Faculty and researchers press regents to prioritize campus emissions cuts and protect research funding

Several faculty and researchers used their one-minute public comments at the Jan. 26 University of California Health Services Committee meeting to press the regents on climate action and research funding.

Kina Sacre, a professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said the UC should prioritize climate mitigation, calling for a 40% campus emissions reduction by 2030, expanded campus solar and disclosure of all research funding sources to mitigate fossil-fuel industry influence.

Aradna Tripathi, a UCLA professor and founding director of a UC-wide leadership center, said four federal grants she relied on were targeted and that federal programs funding the center "no longer exist," placing the center at risk of a fiscal cliff in April. She asked the regents and UCOP for support and said her team is co-leading a coalition backing SB 895 to preserve community-benefit programs.

Speakers linked climate and funding concerns to the university's obligations to students and community partners and urged action to protect research capacity.