Environment & Climate Change

984 Items

Eleanor Roosevelt holding a poster of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

FDR Presidential Library and Museum/Flickr

Analysis & Opinions - Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

The Future of Human Rights

In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Belfer Center experts shared their perspectives on the future of the international human rights movement as part of the Carr Center's publication, Making a Movement: The History and Future of Human Rights

News - Harvard Project on Climate Agreements

Salata Institute Launches Initiative to Reduce Global Methane Emissions

| July 10, 2023

The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University launched today a major research and outreach initiative to reduce global methane emissions. The initiative seeks meaningful and sustained progress in global methane-emissions reductions through research and effective engagement with government policymakers and with key stakeholders in business, nongovernmental organizations, and international institutions.

Steam rises from a coal-fired power plant.

AP Photo/Michael Probst

Report - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Technology Primer: Direct Air Capture

    Editors:
  • Howard Herzog
  • Peter Psarras
| June 09, 2023

Direct air capture (DAC) is a type of technology that captures carbon dioxide directly from the air. As the negative impacts of climate change become ever more apparent, governments and private industries have funneled increasing support toward DAC as a critical pathway toward achieving a net-zero future. Although a promising technology, wide-scale deployment of DAC faces several significant challenges.

A man fishes near an oil drilling platform

AP/Eric Gay, File

Policy Brief - Harvard Initiative to Reduce Global Methane Emissions

Updating Estimates of Methane Emissions: The Case of China

    Authors:
  • Zichong Chen
  • Daniel Jacob
| May 2023

The Harvard Initiative to Reduce Global Methane Emissions released its first publication in May 2023: a research brief titled “Updating Estimates of Methane Emissions: The Case of China.” The Initiative is one of five interdisciplinary research clusters funded by the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University. The Harvard Project on Climate Agreements collaborates in the implementation of the Initiative.

The Hardin Generating Station

AP Photo/Matthew Brown

Analysis & Opinions - The Atlantic

How to Decarbonize Crypto

| Dec. 06, 2022

Maintaining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies causes about 0.3 percent of global CO2 emissions. That may not sound like a lot, but it’s more than the emissions of Switzerland, Croatia, and Norway combined. As many cryptocurrencies crash and the FTX bankruptcy moves into the litigation stage, regulators are likely to scrutinize the crypto world more than ever before. This presents a perfect opportunity to curb their environmental damage.

The good news is that cryptocurrencies don’t have to be carbon intensive. In fact, some have near-zero emissions. To encourage polluting currencies to reduce their carbon footprint, we need to force buyers to pay for their environmental harms through taxes.

Daniel Jacob

Doug Gavel

News - Harvard Project on Climate Agreements

HPCA Co-Hosts Important COP-27 Side Event on Measuring Methane Emissions to Advance Global Climate Policy

    Author:
  • Doug Gavel
| Nov. 21, 2022

Significant technological advances in satellite technology and atmospheric measurements have greatly enhanced the understanding of methane concentrations and emissions. The dynamic ways in which those advancements are allowing researchers to monitor methane emissions down to the source level was the focus of discussion Thursday (November 17) at a COP-27 side event co-hosted by the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, the Enel Foundation, and the government of Mexico.

Audio - Harvard Environmental Economics Program

How Best to Approach Climate Change Policy: A Conversation with Jeff Holmstead

| Aug. 08, 2022

With so many of the nation’s environmental regulations being tested in the courts, technological solutions may be the most promising way to address climate change. That was the opinion offered by environmental lawyer Jeffrey Holmstead in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program,” a podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.