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University President Dan Mote announced a commitment to reduce and eventually eliminate the university's net greenhouse gas emissions on Tuesday as part of the largest effort among the nation's higher education institutions to reduce their impact on climate change.

Mote is one of 284 signatories to date who have joined a coalition of presidents from the nation's colleges and universities in signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). The commitment says the university will have an action plan within the next two years to reduce its greenhouse emissions 80 percent by 2050.

"We must all take significant, lasting action steps to preserve our environment," Mote said in a press release issued Tuesday after the ACUPCC held a launch conference in Washington.

The university will form a task force over the summer to inventory greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, contributors to global warming, which are emitted from the campus. Following the inventory, a work group comprised of faculty and staff will dedicate themselves to the commitment's goal of "climate neutrality."

The ACUPCC has defined climate neutrality as "minimizing [greenhouse] emissions as much as possible and using carbon offsets or other measures to mitigate the remaining emissions." Steps to neutrality, as recommended by the ACUPCC, include the purchases of energy-efficient appliances, renewable energy and carbon emission off-sets. The agreement also calls for the university to provide the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) with periodic progress reports.

At this point, the university has "taken a leap of faith" to reach their new goals, said Scott Lupin, the university's associate director of environmental safety.

"The proper technology may not exist to create climate neutrality now," said Lupin, although he says such emission-reducing technology is "expected to exist" by the time the university begins to comply to their own action plan. "The signing of the act shows very positive development for the university toward expanding sustainability."

The university now purchases several energy-efficient appliances and encourages public transportation through Shuttle-UM and FlexCar's rental program, two of the commitment's "tangible actions to reduce greenhouse gases." But much more changes would be needed to reach carbon neutrality.

The commitment comes after the student body has expressed a desire for the university to reduce its impact on climate change, even if it's costly. In last semester's Student Government Association election, students overwhelmingly supported a non-binding resolution to increase their student fees for the university to purchase all of its energy needs from renewable sources.

Yet as challenging as the university's goals may seem, the recommended steps to reduce greenhouse gases are very possible and "make financial sense" as well, according to Audrey Chang, a National Resources Defense Council staff scientist.

"In order to get to 80-percent reduction there needs to be whole sale change in the economy. It can't be just one part [of the community]," Chang said. The up-front cost of reducing the university's emissions would likely be high, but the university would benefit financially from saving energy over time, she said.

The commitment also requires the university to make climate neutrality and campus sustainability a part of course curriculum and university research efforts.

Since their initiative began in October, the ACUPCC has surpassed its goal of collecting 200 presidents' signatures by June. Directed by university and college presidents and supported by the environmental groups AASHE, Second Nature and ecoAmerica, the ACUPCC now seeks 1,000 universities and colleges to be involved by December 2009.

"Commitment is a bold step in the right direction," said Arizona State University President Michael Crow, the chair of the ACUPCC Steering Committee. "More than ever, universities must take leadership roles to address the grand challenges of the 21st century, and climate change is paramount amongst these."

Contact reporter Allie

Benjamin at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.

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