On February 4, 2019, University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel unveiled a new project aimed at tackling carbon neutrality. As detailed by Dana Elger in The University Record’s story titled “University launches Commission on Carbon Neutrality,” the U-M President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality will work with advisory panels and regional partners to create achievable, fiscally responsible and mission-driven recommendations aimed at significantly reducing U-M’s carbon emissions.
Drawing upon the diversity of expertise across the university, the commission is comprised of faculty, staff, students, and other relevant local parties, including the Ford School’s Barry Rabe. Rabe’s research focus in on climate and energy politics, including a book titled Can We Price Carbon?, and has taught on environmental policy as part of the Program in the Environment.
“The commission is designed to marshal the intellectual resources and commitment of the U of M community to contribute to a more sustainable and just world,” said President Schlissel, “Commission members will engage broadly within the U-M community and with regional experts and partners.”
After first defining and prioritizing parameters of this new effort, the commission is expected to release interim reports in the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020, followed by final recommendations to the president in fall 2020. The commission marks a pivotal moment in broader efforts to explore how institutions contribute to, and fight against, damaging environmental standards.
Read more about the President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality here.
Barry Rabe is the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy and the director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at the Ford School. He is also the Arthur Thurnau Professor of Environmental Policy and holds courtesy appointments in the Program in the Environment, the Department of Political Science, and the School for Environment and Sustainability.