The University of Antwerp's climate action plan aims for climate neutrality by 2030 and fossil-free operation by 2050, which requires significant financial efforts. The greatest investment need (up to 350 million euros) lies in the transformation to a fossil-free patrimony, but other policy areas such as mobility, de-paving, and greening also require additional resources. Since 2019, the university has already applied a CO2e contribution for flights by staff members, which will be increased to €80/tCO2e from 2025. Of these contributions, 75% goes to new climate actions within the university, while 25% is spent on compensation projects.
Breakthrough action 2025-2026
As a breakthrough action for 2025-2026, we propose the establishment of a sustainability or climate investment fund to provide resources for additional measures for these objectives. The exact form, management, and decision-making will need to be determined. Additional possible financing strategies include more technical paths such as public-private partnerships for sustainable energy, investments in measures with short payback periods, and internal ‘loans’ for energy-saving measures, but also a broad consultation with stakeholders about how we can further anchor compensation in the university's business operations after 2030.
The main challenge remains that the current financial resources are insufficient and that for many policy areas there is still uncertainty about the exact financial impact of proposed climate measures and their cost-effectiveness.