Earlier this year, the University of Florida Student Senate became the first public university student government to successfully launch its own Green New Deal campaign, to promote climate protection and work towards attaining net-zero carbon emissions.

This purpose aligns with the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s proposed Carbon Zero Initiative, launched in 2022 by former Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy with the ultimate goal of achieving 100 percent reliance on clean energy at UMass by 2032 — hence the phrase “Clean by 2032.”

In 2018, the Chancellor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee (CSAC) created the Carbon Mitigation Taskforce (CMTF) to assess the potential of reaching net-zero carbon emissions. The CMTF spent twelve months evaluating strategies and drafting an outline for the campus to reach carbon neutrality by 2032 — sooner than the statewide decarbonization deadline of 2050 that was established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Published in 2021 as an official Carbon Zero Report, the CMTF outline proposes as many as 20 different carbon mitigation solutions, most of which prioritize the reformation of campus heating, cooling and electrical systems throughout UMass.

Ezra Small, the campus sustainability manager and a co-chair of the Carbon Mitigation Taskforce, recently addressed what efforts the University has put into further climate mitigation efforts.

“When we did the Carbon Mitigation Plan, we were really just looking at different strategies,” Small said. The process of renovation, he noted, was applicable to individual buildings at UMass, including the updated computer science and sustainable engineering building, located on the north side of campus, as well as the overall energy system.

One of the most significant components of Carbon Zero is the transition to geothermal heat, with hopes of powering a low-temperature hot water system that will replace the current steam-based system. UMass plans to install over 70 geothermal wells around campus.

The low-temperature hot water energy system has a predicted 23 percent net greenhouse gas energy savings. The North Energy Exchange Center (NEEC) and Thermal Energy Storage (TES) projects are both currently underway at UMass, pursuing the alternative ground-source heat exchange system to lower greenhouse gas emissions, paving the way for a low-temperature hot water energy system with the benefit of lower heat expulsion.

“We’re talking about above-ground and below-ground storage,” Small said. “To us, it’s not the whole campus, but take a step back … as a bigger campus, it’s actually pretty substantial what they’re doing.”

“Hearing the news, knowing what the state of the world is … students want their institution to lead the way. There’s no excuse for us not to be out in front of this,” Small said.

Small highlighted the University’s goal to replace fossil fuels with renewable, soy-based diesel fuel as a source of heating. According to him, UMass does have the “green light” to start using it in their boilers, although certain implementation matters are still being tested.

But students and faculty alike have felt that Carbon Zero has not been living up to its name.

Lori Goldner, UMass physics professor, sent a letter to the Chancellor on Jan. 6. Signed by 17 other faculty members, the letter explained the downsides of this energy source that UMass has claimed to be carbon neutral. “For UMass Amherst to intentionally build reliance on an ecologically destructive fuel source that endangers public health and potentially increases carbon-emissions would be shameful,” the letter states.

“If you’re going to have backup boilers, if you’re going to use them,” Goldner said — referring to the University’s traditional plan of turning to the renewable-based backup boilers when cut off from natural gas deliveries on winter days — “The big problem is the proposal to convert the power plant to renewable diesel. It will make the air dirtier, period, because it’s diesel, not methane.”

Deputy Chancellor Tilman Wolf acknowledged these concerns, stating that renewable diesel in the power plant was a possible solution still being largely explored by the University’s decarbonization subcommittee. “We don’t just have one solution to decarbonize — we look at many different things.”

Wolf also emphasized the financial constraints around implementing such a large-scale project. “We’ve been explaining to the state for quite a while that we have numerous old buildings on our campus that we want to update and that we need funds to do that. We’re moving as fast as we can with the resources and the technology that we have.”

The UMass Amherst Sunrise Movement is a student-led climate advocacy group promoting political action to fight against climate change. On Nov. 15, Sunrise held its first visioning session addressing UMass’s climate future, with over 50 in attendance. One of the main topics of discussion was pursuing a Green New Deal for the University, as well as considering where the University stood with Carbon Zero.

Sunrise was concerned about the idea that the University has gone quieter in its efforts, and that communication hasn’t been properly facilitated for some time since the project’s emergence.

“[There is] ambiguity over what is happening,” Joshua Rand, a freshman political science major and Sunrise member, said at the meeting’s kickoff. “We don’t want Carbon Zero to be a forgotten initiative.”

“Understanding how little time we have, we really need to kick things into high gear,” said Brendan Post, a senior environmentalism major and campaign coordinator. “It no longer has the campus-wide pull that it used to because they’ve stopped talking about it,” Post said. “We say we’re on the frontlines of climate change, and maybe compared to other schools we are, but there’s so much more we could be doing.”

The Sunrise Movement has worked to stimulate climate awareness on both a national and local level, establishing over 100 local hubs around the country. They are working to shift the Green New Deal into public schools, universities and the federal government. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced in 2023 that the city will be implementing a personalized GND to decarbonize and renovate Boston public schools.

Sunrise UMass hopes it will be able to launch an official campaign that covers a Green New Deal catered specifically to UMass to address the concerns about Clean by 2032.

“Get people excited about it, and then continue escalating,” Post said. “We want it to be a transparent and empowering opportunity for students.”

Cecelia Johnson can be reached at [email protected].