Environment & Climate Change

From climate science to healthcare to waste management, read on for key takeaways from our team’s activities at Arctic Encounter Symposium 2024 in Anchorage, Alaska.

The Arctic Initiative team helped kick off discussions for the International Conference on Arctic Research Planning Process 2022-2026 (ICARP IV) research priority teams at the Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2024 in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Michael Mann, renowned climate scientist, says global warming can be stopped - as long as climate advocates can avoid succumbing to despair.

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School is pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Spence as Project Director of the Center’s Arctic Initiative. As Project Director, she will steward the Initiative’s scholarship, policy engagement, and youth leadership training on the challenges being created by climate change in the Arctic.

The Harvard Project participates in a major Harvard initiative aimed at reducing emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Participating researchers represent a range of academic disciplines and Harvard schools.

Innovative "ocean clusters” may help save the fishing industry, clean toxins and plastics from the oceans, save burn victims, improve your energy drink, and much more – by using seafood waste, writes Greg Harris.

The Arctic Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is pleased to announce the appointment of Sara Olsvig to its International Advisory Board. Olsvig, a prominent Greenlandic politician and Inuit leader, brings to the Arctic Initiative a wealth of policymaking experience and a deep understanding of Arctic governance, human rights, and Indigenous rights. 

HPCA and Director Robert Stavins played an active role at COP 28 in Dubai, which concluded on December 12 with an historic agreement calling for “transitioning away” from fossil fuels. Aside from moderating an official HPCA Side Event on reducing global methane emissions, Stavins also participated in several other panel discussions and forums on issues relating to the climate change negotiations as well as meetings with participants and journalists. Read more on HPCA’s activities in Dubai on our COP 28 Tumblr page.

The Biden Administration and automotive industry have announced ambitious targets for the number of electric vehicles they hope to deploy by 2030, but automakers are not yet on track to meet those targets, according to new analysis by researchers at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. 

The Harvard Project on Climate Agreements (HPCA) assembled a panel of leading academics and government officials to discuss strategies for achieving significant methane emissions reductions at relatively low costs at an official COP 28 Side Event last Wednesday (Dec. 6). The event, titled “Reducing Global Methane Emissions: Imperatives, Opportunities, and Challenges,” was moderated by HPCA Director Robert Stavins.