University of Tasmania retains top spot for climate action in prestigious global ranking

The University of Tasmania has once again excelled in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, retaining its position as the world’s number one educational institution for climate action.

The University of Tasmania Campus at Sandy Bay. Picture: Linda Higginson

The University of Tasmania has once again excelled in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, retaining its position as the world’s number one educational institution for climate action.

The prestigious ranking measured a record 2526 universities across 130 territories in terms of their impacts on society and the environment.

The performances of the institutions were measured against the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through four categories: research, teaching, stewardship and outreach.

For the fourth year in a row, UTAS came in at number one for climate action.

“These ranking results affirm that there are real and measurable ways in which we can make a difference,” UTAS Vice Chancellor Rufus Black said.

Calum Cunningham (Research Fellow in Biological Sciences), Professor Julianne O’Reilly-Wapstra (Dean of the School of Natural Sciences) and Corey Peterson (Chief Sustainability Officer). Picture: Supplied/Peter W. Allen

“We will continue to be ambitious in how we incorporate sustainability into the very fabric of how we work, both academically and operationally.”

UTAS also rose from second place last year to take out the top spot for the life on land category, and equalled Griffith University as fourth place overall.

Natural Sciences School Dean Julianne O’Reilly-Wapstra said the result reflected the fact that the university’s research “intentionally targets today’s most urgent climate-related questions”.

“The rankings consider research done in sustainable forest management, biodiversity loss prevention, degraded land restoration and new techniques for ecosystem conservation,” Professor O’Reilly-Wapstra said.

“Our overarching aim is for local and global impact.”

Australia had more universities in the global top ten than any other nation, with Western Sydney University coming first overall for the fourth consecutive year.

Times Higher Education chief global affairs officer Phil Baty said the ranking clearly showed universities in the region were “leading the way on helping the world to a more sustainable future”.

“(This) comprehensive analysis clearly shows that universities worldwide are stepping up to help the world take on its most pressing grand challenges, from the climate crisis to delivering economic growth to supporting peace and justice across the world,” he said.

“This huge piece of research highlights the real-world impact that universities make, and their contribution to the public good.”

UTAS has been certified carbon neutral since 2016 and divested from fossil fuel investments in 2021.

It has also significantly reduced embodied carbon in its new buildings and has set a target to cut carbon emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2030 when compared to its 2015 baseline.

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Originally published as University of Tasmania retains top spot for climate action in prestigious global ranking