IMPLICATION FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG TO ALIGN WITH THE GOVERNMENT’S TARGET REGARDING CLIMATE NEUTRALITY BY 2045 - Scenarios and Consequences

It is widely acknowledged that one of the most significant global challenges of the 21 st century is climate change. In its Fifth Assessment Report (2014), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) described the present extent of the problem and the hazards involved, citing greenhouse gas emissions from human activities as the primary contributor to global warming since the mid-20th century. With the last ten years showing the highest global average surface temperatures ever recorded (0.8°C above pre-industrial levels), we are already experiencing a global climate that advanced industrial societies have never confronted. As one of the major societal components, higher education institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role. They should quickly limit their carbon emissions to lessen the adverse effects of their operations on the planet and also in teaching the next generation of leaders to build a worldwide sustainable structure through distributing skills and knowledge across organizations, the government, and the general public. Within this lies the fundamental challenge toward achieving the reduction targets in carbon footprint at the regional, national, and global levels—evaluating greenhouse gas emissions from educational organizations. Numerous initiatives have been made at universities in Sweden and in other parts of the world to achieve Carbon Neutrality and a future that is ecologically sound. It might be advantageous to make behavioral changes in university residents to encourage sustainability and to use more efficient energy sources on campus. This study has examined the sustainability strategies that might be included in the operational plans of universities, with variations based on the particular institution's policies. The strategies put into action were divided into seven "sustainability categories", which are: the more sustainable built environment, energy, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, nutrition and horticulture, management of resources and waste, transportation, and water. Each of these categories sets the higher education institution on an appropriate path for determining the magnitude of its carbon footprint and makes its approach more logical and scientific. The research on how worldwide institutions operate in the benchmarking process was a key component of this study's empirical portion, which offers distinctive information. This review highlights how universities are putting sustainability programs into practice in line with their goals and objectives. Despite working toward the same end goal of becoming carbon neutral, various institutions provide distinctly different perspectives on sustainability. The results of this study have significance in identifying those educational institutions that have a strong commitment to becoming Carbon Neutral. Such climate-action initiatives at other universities may be facilitated by such role-model institutions. Due to several external factors like geographic and socio-political situations, higher education institutions' carbon footprints are highly diverse and exhibit various patterns. For instance, as some universities are situated in arid regions, their carbon footprints significantly increase when they employ inefficient energy sources to cool the buildings. Another aspect of this study is finding a thorough definition for the terms "Climate Neutrality", "Net Zero emissions", and other related concepts in accordance with their unique definitions in the context of universities. In addition, The University of Gothenburg's long-term and short-term goals have been investigated together with the sustainable strategies described. Ultimately, information was provided regarding the research done in Sweden regarding carbon capture and storage CCS. Additionally, it addressed whether the University of Gothenburg, one of the Swedish Universities, would be able to use this technology at hand.