Duke reaffirms Climate Commitment, updates goals for 2030 strategy in new report

Duke’s Office of Climate and Sustainability released a report Monday outlining new goals on the road to the University’s 2030 climate strategy and reaffirming the institution’s commitment to addressing the climate challenge.

The report comes a week before the three-year anniversary of the launch of Duke’s Climate Commitment. It’s the product of almost two years of discussions among students, faculty and staff, setting interim targets for growth across each of the Climate Commitment’s five pillars: education, research, sustainable operations, external engagement and community partnerships.

Toddi Steelman, vice president and vice provost for climate and sustainability, explained that the report is “anchor[ed]” by 2030 because the year represents a major deadline in the broader scientific community — a target set by the Paris Agreement to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 43% to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Steelman added that the University set three-year targets because five years can feel like “a long way away,” especially when undergraduate students cycle every four years.

The report also reaffirms Duke’s Climate Commitment at a time when the path to achieving the University’s long-term climate plan remains in flux — and as climate action has largely fallen off the federal agenda.

“I would say the most common question I have these days is ‘what’s happened to the Climate Commitment?’” Steelman said. “And my reply is, ‘nothing’s happened to the Climate Commitment.’ We get to wake up every day and do this work, and there are a lot of peers and friends — university peers and friends — that are not going to be able to do this work.”

The Chronicle broke down several key takeaways from the report and its implications for climate work at Duke.

Working to lead the pack

Since assuming her position at the helm of the University’s Climate Commitment, Steelman has cemented her vision for Duke to become a global leader on climate action. That sentiment was a major throughline of the new report.

The report identifies climate policy, health and oceans as three fields of study where Duke already has “distinct advantages,” which Steelman said is largely aided by research teams across the health system, Marine Lab and schools like the Sanford School of Public Policy and Nicholas School of the Environment.

Duke also plans to leverage its alumni network as part of increasing investments in research on environmental and climate justice, community resilience and technology.

“We have literally an army of people who have gone on to do this kind of work who are very well situated to kind of help facilitate this societal and economic pivot that we know we need to make,” Steelman said.

As for tangible steps toward those goals, the report points to enhancing seed grant programs, developing a climate research inventory and dashboard, and supporting early-career faculty and researchers who can “bring new energy and perspectives” to emerging fields.

The University then hopes to display its work and become a model for other institutions. The report sets goals for Duke to participate in more national and international climate gatherings, such as Climate Week NYC, and to create a new “Climate Engagement Exchange” that would make opportunities for participation more accessible to students and faculty.

Long-term approach still in progress

After reaching carbon-neutral status for the first time last year, Duke reframed its strategy for making campus operations more sustainable around a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Although the new report outlines some general steps toward that target, the University’s broader approach remains somewhat unclear.

Per the report, Duke aims to develop and implement plans to reduce GHG emissions across three categories by 2028. First on the agenda are scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, which come from direct campus operations and purchased electricity, respectively. Scope 3 emissions are trickier, since they come from activities along Duke’s supply chain that the University has less control over, like transportation and food procurement.

Duke is also including the health system in its 2050 goal, necessitating a separate plan to account for the system’s large physical footprint and different energy needs.

According to Steelman, Duke has hired consulting firm Buro Happold to help flesh out these strategies, but a couple new developments over recent months have complicated matters.

Administrative turnover has been a significant factor. Vice President for Facilities John Noonan stepped down last spring after 14 years in the role, and Steelman explained that ensuring his replacement, Thomas Morrison, is up to speed and involved in discussions about campus operations has been a top priority. A similar situation recently arose on the health system side after Craig Albanese, chief executive officer of the Duke University Health System, announced his Sept. 30 departure.

Meanwhile, Duke Energy — one of the largest utility companies in the United States and the source of much of the University and health system’s electricity — reversed course on its pledge to cut carbon emissions 70% by 2030 and delayed its deadline to develop a carbon neutrality plan. That means electricity used on campus will likely remain more carbon-intensive for longer.

“Our commitment to this 2050 net-zero plan hasn’t changed, but the dynamics are fierce,” Steelman said.

In the meantime, Duke is still determining whether to maintain its carbon-neutral status while it pursues net zero. An ad hoc committee of students and faculty was established last year to help decide whether the University should continue buying carbon offsets until it reaches its net-zero goal, or if those funds could be better used as investments in campus decarbonization efforts. 

According to Steelman, the committee recently submitted its recommendation to Duke administrators, and it is now under review.

Adjusting to a new federal landscape

The report comes at a time when many federal incentives for climate action have disappeared, creating an uncertain backdrop for such work at Duke.

This summer, Congress rolled back a slate of tax incentives for clean energy development as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In the ensuing months, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed to rescind the finding that greenhouse gases threaten human health and to stop requiring industrial facilities to track their greenhouse gas emissions. Recently, the agency reportedly directed some of its employees to stop publishing scientific research.

Steelman noted that although the rollbacks have been “demoralizing,” they have pushed climate leaders at Duke to become more mindful about balancing “affordability, accessibility and sustainability goals” in their work. She affirmed that at Duke, the work will continue.

“Our president, our provost, our Board of Trustees continues to be highly supportive of the work that we’re doing,” Steelman said. “I think we have to do it in a little bit of a different way now than we did before, but it hasn’t dampened our enthusiasm.”