{"id":453118,"date":"2026-06-30T08:53:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=453118"},"modified":"2026-06-30T08:53:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:53:40","slug":"royal-roads-university-canadian-universities-should-focus-on-climate-action-rather-than-academic-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=453118","title":{"rendered":"Royal Roads University: Canadian Universities Should Focus on Climate Action Rather than Academic Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by<\/strong> Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026 forward-thinking universities won\u2019t be measuring excellence using status rankings<\/a> and H-factors<\/a>. Instead, they will show their value through community-based metrics<\/a> \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Universities have a vital role to play in tackling climate change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published: June 26, 2026 2.55am AEST
Sarah Elizabeth Wolfe<\/a> Professor, School of Environment and Sustainability, Royal Roads University
Philip Steenkamp<\/a> President and Vice-Chancellor, Royal Roads University<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governments, corporations and other institutions must all play constructive roles in mitigating the impacts of climate change. Universities, too, can and must help<\/a> with that effort.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canadian government\u2019s drought assessment<\/a> shows above-normal temperatures and lower precipitation across the Pacific Northwest this El Ni\u00f1o season. An early-season drought \u2014 which could affect Vancouver Island \u2014 will negatively impact farms, wetlands, wildfire risks and water demand from seasonal tourism. Higher temperatures, tinder-dry forests and already scarce water supplies<\/a> are a lethal combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given those climate realities, the most successful, influential and forward-thinking universities won\u2019t be measuring excellence using status rankings<\/a> and H-factors<\/a>. Instead, they will show their value through community-based metrics<\/a>: directly and persistently applying their expertise to help local communities deal with the risks they face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means an intentional, place-based approach to research and teaching that\u2019s organized around a region\u2019s unique and specific problems \u2014 its people, histories, economies, risks and opportunities<\/a>. At a place-based or community-embedded<\/a> university, excellence comes via a whole-institutional approach<\/a> that goes beyond rhetoric to meaningful action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/universities-have-a-vital-role-to-play-in-tackling-climate-change-284946<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is the same kind of absurdity which leads leftists and greens to regularly suggest we should judge national economies by measuring happiness instead of GDP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This point is easily refuted by asking a question: Which helps students get a job? The skill to do the job, or the love of the community their university served?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you were seriously ill, would you rather your brain surgeon was the absolute best he or she could be, or would their commitment to climate action and track record of good works for the community be more important to you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not dissing the value of endorsement for good works. Reputation and character are important, and love from your community might open doors. But ultimately if you can\u2019t do the job, there is no point hiring you.<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Academic excellence and climate action are not mutually exclusive. Strong basic research, rigorous scholarship, and high-caliber faculty, often produce the knowledge tools needed for effective climate solutions\u2014modeling, materials science, economics of adaptation, energy systems, etc. Downgrading excellence risks turning universities into activist NGOs rather than truth-seeking institutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":453123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691843872,691819968,691819287,691835129,691843873,691843871],"class_list":["post-453118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-activist-ngos","tag-climate-risks","tag-el-nino-2","tag-higher-temperatures","tag-leftists-and-greens","tag-royal-roads-university","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1TSm","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":381732,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=381732","url_meta":{"origin":453118,"position":0},"title":"Trump\u2019s Attack on Harvard Could be a Turning Point in the Battle Against the Climate Cult","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"But, beyond the parody, the escalating confrontation between the Trump administration and Harvard University, the bastion of elite academia, has laid bare a deeper culture war over the direction of American higher education. 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