To the Penn State Community,

We are the Student Government Association of Penn State Brandywine, and we are
expressing our support for holding Penn State accountable for its influence on the
Environment.

As a student government organization at Penn State, it is our top priority to serve the needs
of the student body and to look out for students’ health and well being. Over the course of
the past decade, the world has seen the effects of climate change in full, with record-breaking
natural disasters, rising temperatures and ecological degradation all threatening the health
and well being of every person on this planet.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 8 of the

hottest years in recorded history occurred over the past 10 years. Wildfires and rising
temperatures are just preludes as the world faces mass extinctions of species, the
disproportion of millions of climate refugees and the loss of trillions of dollars of economic
damage if we, as a society, don’t work together collectively and act now to reduce our
greenhouse gas emissions.

As a higher education institution, Penn State has made commitments towards combating
climate change and made significant strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Penn
State has committed to cut 80% of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and has achieved a
32% reduction since 2005; however, these actions and commitments are not enough to
properly address this existential threat.

The IPCC has stated that global net emissions need to reach net-zero by 2050 in order to
keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius; a threshold that the scientific community
accepts as the point of no return if passed. In 2017, Penn State signed the “We Are Still In”
declaration, a commitment taken by thousands of signatures to uphold the greenhouse gas
reduction targets of the UNFCC Paris Agreement on climate change, with or without support
from the federal government.
 We recognize the seriousness and urgency this threat poses on not only our fellow students,
but on our local community members, fellow Penn Staters, and the world. A student-led
group called Penn State Climate Action created a petition that outlines the necessary actions
for Penn State to meet these goals, including:

1) Reducing greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible, setting a specific date

between 2030 and 2040 for reaching net zero emissions;

2) Divesting from fossil fuels and investing in the green economy, especially energy
efficiency, renewable energy sources, and zero-emissions transportation; and

3) Creating a Climate Action Task Force made up of Penn State faculty, staff, and
students charged with the capacity to study, set policy, assess and publish progress on
our climate commitments.

In celebration of October 13th as the International Day of Disaster Reduction, an

international day created by the United Nations that encourages governments and citizens to
make our communities and countries more resilient to disasters, and in our commitment to
making the health, safety and security of Penn State students our top priority, Brandywine’s
SGA is ready to fully commit to the goals set forth by the Climate Action petition, and we
call on the Penn State administration to abide by these goals in order to take the proper
measures to combat climate change.

We stand in solidarity with the members of the Penn State community who demand greater
action from the University and, as a student government organization, we will create and
adopt legislation in support of the climate action petition and its goals.

This decade will be the defining moment in the fight against climate change. We choose to
act, and we are calling on the University to take action.

Thank you Everyone,

Matthew Wickel
, President

Jack Kwok,Vice President

Nicole Jimenez,
Sustainability Chair