Tel Aviv University is leading the transition to a better future

With so much known about the climate crisis, including record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather events in 2023 and the damning reports of the IPCC (intergovernmental panel on climate change), sometimes the knowledge that we are facing such a huge threat can lead to the feeling that this is a problem too big to solve. What can we, as individuals, do to improve the situation? Can I alone really make a difference?

One approach is to remember that each of us is part of a larger system. For students, administrative and academic staff of Tel Aviv University, this means being part of the largest research and teaching institution in Israel including 30,000 students and 1,200 researchers. We belong to a leading educational and innovative enterprise that can also serve as a model for action on climate change.

Tel Aviv University has embarked on a plan to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as part of the 'Carbon Neutrality Plan', and thus join other leading universities around the world that have decided to take action on climate change.

The program, which is led by the Green Council headed by TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat, began by mapping sources of greenhouse gas emissions at the university. The inventory assessed emissions resulting from electricity use, refrigerants, solid waste, food consumption on campus, transportation  and more.

Based on the findings (see the report here) the team has begun to build a strategic emissions reduction plan. The program has just announced its first significant milestone: starting in 2025, all of the university's electricity, which accounts for 42% of total annual emissions, will be derived from solar energy. A tender published by TAU and won by the 'Shikun Vabinui Energy Company, includes the construction of a new solar field for the production of electricity for the university. This is a significant step as the electricity produced will represent an additional supply of renewable energy on top of the country’s existing renewable sources. The tender also includes the addition of solar roof panels on university buildings and the construction of electricity storage facilities.

This is one important step of many, towards implementation of the university’s emissions reductions plan. 

We invite you to follow developments, and also contribute and take part in our activities - write to us.

Judi Lax,

Climate Change Program Coordinator

If you haven’t joined TAU's Climate Initiative's mailing list to get the newsletter directly to your inbox, please join here.