UMass Amherst Professor Playing Key Role in International Launch of the 50x30 Coalition to Make Real Progress on Carbon Neutrality

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AMHERST, Mass. – A new coalition is urging governments to prevent what they describe as dire global consequences from the Earth’s cryosphere (snow and ice) regions due to overshoot of the Paris climate goals, just as the U.S.-hosted Climate Summit begins. University of Massachusetts Amherst professor of geosciences Julie Brigham-Grette is playing a prominent role.

Details of the international effort and virtual launch, including Brigham-Grette’s participation in a panel on “The Consequences of the Overshoot,” can be found at www.50x30.net. The event will be livestreamed on YouTube, Facebook and Twitch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT.

Called “50x30” (Fifty by Thirty) to reflect their call for 50% emissions reductions by the year 2030, the group partners with those few governments that meet the 50% bar. It includes leading science institutions from around the world that focus on cryosphere and climate impacts.

Founding scientific institutions include UMass Amherst (U.S); the 130,000-member American Geophysical Union (AGU); Antarctic Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand); Bolin Centre/Stockholm University (Sweden); Bristol University Glaciology Centre (UK); Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London (UK); Climate Analytics (Germany); and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (U.S.). Climate Analytics has identified the “1.5°C consistent” pathways needed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, analyzing current country commitments. The International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI, Sweden/U.S.) provides administrative support.

UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said, “The University of Massachusetts Amherst is excited to be a founding member of the 50x30 Coalition, and we join with other member institutions to lead the way in addressing the challenges of global climate change. We contribute to the effort by implementing campus-based sustainable solutions, including transitioning our energy systems to solar and natural gas. The university now continues its commitment with a goal of reaching the next level of net-zero emissions in the coming decade. As we move forward, we strongly urge others to join the coalition and participate in addressing the critical challenges before us.”