About the CANIE Accord and Glasgow Paper:

1. Why has the CANIE Accord been created now?

The urgency of the climate crisis demands immediate action across every sector including international education. In November 2021, CANIE convened a forum of international education peak body and association leaders to collaboratively articulate the sector’s climate ambitions and commit to taking action. The CANIE Accord is a product of the November leaders forum and enables international educators to sign and demonstrate, for the first time as a sector, a shared commitment to align with scientific recommendations and international climate agreements.

2. What is the purpose of the CANIE Accord?

The purpose of the CANIE Accord is to strengthen and accelerate the response of the international education sector to the climate crisis. It was created to provide practical actions to guide international education organizations at any stage of climate action knowledge or implementation.

3. Who wrote the CANIE Accord?

The wording of the CANIE Accord has been carefully developed in consultation with the participants of the CANIE COP26 Climate Action Week Leaders Forum and members of CANIE’s global network. This diverse group represents leaders from international education peak bodies, associations, higher education institutions, university networks, media, national governments, corporations, supranational bodies, scholarship bodies, and more.

4. How does the CANIE COP26 Glasgow Paper relate to the CANIE Accord?

Both the CANIE Accord and the Glasgow Paper are products of the rich discussions that took place during the CANIE COP26 Climate Action Week Leaders Forum in November 2021. The Glasgow Paper contextualizes the CANIE Accord by summarizing the technical aspects of the Leaders Forum discussions and situtating them within existing research.

5. What are the areas addressed in the CANIE Accord?

The CANIE Accord contains the following eight sections (referred to as articles).

  1. Definitions

  2. Commitments

  3. Purpose and Principles

  4. Leadership and Influencing

  5. Emissions Accounting and Reduction

  6. Travel

  7. Facilities, Operations, and Procurement

  8. Climate education

Article 3 defines the three principles of climate action in international education. Articles 4-8 contain a menu of seventy climate actions, each categorized as “basic”, “better”, or “best”.

Signing the CANIE Accord:

6. Why should I sign the CANIE Accord?

By becoming a signatory to the CANIE Accord, your organization would be joining a sector-wide initiative to commit to responsible stewardship of the planet. Becoming a signatory signals to students, partners, and other stakeholders that your organization is serious about taking urgent action to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions and that you are part of a global network of international educators working toward that goal. Signatories will receive an electronic badge and a media kit to promote their status as a signatory and commitment to ambitious climate action.

7. What is the CANIE Accord asking of signatories?

Signatories to the CANIE Accord are required to agree to the purpose and principle of the Accord (Article 3) plus commit to at least five climate actions spanning three or more areas (Articles 4-8).

8. Who can become a signatory to the CANIE Accord?

The CANIE Accord is applicable to the whole of the international education sector including, but not limited to, international units operating within higher education institutions, membership associations, international recruiters, and all other organizations and businesses operating within, or in support of, the sector. Heads of higher education institutions, associations, institutes, and departments are invited to sign the CANIE Accord on behalf of their institutions and units. The individual who signs the CANIE Accord on behalf of their organization must have authority to do so.

9. Can I sign the CANIE Accord as an individual?

The CANIE Accord should be signed by someone with authority to sign on behalf of an organization. The CANIE Accord is not meant for individual signers. We encourage signing at the institutional level, if possible. For example, the university rather than the international office. We hope this will help to mobilize support across the institution.

10. Is there a fee to become a signatories to the CANIE Accord?

There is not a fee to becoming a signatory to the CANIE Accord.

11. I want to sign on behalf of my organization, when do I select my climate actions?

Signatories to the CANIE Accord select their climate action commitments at the time of signing. The signing process involves completing an online form found on CANIE’s website. The individual signing on behalf of the organization will select “Yes”, “No”, or “Not Applicable” for each of the seventy actions.

12. On the pdf of the CANIE Accord, I don’t see a signature line. How do I sign?

Signatories complete the online form found on CANIE’s website. Commitment is made by completing the form. We do not require an electronic signature nor a wet signature.

13. What is the signing and approval process and timeline?

Within two weeks of CANIE receiving your completed online form, you will receive a draft of your organization's commitments landing page to be posted on the CANIE website for your approval. Once approved, you will receive your digital badge certifying you as a signatory to the CANIE Accord as well as a marketing toolkit full of assets to help you promote your climate action commitments.

14. What exactly is the commitment beyond signing?

By becoming a signatory to the CANIE Accord, your organization is publicly committing to follow through on the actions selected.

15. What are the reporting requirements?

Because CANIE is a volunteer-run organization with limited capacity, there are currently no audits or formal reviews of signatories to the CANIE Accord. Instead, signatory commitments are published on the CANIE website for prospective students, partners, and other stakeholders to access.

Plans to introduce accountability measures are underway and will be implemented as CANIE grows and gains financial support to increase capacity.

16. Is there a deadline to sign?

Organizations may commit to the CANIE Accord at any time. There is not a deadline.

After signing the CANIE Accord:

17. How can organizations communicate about signing the CANIE Accord?

Signatories to the CANIE Accord will have a commitments landing page on CANIE’s website and will receive a badge and media toolkit. We encourage you to share the webpage and use your CANIE assets to promote your commitment to taking bold climate action.

18. Who do I contact if I have feedback about the contents of the CANIE Accord?

The CANIE Accord is a document that is meant to serve the whole of the international education sector globally. As such, we welcome feedback with the aim of continuously improving the document so it reflects evolving research and best practices. Please send feedback to info@can-ie.org.

19. Is the CANIE Accord ever updated? If so, how often?

The CANIE Accord will be revised on an annual basis. The revisions will be addressed at CANIE’s annual Climate Action Week, which will continue to take place concurrently with the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP).

20. How can I support CANIE and initiatives like the CANIE Accord?

CANIE is a grassroots organization run by volunteers in the international education sector. We welcome new members and encourage you to join your regional chapter or start a chapter if one does not exist in your region. CANIE also welcomes donations to support our ongoing work. Please feel free to contact us via email.


Ready to sign the CANIE Accord?