Linking Science to Action, Harvard Will Be Fossil Fuel-Free by 2050, Fuel-Neutral by 2026

Harvard University announced in February an ambitious new climate goal striving to end its use of fossil fuels by 2050. The new Harvard climate action plan also includes an interim goal to become fossil fuel-neutral by 2026 (green.harvard.edu/climate).

Linking scientific research to action, the new climate action plan is based on the recommendations of a multi-disciplinary Climate Change Task Force convened in 2016 and composed of faculty experts, students, and senior administrators.

"We are facing a time when the notion of shifting the world's foundations for energy choices in a more sustainable, life-friendly direction is feasible technology, economically, and politically, " said William Clark. Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development at Harvard Kennedy School and faculty co-chair of the Task Force.

"We need to reduce radically the use of fossil fuels not only because of their catastrophic impacts on climate," Clark said, "but also because of their massive direct damages to human health and the natural environment."