Nine Universities Jointly Established Taiwan University Alliance for Sustainable Governance

In response to the in-depth discussion on the issue of human survival at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), nine national universities jointly established the “Taiwan University Alliance for Sustainable Governance” on November 11. Members include National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, National Central University, National Chung Hsing University, Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan Ocean University, Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and Donghua University.

Secretary-General Gen-Shuh Wang said that NTU regards sustainable development as the core value of university development. Since announcing the goal of carbon neutrality in 2020, it has been actively searching for paths and specific measures for carbon neutrality by promoting more research, campus activities, and international collaboration on sustainability. Now, by joining hands with eight other national universities in Taiwan, NTU can fulfill its social responsibility and exert its influence on sustainability on a larger scale.

NTU President Chung-Ming Kuan said that as the world attaches importance to sustainability, all walks of life should reflect on possible solutions for climate change. Since universities are places where research energy and human resources gather, we should fight for causes of sustainable development and take on the role of transforming, changing, and leading society. In addition to promoting sustainable campus governance internally and strengthening campus resource management, universities should also use their teaching, research, and service capabilities to expand their social influence externally. With the establishment of the Alliance, an exchange network between universities will be established, and information and knowledge related to university sustainable governance will be shared to promote sustainable development. President Kuan believes that through the cooperation of universities to pursue the core value of sustainability, domestic higher education will go longer and farther on the path of fulfilling sustainable development and social responsibility.

The Taiwan University Alliance for Sustainable Governance has nine major goals for promotion:

1. Establishing a network for the exchange of sustainable governance ideas
2. Establishing a unit for sustainable development affairs
3. Examining and solving problems in current campus governance
4. Setting goals for low-carbon transformation, climate resilience and adaptation
5. Promoting cross-university collaboration in teaching
6. Promote cross-university collaboration in research
7. Promote interactions between universities and local, non-governmental organizations, and industry
8. Encouraging teachers and students to launch initiatives and develop innovative solutions for sustainability
9. Broadening perspectives on international sustainability issues