Climate: Université Paris Cité puts two assessments in place to prepare for the future

DDRSE

In response to the climate emergency and in keeping with its “planetary health” commitment, Université Paris Cité is taking a decisive step in its Sustainable Development and Social and Environmental Responsibility strategy. In 2026, the university is setting in motion two complementary initiatives simultaneously: its first comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Emissions Assessment (BEGES) and a climate vulnerability assessment. This dual approach is designed to provide a precise understanding of our carbon footprint in order to reduce it more effectively, while also anticipating the unavoidable impacts of climate change on our campuses.

Assess, then act: the BEGES as a steering tool toward a low-carbon pathway

To reduce its emissions, the university must first understand where they come from. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Assessment (BEGES) is a regulatory requirement that the university is carrying out using the Bilan Carbone® methodology, the national benchmark developed by the Association for the Low-Carbon Transition (ABC). This process is becoming a real decision-making tool and will lead to a transition plan aimed at embedding decarbonisation across the institution over the long term.

Scheduled for completion in the last quarter of 2026, this assessment will examine three sources of emissions, known as “scopes”:

  • Scope 1 — direct emissions: gas combustion and the vehicle fleet.
  • Scope 2 — indirect energy-related emissions: electricity and district heating networks.
  • Scope 3 — other indirect emissions: procurement, commuting, and digital activities.

The objective is to align with the French National Low-Carbon Strategy and achieve deep decarbonisation by 2050.

Planning ahead to last: the vulnerability assessment in the face of climate hazards

The effects of climate change are already being felt across our campuses, including heatwaves and increasingly intense weather events. While the BEGES helps reduce our footprint, the vulnerability assessment prepares the university to deal with risks that are now unavoidable.

Expected by the end of 2026, this assessment will unfold in four phases:

  • Scoping: identifying stakeholders, gathering available data, and defining the scope of analysis.
  • Risk mapping:projecting the climate hazards to which our campuses will be exposed by 2030 and 2050.
  • Impact analysis:assessing the effects of these risks on our buildings, research activities, and the health of our community.
  • Strategic directions:formulating initial pathways to strengthen resilience, which will feed into an adaptation plan in a second phase.

By mobilising its own experts and its internal network, the university is drawing on its in-house strengths to better understand and anticipate campus vulnerabilities, in support of sustainable working and learning conditions for all.

Toward a sustainable climate strategy

The implementation of the BEGES and vulnerability assessments is part of Axis 11 of Université Paris Cité’s Sustainable Development and Social and Environmental Responsibility roadmap, entitled “Reducing our energy consumption.”

Driven by the DD&RSE mission, this initiative is mobilising the entire university community to define a decarbonisation pathway and strengthen the resilience of our campuses in the face of environmental challenges.

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