About the Task Force

Rutgers University is a national leader in scholarly studies on climate change. The university is working to address the climate crisis through research and meaningful action. 

In September 2019, then-president Robert Barchi announced the creation of the President’s Task Force on Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience. The task force continues its work under the leadership of President Jonathan Holloway. 

The purpose of the task force is to develop Rutgers’ strategies for contributing to achieving global net-zero carbon dioxide emissions (“carbon neutrality”) and for enhancing the capacity of the university and the State of New Jersey to manage the risks of a changing climate (“climate resilience”). This includes not just strategies for Rutgers’ own operations, but also ways in which the university’s actions can advance the goal of climate-positive, equitable economic development in New Jersey and more broadly. 

Robert Kopp and Kevin Lyons are co-chairs of the climate task force. Kopp is a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University–New Brunswick and director of the Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. Lyons is an associate professor of professional practice at Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick and in Newark and associate director of the Rutgers Energy Institute. Rutgers faculty members from diverse disciplines are on the task force.  

The task force is charged with developing a climate action plan for the university through a multiphase approach. View the preliminary findings and the latest task force updates. A final report and Climate Action Plan are expected in 2021.