Environment & Climate Change

John P. Holdren, President Obama's Science Advisor, discusses what actions are needed to address climate change with the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

Professor Stavins presents the RSIS Distinguished Public Lecture at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, in cooperation with the National University of Singapore, May 3, 2018.

Two prominent national journalists from The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin and Chris Mooney, spoke about the early days of reporting on President Trump’s anti-environment policies and appointments—and efforts to undo President Obama’s pro-climate legacy—at a recent public talk at the Harvard Kennedy School.

For more than a decade, the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative has sought to improve the health, safety, and rights of low-paid, vulnerable immigrant workers in a poorly regulated part of the beauty care industry. A recent Harvard Kennedy School panel discussion on "Toxic Beauty: Environmental Justice and Workers' Rights," featured the innovative California initiative and its selection as the winner of the 2016 Roy Family Award for Environmental Partnership.

Pursuing Sustainability: A Guide to the Science and Practice, by leading authorities Pamela Matson, William C. Clark, and Krister Andersson, is a concise guide that provides everyone interested in sustainability – students, scholars, and practitioners alike – with a strategic framework and approaches for understanding, analyzing, and effectively engaging in sustainability challenges. While individuals from every realm of society can and need to engage in this, innovations from the research and innovation communities are particularly needed; creating useful knowledge and linking it effectively with decision-making is an urgent need. In educational settings, the book serves as an invaluable primer and companion to research and teaching that deals with sustainability in particular sectors such as energy, food, water, and cities, or in particular regions of the world. In professional settings, it offers a guide to how we all—regardless of profession—can become more effective in the pursuit of sustainability.

Climate change is a global problem that will require global solutions. Harvard Kennedy School expects to be a part of the solution through the development of academically rigorous research and ideas, and by engaging policymakers, non-governmental actors, practitioners, scholars, and others from around the world.