UNC’s decision to drop its 2020 deadline for a coal-free campus is understandable but concerning.
In light of that decision, UNC’s ambitious new environmental goals are praiseworthy, but UNC could have underscored its urgency by announcing deadlines for the achievement of the goals as soon as the goals themselves were announced.
Goals of net zero water use, zero waste and net zero greenhouse gas emissions are exactly the kind of goals this historical moment calls for. But the longer the deadlines for these goals are extended, the more the University contributes to the endangerment of the planet.
As a research university, UNC should be at the vanguard of the fight for environmental sustainability. The distinguished scientists and environmental activists at the University contribute a great deal to the push for a planet free from the terror of long-term environmental disaster. UNC can best support those efforts by living up to them itself.
This isn’t to say the effort to go coal-free by 2020 wasn’t made in good faith. The University tried hard to meet the goal before deeming it unrealistic — these kinds of setbacks happen in complex institutions. But to then come out with ambitious environmental goals without setting clear deadlines is disappointing.
This issue will be remembered as a trivial one if the deadlines UNC ultimately sets are aggressive and UNC puts all the resources it can behind meeting them.
