Paul Lachapelle, Jackson Mundell, Desalegn Yayeh Ayal, Ulisses M. Azeiteiro, Henri-Count Evans, Inga Grinfelde, José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra, Jasenka Gajdoš Kljusurić, João Carlos Correia Leitão, Chunlan Li, Newton R. Matandirotya, Bethwel Mutai, Gustavo J. Nagy, Thierry Razanakoto, Jame Schaefer, Haile A. Shishaye, Goran Trbic, Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga, Sane Pashane Zuka, Charles Galdies, Adriana Consorte-McCrea, Francisco Platas, Mittul Vahanvati, Pedi Obani, Safwatun Nida, Lucas Gabriel Zanon, Mayara Régia Sousa de Melo, Renato da Costa dos Santos, Alison Glover
There is a clear mandate for academics to advance climate change education, research, and outreach in universities given the overwhelming scientific consensus on the urgency and severity of the climate crisis. Academics play a key role in determining how and to what extent universities fundamentally reshape conversations, expectations, and actions around climate change on their campuses and in their communities. Recognizing the unique place that universities have in society, we present a rationale on the purpose and mandate of universities, along with an account of the challenges facing academics in addressing the crisis including delayed responses and a tendency for reticence to act. We next explore how universities are creating opportunities for learning, scholarship, and community engagement and note academics have a unique position and thus responsibility to address climate change within their own institutions. We also introduce the “Bicycle Model” as one framework of many to establish and improve university initiatives on climate change and conclude with a series of recommendations calling on academics to create and expand their work to address the climate crisis. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Eswatini, Manzini, Kwaluseni Campus, Matsapha, South Africa; Center for Sustainable Development (Greens), Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul), Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil; School of Urban and Regional Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Kgotso Development Trust, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Centre, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; CERED, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar; Marquette University, Milwaukee, United States; University of Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico; University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Land Economy, University of Malawi, The Polytechnic, Blantyre 3, Malawi; Institute of Earth Systems, University of Malta, Msida, Malta; Academy for Sustainable Futures, Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom; Casa de Cultura de la UAEMéx en Tlalpan, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico; School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom; Science Education Department of Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil; State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil; Universidade do Contestado-UNC, Mafra, Brazil; The Open University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; Department of Political Science, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States; Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States; Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa Univesity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; The Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
