Sustainability & Environment

In an op-ed in the Boston Globe, Steven Wofsy, the Harvard scientist behind MethaneSAT—a satellite-based spectrometer that measures global methane emissions—says that the data from this tool will empower us all to make more informed decisions that can help reduce emissions of this planet-warming gas.

Harvard Graduate School of Design students traveled to Monterrey, Mexico, to help devise design strategies along the Santa Catarina watershed to increase water security and to reduce flood risk. 

At a talk hosted by Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, renowned climate scientist Michael Mann, author of Our Fragile Moment, said that while keeping the Earth’s warming below the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold is a tall task, climate “doomism” isn’t justified by the science and could lead us down a path of inaction.

Harvard Business School alumni are using new technologies to transform the apparel industry—responsible for 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions—into a more circular economy.

As co-presidents of the Harvard Undergraduate Urban Sustainability Lab, Kayla Springer ’26 and Clyve Lawrence ’27 are working to advance sustainability at Harvard and in Boston.

With support from a Salata Institute seed grant, electrical engineer Gage Hills is investigating how to reduce the carbon footprint of the production and use of next-generation computer chips.

Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Fernando Reimers EdM ’84, EdD ’88—who helped shape Harvard’s climate change education plan—leads with hope as he prepares students for a green economy.

In the Harvard Thinking podcast, faculty experts in the fields of energy and economics, African studies, and epidemiology outline the challenges of meeting global and local climate priorities.

Can sea level rise be slowed? A new project called Sea Level Investigation and Management (SLIM), made possible by a generous gift from Cornelius “Neil” Prior Jr. LLB ’62, aims to find out.

The Salata Institute Seed Grant Program, supported by a gift from the Troper Wojcicki Foundation, is funding a second round of early-stage research by Harvard faculty on emerging topics in climate and sustainability, including a biologically inspired "skin" for windows that reduces building energy use, a carbon capture system powered by sunlight alone, and an analysis of the health effects of "peaker" power plants that operate when electricity demands are high.