Business as usual but greener? Confronting colonialism in university responses to the climate and nature emergency

Abstract

This article critically examines how Canadian universities address the climate and nature emergency (CNE) through their sustainability and climate action strategies. Using thematic analysis, the study analyzes U15 university strategies to assess how these institutions conceptualize the CNE and the extent to which they reproduce or challenge the modern/colonial system in which universities are embedded. While the colonial foundations of the modern university are well-documented, this article identifies the institutional mechanisms through which coloniality is reproduced, solidified, and in rare cases, contested, in response to the CNE. Findings reveal that universities predominantly frame the CNE as a technical problem solvable through Western scientific innovation and greening operations, often overlooking the deeper systemic and colonial dimensions that drive ecological destruction and destabilization. By reinforcing the modern/colonial system, these approaches risk perpetuating the very dynamics that create unsustainability. The article calls for a shift towards more reflexive, responsible, and reparative responses to the CNE that confront colonial complicity, honour Indigenous sovereignties, and move towards justice-oriented approaches to sustainability.