Sustainability & Environment

At Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, ecologists are studying the effects of climate change on the landscape—and seeing the damage in real time. The 4,000-acre forest and its trove of collected data, which attract researchers from around the globe, is a true labor of love for the faculty who work there and key to understanding what a warming world means for nature—and for humans.

The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability announced a sixth round of seed grant awards for work on understudied and emerging topics in climate and sustainability. Among other things, Harvard researchers will examine chocolate production in a changing climate, new materials to harvest moisture, and Kazakhstan's green transition.

As a promising alternative to existing carbon capture technologies, researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed carbon capture systems that use molecules called quinones, dissolved in water, as their capturing compounds.

In her role at Colorado State University, Harvard Business School alumna Jordan Kraft Lambert MBA ’16 serves as the nexus for farmers, entrepreneurs, and researchers working to improve agriculture and protect the planet.

With funding from the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, new interdisciplinary research teams of Harvard faculty are taking on two of the biggest sources of planet-heating emissions: buildings and transportation. Combined, these account for over half the world’s carbon pollution.

With help from Harvard Innovation Labs, Aatish Patel ALM ’22 and Alex Urist have gone public with a faster, more affordable charger that’s changing how EVs are charged across North America.

With demand for air conditioning expected to soar 40 percent by 2030, Harvard startup Trellis Air uses a unique membrane to dry and cool air with far less energy than traditional ACs and dehumidifiers.

No American city experiences extreme heat like Phoenix, Arizona. The city’s 2024 heat emergency was the focus of a recent exercise at Harvard, where several dozen faculty from departments across the University simulated roles within Phoenix’s public agencies, health system, and nonprofits to examine the causes, consequences, and responses.

Together with partners in the region, Harvard epidemiologist Caroline Buckee and her team are tracking the health impacts of extreme heat on women working in India’s informal sector.

Harvard history professor Joyce Chaplin explains how Benjamin Franklin explored atmospheric chemistry, conservation, and the impact of human activity on climate in developing his namesake stove.