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Carbon Neutrality

The University of Michigan is committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions university-wide.

FY23 Climate Action Report

Moving plans forward for renewable purchased electricity, widespread geo-exchange heating and cooling systems, innovative financing mechanisms and more.

Read the report

Commitments

  • Carbon Neutrality

    • 2025 — reduce emissions from purchased power (Scope 2) to net zero.
    • 2040 — eliminate direct, on-campus greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1).
    • 2025 — establish goals for a wide range of indirect emission sources (Scope 3).
    • Foster a university-wide culture of sustainability, with justice as a core principle.

  • Sustainable Investing

    • Discontinued direct investments in companies that are the largest contributors to greenhouse gases, and new investments in funds whose primary focus is oil reserves, oil extraction, or thermal coal extraction.
    • Shifted natural resource investments to renewable energy, low-carbon fuel and other investments to help build a sustainable economy.
    • Pursuing a net-zero endowment by 2050.

U-M efforts align with UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidance:

  • U-M is on pace to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2025, which exceeds the IPCC's guidance to reduce emissions by 45 percent by 2030.
  • U-M committed to eliminating 100 percent of Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040 — ten years ahead of the IPCC's global net-zero target.

For more up-to-date information on how U-M is progressing toward carbon neutrality, visit the Priorities & Progress page.

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Visit the Priorities & Progress page for more details on a number of current efforts. Or, for analysis that informs U-M carbon neutrality work going forward, read the President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality's final report and internal analysis team reports.