California Student Sustainability Coalition

Pressuring decision-makers to act on the urgency of the climate crisis and leading the shift to a just, low-carbon economy.

The Problem

Thanks to the ongoing burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil, which has increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, climate change is already taking a massive toll on the planet. From loss of sea ice to sea level rise, longer, more intense droughts and heat waves, stronger hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires, these impacts are only expected to increase, along with the spread of disease-carrying insects posing a direct threat to human health. "Taken as a whole," the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states, "the range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time."

The Solution

The California Student Sustainability Coalition is “a diverse, college student-led nonprofit pressuring decision-makers in any sector to act on the climate crisis and equitable resiliency in California.” The organization seeks to shape a more sustainable future by “applying pressure to decision-makers to act on the urgency of the climate crisis.” For example, through the Fossil Free Colleges (FFC) campaign, CSSC divested $200 million dollars in California university endowments from fossil fuels to socially responsible investments that take into account climate risk and promote the transition to a low-carbon and just economy.