attendees that headwinds only slow us down when we’re coasting. At takeoff, they create lift. They force momentum. Throughout the two days that followed, speakers and participants returned to the same reframing: even in this moment of turbulence, using disruption as an opportunity is the path forward for higher education.

Throughout the conference, a common truth surfaced: no institution can do this work alone. Climate action does not scale through isolation. Change happens when we share resources rather than compete for them, when knowledge is exchanged freely across campus types and disciplines, and when lessons learned in one place become a starting point for progress elsewhere. The Summit became a proving ground for that belief, showing what happens when community colleges, research universities, rural campuses, and Minority Serving Institutions are not just present, but aligned.

One of the Summit’s most powerful themes was that diversity, across geographies, institution types, roles, and lived experiences, is not a box to check but the engine of progress. The full breadth of institutions came together, shaped by wide-ranging perspectives and experiences. Students shared spaces with climate leaders, sustainability professionals exchanged ideas with presidents, and community voices stood alongside researchers and policymakers. This was not about offering a symbolic seat at the table but about ensuring all voices have the power to shape decisions, influence outcomes, and drive meaningful change together.

Voices Across Campus

Students profoundly reminded us why this work matters. Their stories were raw, hopeful, and urgent, rooted in lived experience, climate anxiety, and an unshakeable belief that systems change when those in power are willing to listen to youth leaders and act together. Faculty and staff echoed that call, naming the barriers posed by siloed infrastructure and sharing concrete strategies to break them down. Presidents reflected on responsibility, not just to their institutions, but to democracy, to their communities, and to the students they serve, both now and in the future.

This spirit of collective action was evident not just in who was present, but also in the varied conversations at the Summit. Sessions explored campus decarbonization, climate justice, community partnerships, workforce development, Indigenous knowledge systems, artificial intelligence, and democratic engagement, highlighting the interconnectedness of this work. 

In Indigenous Wisdom for Climate Action, speakers grounded climate solutions in relationships to land, culture, and ancestral knowledge, reminding participants that sustainability is inseparable from identity and justice. Accounting for Tech’s Emissions pushed institutions to confront the rapidly growing climate and public health impacts of artificial intelligence, calling for transparency, discernment, and collective pressure on industry. Unlocking Meaningful Community Engagement for Climate Action emphasized that trust, not transactions, is the foundation of lasting partnerships, and that climate solutions must be generated with communities, not prescribed to them. Together, these sessions illustrated the Summit’s core truth: there is no single pathway to climate leadership, only a shared commitment to learn from one another and act together.

The need for unified effort came into sharp focus through Unify for Climate, Second Nature’s call to action to align the sector’s strengths without erasing its differences. Through a new milestones program, updated guidance and programming, and additional transparency and accountability, Second Nature is signaling support for institutions at every stage of their climate action journey. Unification does not ask institutions to look the same or move at the same pace, but to share the commitment to lead on climate action, with our success defined not just by reduced emissions, but by trust built, capacity strengthened, and communities served.

From Momentum to Movement

The Summit closed with a feeling of momentum. Attendees reflected a renewed sense of clarity and collective resolve. In a time when it would be easier to retreat, higher education is choosing to advance, to collaborate, and lead.

Second Nature is committed to carrying the Summit’s momentum forward through Unify for Climate. By aligning with one another, while recognizing that alignment does not mean uniformity, we can collectively amplify student leadership, embrace the full breadth of institutions and communities, and champion climate action at local and national levels, turning today’s headwinds into shared momentum for a sustainable future.

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Second Nature’s call to action in the face of these headwinds is simple and powerful: Unify for Climate.

Unification does not mean uniformity. It means aligning collective and complementary strengths. At the center of the call to action is a fundamental understanding that the strength of higher education lies in its diversity. Community colleges, research universities, rural and urban campuses, HBCUs, and Tribal Colleges each bring distinct perspectives, capacities, relationships, and forms of leadership.

This broader, more inclusive understanding of climate leadership shaped the 2026 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit in Chicago, where nearly 400 higher education leaders gathered to reflect on the rapidly shifting political and institutional landscape. Throughout the Summit, participants explored how colleges and universities can continue advancing climate solutions while simultaneously responding to questions of democratic participation, equity, climate and environmental justice, and community resilience.

Speakers and participants repeatedly emphasized that colleges and universities are not only sites for research and innovation, but also civic and cultural institutions capable of shaping public discourse, strengthening resilience, and helping communities navigate complex sociopolitical transitions. Discussions challenged narrower definitions of sustainability leadership and emphasized the importance of grounding climate work in the lived realities of communities disproportionately impacted by climate change and toxic pollution.

A recurring theme throughout the Summit was that networks and convenings matter because they create conditions for alignment, reflection, and collective imagination. In periods of uncertainty, these spaces can help institutions move beyond reactive responses toward a clearer sense of shared responsibility and leadership.

This broader understanding of collective climate leadership is also reflected in Second Nature’s Climate Luminary Honors program, which recognizes institutions advancing climate action beyond decarbonization, including justice, resilience, workforce development, research, and community engagement. The program reflects an intentional effort to broaden the narrative around who leads—and what leadership looks like—within higher education climate work.

Fragmentation is easy in moments of uncertainty. Collective leadership requires sustained coordination, shared learning, and a willingness to imagine forms of climate action rooted not only in institutional ambition, but in mutual responsibility and interconnectedness. It requires an inclusive, adaptive network that is not limited by a poverty of imagination. The work ahead for higher education is not simply about accelerating climate solutions. It is also about strengthening the relationships, networks, and collective capacities necessary to sustain them.

Unify for Climate emerges from the belief that higher education has both the responsibility and the capacity to help build more connected, equitable, and climate-ready futures—not through isolated institutional action alone, but through deeper coordination, shared learning, and a nuanced understanding of what collective leadership can make possible.

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The EPA has stated that the Endangerment Finding is a prerequisite for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles and engines under Clean Air Act Section 202, and the agency’s proposal would also remove greenhouse gas regulations for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty on highway vehicles. If finalized, this decision would represent one of the most consequential federal climate rollbacks in decades, with immediate implications for the policy environment that higher education institutions operate within and plan around. Legal challenges are anticipated, which could create a prolonged period of uncertainty for markets and institutions alike. 

Second Nature’s Statement: The EPA’s Decision to Rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding 

Higher education will feel the impacts through procurement, operations, capital planning, research, and community engagement. Key effects include:

1. More state-driven policy variance across multi-campus systems

Institutions operating across states may face diverging rules and incentives, particularly where states move to maintain or strengthen clean transportation standards while others do not. That increases administrative burden and complicates systemwide climate planning. 

1. Higher costs and planning volatility for long-term infrastructure design

Investors have warned that reversing the Endangerment Finding could produce regulatory whiplash that raises costs and increases uncertainty for long-term investment decisions. Campuses already making multi-decade commitments on infrastructure, fleet, and resilience projects may see that same volatility in procurement timelines, vendor strategies, and financing conditions. 

1. Increased pressure on institutions to lead without federal backing

As federal policy becomes less predictable, institutions will face greater expectations from students, faculty, local governments, and communities to sustain climate commitments based on public health, risk management, and institutional mission, not just regulatory compliance. 

Learn more about Second Nature’s policy work.

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The Matador Move Out Donation Drive, a partnership between CSUN Sustainability and Student Housing, reimagines the end-of-year chaos as a powerful opportunity for environmental and social impact. Built on collaboration, driven by equity, and sustained through resourcefulness, this initiative has grown from a small pilot into a CSUN tradition that closes waste loops, supports students, and strengthens community ties.

Collaboration: A Campus-Wide Commitment

From its earliest days, Matador Move Out has thrived on teamwork. CSUN Sustainability, Student Housing, Associated Students Sustainability, and the Institute for Sustainability work together to plan logistics, run collections, and redistribute goods. Campus programs, Matty’s Closet, the CSUN Food Pantry, and the Women’s Research and Resource Center, ensure that donations directly support students’ basic needs.

Community partners extend the impact beyond campus. Organizations like Hope of the Mission, Love, Evan, LA Family Housing, and local Buy Nothing groups help move thousands of pounds of clothing, food, and household goods to people who need them most.

That collaboration shows in the numbers. In 2025 alone, volunteers, including California Climate Action Corps Fellows, staff, and students, completed over 1,350 individual collections, ultimately diverting 12,736 pounds of reusable goods from the landfill, nearly 2,000 pounds more than the previous year. What began as a sustainability pilot is now a shared campus mission.

Equity: Sustainability That Meets Student Needs

Matador Move Out reinforces an essential truth: sustainability is also about supporting people. Many CSUN students face food insecurity, housing instability, or financial strain. The donation drive helps bridge those gaps.

In 2025, more than 2,600 pounds of food supported the CSUN Food Pantry and Love, Evan. Professional clothing went to Matty’s Closet, helping students prepare for interviews and career opportunities. And through the growing Matador Move-In Reuse Program, thousands of pounds of saved dorm supplies, microwaves, mirrors, kitchenware, organizers, school supplies, were redistributed to incoming students at no cost. Many freshmen and first-generation students started the school year equipped with essentials they otherwise might have gone without. This is sustainability as equity: redistributing resources so all students can start strong.

Resourcefulness: Building a Circular Campus

The program embodies a closed-loop model where what leaves in May returns in August. In 2025, donations included 5,703 pounds of clothing, 2,430 pounds of dorm supplies, 1,232 pounds of small appliances, and even unique items like crutches, e-scooters, and TVs, all reused, recycled, or redistributed. These efforts prevented an estimated 3,186 pounds of CO₂-equivalent emissions.

Tracking tools like Zabble and Smartsheet help the team refine strategies, while creative solutions, such as storing items in the Student Housing Police Substation, ensure nothing goes to waste.

Human Impact: Learning, Sharing, and Leading

Students don’t just donate, they participate. Volunteers learn sustainability in action, Swap & Shop events turn reuse into a fun community activity, and each year’s successes inspire greater involvement across campus.

Looking Ahead

Growing from 10,850 pounds of donations in 2024 to 12,736 pounds in 2025, the Matador Move Out Donation Drive continues to expand its reach and ambition. Future goals include clearer communication about accepted items, stronger redistribution partnerships, and deeper integration with the Move-In experience.

At CSUN, move-out season is no longer just an ending, it’s a cycle of care, creativity, and collective action. Through collaboration, equity, and resourcefulness, Matador Move Out turns potential waste into community strength, year after year.

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The Miller Worley Center for the Environment (MWCE) first recognized that although many community members supported climate action, the work often felt abstract or disconnected from their daily roles. CC2CJ emerged as a solution: a space where students, staff, faculty, dining workers, facilities teams, and administrators could collectively imagine and shape a more just, sustainable campus. Instead of a traditional committee, CC2CJ was intentionally created as a ground-up, community-led group, reflecting the very essence of climate justice: inclusive, democratic, and responsive to the people most affected.

Justice sits at the heart of the initiative. CC2CJ members emphasize that carbon reductions mean little without addressing inequities within the campus community. Early conversations surfaced challenges facing first-generation and low-income students, frontline staff labor needs, and the unequal distribution of environmental burdens. These discussions led to tangible, equity-centered initiatives. The Small Appliance Recirculation Program, for example, began when Facilities staff shared the strain involved in clearing out abandoned mini-fridges and microwaves each spring. A student member transformed that insight into a pilot program enabling FLIP students to purchase recirculated appliances, reducing waste, lowering labor demands, and easing financial barriers for incoming students.

Food waste reduction efforts grew with similar intentionality. The Food Recovery Network (FRN) chapter at Mount Holyoke, now an official student organization, was shaped through years of CC2CJ dialogue. Students organized “Weigh the Waste” events, collected data on meal swipes, and explored diversified meal plans. One of the most powerful outcomes was an FRN educational module delivered to all first-years in fall 2024. Developed in collaboration with dining staff, this program teaches mindful eating and personal responsibility in reducing waste, embodying CC2CJ’s belief that the best climate solutions are co-created across roles and experiences.

The initiative’s collaborative model fosters innovation across campus. Geothermal education and communication efforts, led by our Sustainability Program Manager and MWCE Fellows, improved understanding of the college’s transition to geothermal exchange and inspired the creation of monthly “Thermal Thursdays.” Another project, Hot to Go, highlighted the region’s limited public transportation options while celebrating alternative transit and giving students avenues for local activism. Each initiative emerged from CC2CJ’s culture of shared ownership and relationship-building.

Meeting only three to four times a year, some over Zoom, others over breakfast, CC2CJ offers manageable, meaningful engagement. Participants stay connected between meetings, strengthening a network of peers who hold one another accountable not through hierarchy, but through care.

CC2CJ is shifting the campus culture, transforming sustainability from an institutional goal into a community identity. Through deep conversations, shared problem-solving, and collective empowerment, Mount Holyoke is demonstrating what climate action looks like when it is truly built from the ground up: inclusive, equitable, and profoundly human.

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Meet the 2025 Catalyst Grant Awardees

California State University, Northridge

California State University, Northridge will launch a Sustainability Micro-Certification Program featuring ten online courses and hands-on activities to expand climate literacy across the California State University system.

John Jay College – City University of New York (CUNY)

John Jay College – City University of New York will support student participation in global climate events like the Local Conference of Youth and the Conference of the Parties 30, alongside post-conference community engagement and training that brings global insights back to frontline communities.

Mesa Community College

Mesa Community College will enhance its Learning Greenhouse and Community Garden with climate-resilient upgrades that expand hands-on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, student research, and community food security.

“Our mission is to: maintain a healthy wildflower garden for native pollinators and monarch butterflies; to help facilitate undergraduate research projects; and to provide a community space for learning about and appreciating nature.”

Savannah State University

Savannah State University will establish a Clean Energy Policy Simulation Laboratory that provides students with real-world analytical experience assessing energy and climate policies.

SUNY at Cortland

State University of New York at Cortland will strengthen its partnership with Cortland ReUse to advance Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions accounting, expand waste reduction efforts, and promote the circular economy.

“Cortland ReUse is a pillar of sustainability and landfill diversion for the Cortland community, especially the State University of New York at Cortland… It is truly invaluable.” – Megan Swing

“Red Dragon ReUse is a rewarding initiative… It’s a great
collaboration where everyone wins!”
– Carrie Narrow

Texas Southern University

Texas Southern University will train undergraduate students through a campus Community Emergency Response Team program that builds disaster preparedness and emergency response capacity for the Texas Southern University community.

“The Bullard Center… is honored to be awarded Second Nature’s Catalyst Funding to develop a Historically Black College and University Campus Emergency Response Team… ready and equipped to assist climate-impacted communities.”
– Dr. Denae King

University of North Carolina at Pembroke

The University of North Carolina at Pembroke will convert lignin, an abundant industrial byproduct, into sustainable porous carbons for clean-energy storage and green-chemistry catalysts, while providing hands-on research opportunities for students.

“By converting locally sourced agricultural waste into reusable catalysts and energy materials, University of North Carolina at Pembroke students are driving clean technology innovation and inclusive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics growth.”
– Drs. Marcus Hunt & Moira Lauer

Xavier University of Louisiana

Xavier University of Louisiana will expand its “Grow Local, Restore Coastal” native plant propagation program with greenhouse upgrades, student training, and community-centered workshops that strengthen ecological resilience.

“Receiving the Catalyst Grant allows us to accelerate Xavier’s conservation and sustainability goals… This investment strengthens our commitment to climate action and community engagement.”
– Helena Robinson

The 2025 Catalyst Grant recipients demonstrate the power of targeted investment to ignite meaningful climate action across higher education. From cutting-edge research and community resilience efforts to hands-on student learning and local environmental restoration, these projects showcase what is possible when institutions are supported in turning ambition into impact. Second Nature is proud to champion this work and looks forward to seeing these initiatives grow, inspire, and accelerate climate solutions nationwide.

View the 2025 Catalyst Grant press release here.

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Week One: In Rio De Janeiro

I spent my first week in Rio representing the America Is All In coalition at the Local Leaders Forum (LLF) – a celebration of climate leadership in cities that was elevated this year, given the 20^th anniversary of C40 Cities. As a signature event supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the production value was off the charts. Lots of high-profile mayors and city staff from around the world were in attendance, ensuring their city’s climate bona fides were well represented. The London mayor’s outspoken critique of Trump as a “climate wrecker” (vs. himself as a “climate defender) spread throughout the event and gained purchase as the phrase du jour. It’s not untrue, of course, but it was a bit surprising to hear someone be as outspoken as he was towards the American president. There was no fearful, political sugar-coating his message. 

The LLF was a good reminder, particularly in the US context, that mayors are not as beholden to the same political forces as some others may be. Clean air projects that directly improve the health of city residents will be popular with the constituents that mayors care about most. The primary, observable political force was that mayors were racing to outdo each other…“I see your car-free zone, and I raise you an EV bus fleet with a million newly planted trees”—the positive competitive flywheel of civic climate action.

Interestingly, while cities were the stars of the LLF (it was C40’s show, after all), there was relatively little said about the role of other sectors in either aligning with or supporting city climate goals. I get it, but it also seemed like a missed opportunity to highlight not only subnational government leadership but also the supportive sectoral infrastructure that could be mobilized to support civic goals. Working with higher education institutions, I’m clearly biased, but I also get a bit impatient with sectoral introspection and myopia when it comes to issues that could clearly benefit from cross-sectoral interventions, as we’ve written about in the past. And that was week one at the LLF in Rio.

Week Two: In Belem for COP30

Week two shifted gears up north to Belem for the big show: COP30.  I’ve written before about the three circles of COP and the different cultures that exist within each, and once again, I found it a good orienting framework for first-timers. This year, the “third circle” was particularly salient and vibrant. Belém is a gateway city to the Amazon, and the region’s rich culture was on full display. Additionally, for the first time in years, the civic life outside the badged zones was alive with marches, demonstrations, and protests occurring throughout the week. The third circle activity not only showed the vibrancy of life in an open society, but also stood in stark contrast to the closed regimes we had experienced since 2021 in Glasgow.

One other general reflection relates to the most frequent response I get when I tell people I went to the COP. A surprising number of friends will respond with, “So you’re burning a bunch of carbon to go to a meeting about not burning carbon?!” Fair enough. We live in a world of trade-offs and contradictions, and as much as we don’t want to admit it, our lives, just like the messiness of the COP process, are filled with them. 

The magic that happens at the COP isn’t in the planned activity. It’s in the things that are not predictable or predetermined. Who you end up standing next to in line can shape a new partnership for the next five years. Interactions with leaders in attendance, who are the most serious players in global climate politics, are unmatched. And the moral, emotional, and professional encouragement found in the worldwide community that attends is incredible. This is not to trivialize airline emissions. Of course, it is essential to be mindful of that cost. 

But I remember the group of airline executives at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh announcing a new global agreement on sustainable aviation fuels. There’s some greenwashing going on there, but you wouldn’t have had such an announcement happen without global frameworks such as the Paris Agreement and meetings like the COP.

Key Takeaways from COP30

1. Subnational entities of all types, not just subnational governments, are showing up for the US. In UN parlance, “subnational” refers specifically to the governments that exist below the national level. But there is another type of subnational actor: sectors such as health care, higher education, business, cultural institutions, etc., that exist in every country “below” the national level. When considering subnational climate action and climate solutions, it’s vital that all these subnational entities – governmental and non-governmental – are recognized as important players. They don’t all do the same thing, but they are all important if we are to align efforts at the necessary speed and scale. 
   
   The subnational action narrative at COP30, particularly in the US during a time when the national government is working against climate solutions, was an important one to tell. I spoke with a few international colleagues who believed that higher education was completely capitulating to Trump’s anti-climate agenda, given what they have been reading in the international news. Undoubtedly, US higher education has faced unprecedented attack, and this has stifled public announcements of climate action that we would usually highlight. In fact, we’ve been asked NOT to publish stories about some of our members’ successes due to fear of retaliation. 
   
   That doesn’t mean, however, that the sector’s climate work hasn’t continued. We published a new resource this fall documenting over 700 projects that are connected to climate action. We recently completed a nationwide survey that found that the majority of the American public considers higher education’s climate work very important. The narrative coming from the White House is not the country’s narrative, and it was particularly important at COP30 this year that we made this clear.
   
   
2. The mangoes told the real story of COP30 (and Rio!). Downtown Belem is filled with large, mature mango trees. And this time of year, it is mango season. We’d be walking from the bus or to dinner and have a startled jump when one of the green projectiles came smashing down on a cab roof or on the sidewalk in front of us. You could barely avoid slipping on the crushed fruit, depending on whether the deluge of rain had come to wash everything into the sewer system.
   
   I’ve always thought of mangoes as a delicacy, an exotic, juicy, sweet treat. In Belem, it’s literally street food…an abundant, albeit somewhat annoying, resource. In a matter of days, my perspective on the mango had totally shifted – not because I read a paper about it or listened to a panel about it, but because I experienced it. There are so many ways that we take our local resources for granted, or think that resources familiar to us are the only ones that matter.
   
   

Reflecting on these takeaways, I was taken back to Rio, where all the cities were celebrating themselves. What institutional resources were they overlooking? And then turning the magnifying glass around to our own work – what resources is higher education overlooking, given our own myopic tendencies? Can we view the global climate solution spaces, like the abundance of mangoes falling from the sky in Belém? Of course, we can. We need the curiosity to look, and the openness to see and taste what is often right in front of us.

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This month, the Department of Energy (DOE) cancelled more than $1 billion in research and infrastructure projects tied to higher education institutions across the United States. The cancellations, found in DOE’s public USAspending database, halt at least 150 active projects that had been awarded to 73 universities and colleges nationwide, with only 16% of the original awards ever reaching campuses. While the DOE has yet to issue a comprehensive explanation, the scope and concentration of these cancellations offer an early glimpse into shifting federal priorities and the potential cost to the nation’s climate innovation pipeline.

The Scale of the Pullback

According to the federal spending data, roughly $1.06 billion in funds had been obligated to higher education institutions before the cancellations took effect. Only $167 million had been outlayed, meaning work had begun, labs had been outfitted, and graduate students were already conducting research when the funds were frozen. 

Among specific universities, Colorado State University faced the most significant loss, with approximately $336 million in cancelled DOE obligations, followed by the University of Texas at Austin ($62.6M), New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology ($56.2M), and the University of Wyoming ($52.3M). Together, these institutions anchor some of the nation’s most ambitious regional energy transition initiatives, carbon capture hubs, geothermal pilots, and advanced manufacturing corridors. Their cancellations mark not just the loss of funding, but also the loss of federal coordination between government agencies and climate-forward institutions.

Impact on Regional Innovation

The pattern is clear: the Mountain West and Great Plains are the most severely affected.

Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, and New Mexico, states that the Biden-Harris DOE had previously identified as energy transition “testbeds”, now face uncertainty about whether their university-led research networks can sustain ongoing work without federal support. These projects were not purely academic or merely symbolic. They were the connective tissue between federal climate goals, local workforce pipelines, and industry partnerships. When universities lose this funding, local economies lose jobs, states lose research capacity, and the clean-energy economy loses momentum.

A Setback for Clean Energy and Higher Education

Land-grant and public research universities make up the majority of the affected institutions. For many, DOE partnerships represent their most tangible link to national decarbonization efforts. The cancellations will likely slow progress in areas such as hydrogen production, carbon storage, and advanced geothermal, sectors that rely heavily on university research infrastructure. At a time when the higher education sector is being asked to do more with less, these cancellations send a chilling message to institutions trying to align their research portfolios with national climate priorities. The Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure, Investments, and Jobs Act’s promise of durable, science-based clean-energy deployment depends on academic capacity, and that capacity just took a major hit. For universities already balancing shrinking state budgets, the loss of DOE support will force tough decisions about staffing, facilities, and the future of federally supported clean-energy education.

Looking Ahead

Second Nature and our partners will continue tracking the implications of these cancellations on climate-focused research, workforce training, and university-led decarbonization efforts.

We encourage campus leaders to assess affected projects, engage with DOE regional offices, and communicate how these changes could impact their institutional climate goals. Long-term federal investments in climate research are essential, not just for innovation, but for credibility. The clean-energy transition doesn’t happen without universities, and the universities can’t lead it without commitment from Washington.

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