Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Join us for an Energy Policy Seminar featuring Eyck Freymann, joint Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Belfer Center's Arctic Initiative and Columbia University. Freymann will give a talk on "Chinese Perspectives on Climate Geopolitics." Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: No RSVP is required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first served basis. The seminar will also be streamed via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link. 

Recording: The seminar will be recorded and available to watch on this page (typically one week later). Those who register for this event will automatically receive a link to the recording as soon as it becomes available.

Accessibility: Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Liz Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Sponsors: The Belfer Center's Environment and Natural Resources Program, the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, the Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

Once considered "flyover country at the edge of the world," the Arctic, the Antarctic, and their associated marine environments are emerging as regions for exploration, exploitation, and extraction - as well as active arenas for geopolitical competition between polar and near-polar states. How that competition plays out will have serious ramifications for environmental, political, economic, and human security and stability around the globe. 

Please join the Arctic Initiative for a book talk featuring Douglas Causey, Arctic Initiative Associate and Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and Christian Leuprecht, Class of 1965 Professor in Leadership at the Royal Military College of Canada. Drawing from their new book, Polar Cousins: Comparing Antarctic and Arctic Geostrategic Futures, co-editors Causey and Leuprecht will  discuss the impacts of geopolitics and climate change on national and international security interests in both polar regions, as well as the lessons learned from the Arctic experience for addressing challenges relating to governance, environmental protection, and maritime operations in the Antarctic.

Arctic Initiative Co-Director John P. Holdren will moderate. Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Attendance: In-person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders; no RSVP required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first serve basis. 

Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link. 

Recording: The seminar will be recorded and available to watch on this page (typically one week later). Those who register for this event will automatically receive a link to the recording as soon as it becomes available.

Accessibility: Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Elizabeth Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Join us for a conversation about science, diplomacy, and geopolitics with Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Fran Ulmer and Professor and Director of The Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire Larry Mayer. Professor Mayer led the science team onboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy, which just completed a cruise from Alaska to Greenland through the Northwest Passage. Please register to attend this event here. 

Join the Arctic Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and the Polar Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for an engaging Earth Day dialogue with Iceland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, about  Iceland’s Chairmanship of the Arctic Council on what is next. 

Join us for an Energy Policy Seminar featuring John Holdren, Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at HKS. Professor Holdren will speak on "Thawing Permafrost: A Local and Global Disaster." The seminar will be hosted by HKS Professor Joe Aldy.

Attendance: This event is open to the public and hosted on Zoom. For those who cannot attend live, the seminar will be recorded and available to watch via the EPSS homepage.

Registration: Please RSVP at the link below. Registration will remain open until the event begins.

Speaker: Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, Research Fellow with the Iran Project and Project on Managing the Atom

Speaker: Elmar Hellendoorn, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

Speaker: Marjolijn van Deelen, Non-proliferation, Disarmament and Nuclear Affairs Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands

Does Islam in fact govern the production, possession, and use of nuclear weapons, by prohibiting, tolerating, or rather encouraging the acquisition of such weapons? This seminar will identify and assess the potential strategic implications of this legal outcome, including the impact of the religious discourse on regional stability and national and international security.

This talk will present the key factors that lead to the development of the Brazilian ethanol and biodiesel industries. Three on-going small scale projects have been analyzed from a rural development perspective to compare their socio-economic benefits in relation to large scale projects. Preliminary analysis have tried to identify alternative partnership structures between the private sector and rural communities.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come-first served basis.