Environment and Natural Resources

“A Sea Change”: Nat Keohane PhD 2001 Praises Recent U.S. Climate Action

Belfer Center

May 16, 2023

Nat Keohane, a climate expert, spoke with HKS faculty member Henry Lee at a Harvard Climate Action Week event held at the Kennedy School on the challenges and opportunities for building on recent progress in U.S. climate policy.

Arctic Emergency Medicine: Navigating the Intersection of Climate and Health in Rural Alaska

Belfer Center

May 8, 2023

Arctic Initiative affiliate Dr. Lorenzo Albala discusses the challenges - and rewards - of practicing emergency medicine in the city of Kotzebue, Alaska.

The Arctic Council in Transition: An Interview with Fran Ulmer

Belfer Center

May 8, 2023

In March 2022, seven of the eight Arctic states announced an unprecedented pause in the operations of the Arctic Council in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Elizabeth Hanlon sat down with Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Fran Ulmer to understand what we might expect when Norway assumes the Chairship of the Council from Russia on May 11, 2023.

Geopolitical and Economic Interests in Environmental Governance: Explaining Observer State Status in the Arctic Council

Belfer Center

Apr 21, 2023

In 2013, the Arctic Council underwent its most significant change since its foundation in 1996, with its formalization through the creation of a secretariat, the confirmation of eight observers, and acceptance of other five states, including China, with the same status. This study explores geopolitical and economic interests of actors of regional environmental governance that impact both applications and their acceptance as observer states.

Environmental Policy Experts Discuss China’s Coal Transition at Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Event

Belfer Center

Apr 11, 2023

Environmental policy experts discussed China’s energy policies during an event at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs on April 10, 2023. The event featured Weila Gong, a Belfer Center postdoctoral research fellow, and Georgetown University professor Joanna I. Lewis, who discussed their joint research exploring China’s coal consumption, its pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, and the political and economic factors hindering the country’s transition away from coal.

From the Arts to the Arctic to Climate Journalism

Belfer Center

Apr 4, 2023

Allison Agsten MC/MPA 2021 is director of the new Center for Climate Journalism and Communication at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She recounts for Harvard Kennedy School Magazine how her work with the Belfer Center's Arctic Initiative shaped her career direction.

HKS Arctic Initiative Response: Priorities for Norway’s Chairship of the Arctic Council

Belfer Center

Mar 31, 2023

On March 31 at the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska, the government of Norway presented its program for Norway’s upcoming Chairship of the Arctic Council. In response, John Holdren, Co-Director of the Arctic Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, issued the following statement of support.

Harvard Students Visit West Virginia to Listen and Learn About Coalfield Transition

Belfer Center

Mar 29, 2023

The Future of Coal Regions Study Group, co-sponsored by the Belfer Center's Environment and Natural Resources Program and the Wiener Center's Reimagining the Economy Project, will travel to coalfield regions in West Virginia on a trek led by Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics Resident Fellow 2022 and former West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant.

Progress on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Is Good News

Belfer Center

Mar 28, 2023

If the world is serious about addressing climate change, we should welcome forward momentum on this critical technology. Getting on track for net zero emissions by 2050 will require swiftly and massively ramping up carbon capture deployment.

Harvard-Tsinghua Joint Statement on Carbon-Neutrality Pathways for China and the United States

Belfer Center

Mar 27, 2023

Teams from Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) have been working together on how to maximize the likelihood that the carbon-neutrality goals announced by the United States and China for around mid-century can be met. This statement by senior members of the two teams conveys key findings from the first phase of the collaborative project.

‘Deeply Enriching’: Kennedy School Students Build Leadership Skills, Connections at Arctic Frontiers

Belfer Center

Mar 24, 2023

In January, Harvard Kennedy School students Jonny Yau (MPP 2024) and Stirling Haig (MPP 2024) traveled to Tromsø, Norway, for a week-long intensive workshop hosted by the Arctic Academy for Social and Environmental Leadership (ARCADE). As part of the workshop, Yau and Haig joined Arctic Initiative team members at the 2023 Arctic Frontiers Conference, an annual meeting of scientists, policymakers, and business leaders focused on sustainable development in the Arctic.

The Persistent Consequences of the Energy Transition in Appalachia’s Coal Country

Belfer Center

Mar 24, 2023

How have Appalachia’s coal-dependent communities adjusted to historical and contemporary declines in demand for coal, and how do these shocks – and their consequences for the educational composition of affected communities – influence the capacity for future generations to adapt to new challenges? In this policy brief, Eleanor Krause presents estimates of how Appalachia’s coal country has adjusted to recent declines in coal mining employment (“coal shocks”), and demonstrates how this adjustment process is, in part, dictated by the persistent consequences of historical employment shocks in Appalachia.

The UN High Seas Treaty in the Arctic Context

Belfer Center

Mar 21, 2023

Legal scholar Andrey Todorov, Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Arctic Initiative, reflects on the recent agreement reached by United Nations delegates to protect biodiversity in international waters and its implications for the Arctic.

Biden and Trudeau Need to Talk About the Arctic

Belfer Center

Mar 18, 2023

Arctic Initiative Co-Director John Holdren and Senior Fellow Fran Ulmer call for increased U.S.-Canadian cooperation on geopolitical challenges around relations with Russia and China as well as the critical problems being imposed by climate change on the North American Arctic.

New Russian Law on Northern Sea Route Navigation: Gathering Arctic Storm or Tempest in a Teapot?

Belfer Center

Mar 9, 2023

Amid increasing tensions between the West and Russia, a new Russian law regulating the navigation of foreign warships in the Northern Sea Route, whose legal regime has been the subject of a long-standing U.S.-Russian dispute, has garnered much international concern and criticism. However, a sober analysis suggests that many observers’ interpretations of the new law and its implications for Arctic security are overblown.

Assessing the Impact of Renewable Energy Policies on Decarbonization in Developing Countries

Belfer Center

Mar 2, 2023

This study offers the first consistent attempt to identify how energy sector decarbonization policies have affected the energy mix over the past four decades across more than 100 developing countries.

Russia’s Arctic Shelf Bid and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, Explained

Belfer Center

Mar 2, 2023

On February 6, 2023, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) issued recommendations with regard to the Russian submission in respect of the Arctic Ocean. Russia subsequently accepted the Commission’s recommendations, bringing its two-decade bid to extend its continental shelf close to an end. This development sends an important positive signal in times of unprecedented political disturbance in the Arctic region.

The International Law of the Sea and Arctic Governance: Paving the Way to Integrated Ecosystem-Based Marine Management

Belfer Center

Feb 21, 2023

Arctic Initiative Research Fellow Andrey Todorov analyzes options to integrate the ecosystem-based approach (EBA) with Arctic Ocean governance.

Riikka Karppinen Joins Arctic Initiative’s International Advisory Board

Belfer Center

Feb 21, 2023

Riikka Karppinen, a prominent youth leader, environmental activist, and politician from Finnish Lapland, has been appointed to the International Advisory Board of Harvard Kennedy School’s Arctic Initiative. As a Board member, Karppinen will leverage her substantial expertise in nature conservation, policymaking, activism, and communication to help the Arctic Initiative advance its research and education goals and train the next generation of interdisciplinary Arctic experts and leaders.

China Doesn't Want a Geoengineering Disaster

Belfer Center

Feb 21, 2023

Unlike during squabbles over emissions, where industrial policy and growth concerns often clash with a mandate for reduction, the United States and China have clear, demonstrated interests in the responsible global governance of geoengineering, argue Scott Moore and Eyck Freymann.