John Denham, the British governments Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills has announced that energy efficiency and emissions reductions will be key factors in a new plan to build a framework for the future of higher education over the next 10 to 15 years in Britain. He confirmed that it planned to link success in cutting emissions to funding agreements starting in 2011.

Denham wrote in in his annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) that funding for capital projects shall be linked with performance reducing emissions, "Last year, I set out our ambition that capital funding for institutions should be linked to performance in reducing emissions," he wrote. "Following your advice to me, I am now confirming that such links should be in place for 2011-12."

This is encouraging news and prompts me to ask the question, "Could the U.S. be far behind"? Already, 607 community colleges, and 4-year colleges and universities have signed the Presidents Climate Commitment committing their institutions to climate neutrality. Some campuses have set time frames for how much and by when they aim to reduce their emissions (see AASHE Resource: Campus Global Warming Commitments).

What would happen if institutions here in the U.S. had part of their state or federal funding linked to their performance in reducing emissions? There are a few existing state-wide plans that some colleges and universities are mandated to follow but we have not (yet) seen the kind of leadership from our Federal government that would mandate higher education to reduce emissions or potentially lose funding.

Does a similar policy have any chance of success here in the U.S.? What strategies and actions could our federal government take to promote emissions reductions on college and university campuses?