Climate change

"Aerocene, 2016" is displayed at the 2017 World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

"Aerocene" soars at the 47th World Economic Forum

Climate-conscious sculptures influence world perspectives in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.

February 9, 2017

"Almost anyone engaged with global issues of human well-being, the distribution of resources, or the future of society is doing moral philosophy," says Kieran Setiya.

3 Questions: How philosophy can address the problem of climate change

MIT professor of philosophy Kieran Setiya explores how individuals and societies can think about and act on climate change.

February 8, 2017

Left to right: Gabriela Schlau-Cohen, Rafael Jaramillo, David Hsu, Nuno Loureiro

New faculty strengthen, broaden MIT’s energy expertise

MIT's newest faculty bring a wide array of energy interests and developments to the Institute.

February 7, 2017

“The ultimate objective,” atmospheric scientist Jesse Kroll says, “is to understand what policies could help, and what changes policymakers could make to minimize the negative health and climate effects of particulate pollution.”

Zeroing in on the chemistry of the air

Jesse Kroll examines how pollutants change chemically as they waft around the globe.

February 1, 2017

“There’s no question that carbon dioxide is the biggest contributor to human-caused climate change, so that’s the big focus of mitigation efforts. But there are a number of others that are also significant,” says Jessika Trancik, the Atlantic Richfield Career Development Associate Professor in Energy Studies at MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.

Explained: Greenhouse gases

Carbon dioxide isn’t the only one that matters, and the gases vary widely in potency and duration.

January 30, 2017

Projecting food, water, energy, climate and other global changes

Marking 25 years of science and policy studies, the MIT Joint Program launches new website showcasing its expanded research portfolio.

January 27, 2017

MIT's Maria T. Zuber and Conservation International's Peter Seligmann

MIT, Conservation International announce collaboration on climate adaptation and mitigation

Collaboration will explore ways of working with natural systems to address climate change.

January 27, 2017

Mapping out a low-carbon future

Energy scenarios provide useful decision-support tools for policymakers and investors.

January 19, 2017

The SMAP observations are providing an unprecedented level of detailed, worldwide information on the amount of water in the top 2 inches (5 centimeters) of soil, collected globally every two to three days.

Study tracks “memory” of soil moisture

First year of data from SMAP satellite provides new insights for weather, agriculture, and climate.

January 16, 2017

MIT President L. Rafael Reif (left) and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi

MIT and Eni extend energy collaboration

In Rome, MIT President Reif and Eni CEO Descalzi discuss low-carbon breakthroughs and future research.

January 16, 2017

As the CEO and co-founder of E3G, a leading environmental think tank based in London, Nick Mabey SM ’93 is an influential player in the world of environmental policy. He describes his MIT education as “a well from which I have drawn directly over the course of my career.”

Clearing the Old Smoke

An MIT alumnus works on global climate change — starting in London.

January 12, 2017

Since 2014, total campus emissions have dropped by 7 percent. Ninety-seven percent of the Institute’s emissions are associated with the operation of labs, offices, residences, and other building facilities across campus.

Campus greenhouse gas emissions down 7 percent since 2014

MIT releases results of its second campus-wide inventory.

January 11, 2017

C. Adam Schlosser, MIT research scientist and Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change deputy director

Modeling plausible futures

MIT research scientist C. Adam Schlosser assesses long-term risks to regional water and energy systems.

January 10, 2017

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in an address at MIT on Monday that the effort to limit climate change was a dire “race against time” but one that could be successful due to the economic promise of renewable energy.

John Kerry: Climate drive an urgent “race against time”

At MIT, U.S. Secretary of State highlights peril of climate change, economic promise of clean energy.

January 9, 2017

Researchers report that warming from short-lived compounds — greenhouse gases such as methane and chlorofluorocarbons, that linger in the atmosphere for just a year to a few decades — can cause sea levels to rise for hundreds of years after the pollutants have been cleared from the atmosphere.

Short-lived greenhouse gases cause centuries of sea-level rise

Through warming effects, methane and other gases impact rising seas long after leaving the atmosphere.