UC Berkeley Web Feature

Birgeneau testifies before U.S. Senate panel examining greenhouse gas emissions

From Public Affairs | 03 April 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau today (Thursday, April 3) outlined for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee the efforts underway at the Berkeley campus to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and discussed research initiatives that have made the campus a leading center on energy research and education.

Chancellor Birgeneau testifies on Capitol Hill about campus actions and research to combat global warming.

Birgeneau joined Yale University President Richard Levin and Jacqueline Johnson, chancellor of the University of Minnesota, Morris, in addressing the committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). Thursday's session, "Examining Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions at U.S. Colleges and Universities," was the latest in a series of hearings in which leaders, including mayors from around the country, have been asked to testify about measures they are taking to reduce emissions at the local level.

In his remarks, Birgeneau said that the Cal Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of students, staff, and faculty, has committed to reducing greenhouse gases emitted by the campus to 1990 levels by 2014, six years ahead of the reduction required by California legislation.

The chancellor made special note of the leadership provided by Berkeley students, who he said "are a new generation passionately committed to solving the world's energy needs in both a clean and socially responsible way. … They understand that how we deal with these challenges will transform humankind's relationship with the environment and change the way that we drive the global economy. Universities must lead this transformation."

The full text of the chancellor's testimony is available online. An archived webcast of the hearing and transcripts of statements by the participants are also available on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works website.