Emissions

This aerial view shows a similar solar farm in North Carolina, using the same type of solar panels, illustrating what the new project will look like when it is completed by the end of this year.

MIT to neutralize 17 percent of carbon emissions through purchase of solar energy

Partnership of three local organizations could set a sustainability example for others to follow.

October 19, 2016

A bubble of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas is trapped by capillary forces in a bed of glass beads saturated with water; as the CO2 dissolves into the water, an aqueous pH indicator changes from blue to yellow. The MITEI Low-Carbon Energy Center for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage will advance research with support from members including ExxonMobil.

ExxonMobil joins MIT Energy Initiative’s low-carbon technology R&D program

Low-Carbon Energy Centers are engaging across industries and sectors in advancing climate solutions.

October 13, 2016

While climate change may boost crop yields in some “breadbasket” regions, extreme heat and drought linked to a changing climate are likely to increase the frequency of major crop failures. Water stress is expected to increase in most regions due to pressures from population and economic growth as well as from climate change.

Even if the Paris Agreement is implemented, food and water supplies remain at risk

Report projects impacts of 2015 Paris climate agreement, identifies emissions paths/technology advances needed to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.

October 4, 2016

The Low Emission Roadmap Roundtable featured (left to right) Valérie Quiniou-Ramus, co-chair of the OGCI Low Emission Roadmap work stream and vice president at Total; Vidar Helgesen, minister of climate and the environment of Norway; John Reilly, co-director of the MIT Joint Program; Henry Jacoby, event moderator and MIT Joint Program co-director emeritus; Bjorn Otto Sverdrup, senior vice preside...

Engaging industry in addressing climate change

At Climate Week conference, MIT Joint Program lays out the 2 degree Celsius challenge for oil and gas producers.

September 29, 2016

Geoffrey Supran PhD ’16 says “there are a lot of myths floating around about hybrid and electric cars,” for example concerning the manufacture of those vehicles, or their reliance on conventional electricity sources. This often leads people to claim that “they’re no better than your average gasoline vehicle. Our study shows that’s just not true.”

Study: Low-emissions vehicles are less expensive overall

Detailed look at 125 U.S. auto models finds those emitting less carbon are the least expensive to drive.

September 27, 2016

“The ocean has been the only true sink for anthropogenic emissions since the industrial revolution,” says MIT graduate student Sophie Chu, pictured here. “Right now, it stores about 1/4 to 1/3 of the anthropogenic emissions from the atmosphere. We’re expecting at some point the storage will slow down.”

Study finds increased ocean acidification due to human activities

More anthropogenic carbon in the northeast Pacific means weaker shells for many marine species.

September 7, 2016

Maria Zuber, MIT vice president for research, welcomes GE to MIT as a new Sustaining Member of the MIT Energy Initiative. Zuber discussed MIT’s Plan for Action on Climate Change and the importance of industry engagement in solving global climate and energy challenges.

MIT Energy Initiative welcomes GE as new member and participant in Low-Carbon Energy Centers

GE’s membership marks continued progress on goals of MIT’s Plan for Action on Climate Change to engage industry in solving global challenges.

August 30, 2016

Collectively, piston-engine aircraft like this Cirrus SR22 constitute the nation’s largest remaining source of lead emissions.

Unfriendly skies: Piston engine aircraft pose a significant health threat

Study shows long-lasting health, economic impacts of lead emissions from U.S. general aviation flights.

August 26, 2016

New method developed for producing some metals

Using electricity rather than heat can reduce both energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

August 24, 2016

Nighttime image of New York City, with the red showing a large population density. “The adoption potential of electric vehicles is remarkably similar across cities, from dense urban areas like New York, to sprawling cities like Houston. This goes against the view that electric vehicles — at least affordable ones, which have limited range — only really work in dense urban centers,” says Jes...

Can today’s EVs make a dent in climate change?

Electric vehicles can meet drivers’ needs enough to replace nearly 90 percent of vehicles now on the road.

August 15, 2016

In an invited report and presentation at the White House ahead of the Paris climate negotiations, Jessika Trancik of the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society described an analysis that she and her colleagues at MIT and Tsinghua University performed, including results that demonstrate a mutually reinforcing cycle between emissions-reduction policies and technology development.

Reducing emissions, improving technology: A mutually reinforcing cycle

An MIT study on the connection between technology development and emissions-reduction policies informs Paris climate negotiations.

August 8, 2016

Zhang Gaoli (seated, right), vice premier of China, whose portfolio includes environmental issues, speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the outset of a meeting about climate change and other topics at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on Nov. 11, 2014.

Meeting climate goals through international carbon markets

Linking emissions trading systems in developed and developing countries could yield environmental, economic benefits.

July 29, 2016

MIT Energy Initiative researchers are making technological progress across the low-carbon energy spectrum.

Addressing climate change with Low-Carbon Energy Centers

New interdisciplinary centers will advance clean technology in key areas.

July 28, 2016

Roughness- and deflection-induced excess carbon dioxide emissions on Virginia’s Interstate Highway network in 2013

Data-driven approach to pavement management lowers greenhouse gas emissions

July 26, 2016

“The Cultures of Markets: The Political Economy of Climate Governance,” by Janelle Knox-Hayes (pictured), published by Oxford University Press.

Market makers

Good emissions trading programs are unique, not one-size-fits-all, new book argues.