Climate Action

We recognize the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In November of 2013, UC President Janet Napolitano announced an initiative to achieve complete carbon neutrality in University of California operations by 2025. In the Fall of 2015, ahead of the UNEP 2015 Conference of Parties (COP 21) in Paris, Chancellor Henry Yang signed a pledge affirming the University of California, Santa Barbara's (UCSB) commitment to carbon neutrality by 2025. In July 2020, UC Santa Barbara joined the UC Clean Power Program. The main campus is now powered by carbon-free electricity, dropping the campus’s operational greenhouse gas emissions by 50%.

Draft UC's Climate Policy 

The proposed changes would replace the carbon neutrality goal, with goals for direct decarbonization of campus Greenhouse gas emissions that do not allow use of voluntary carbon offsets

Click here to view the current draft policy
Comments on the proposed policy from the UCSB community can be submitted here
Please take a moment to review short introductory briefing document 

Emissions Reporting

UC Santa Barbara  reports its official Scope I and II emissions to the nonprofit The Climate Registry (TCR), a nonprofit emissions registry for North America. These emissions follow TCR's General Reporting Protocol, are third-party verified, and are reported publically on TCR's website. To date, emissions inventories have been submitted and verified for calendar years (CY) 2004 through 2019. The inventory included all six Kyoto Protocol gases for scope 1 and 2 emissions. 

Climate Scoop Newsletter

With this newsletter, stay up-to-date on conservation and renewable energy projects on campus, the UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative, and ways you can help reduce UCSB’s carbon footprint.