The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University’s Post

🌟 Exciting Research Alert! 🌟 Carbon pricing works: A major meta-study on the effectiveness of carbon pricing, co-authored by Stephan Bruns, has been published in Nature Communications! 📈 Utilizing cutting-edge machine learning techniques, this comprehensive study analyzed 80 studies from a pool of 17,000 potential publications, doubling the scope of previous meta-studies. The findings are significant: introducing a carbon pricing system leads to an empirical estimate of 5 to 21 % emission reductions within the first few years, based on 17 real-world climate policies globally. 🌍 This groundbreaking research provides robust evidence supporting the effectiveness of carbon pricing as a vital tool in our fight against climate change. Authors: Niklas Döbbeling-Hildebrandt, Klaas Miersch, Tarun M. Khanna, Marion Bachelet, Stephan Bruns, Max Callaghan, Ottmar Edenhofer, Christian Flachsland, Piers Forster, Matthias Kalkuhl, Nicolas Koch, William Lamb, Nils Ohlendorf, Jan Christoph Steckel and Jan Minx Collaborating institutes: Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) gGmbH, University of Leeds, Technische Universität Berlin, The University of British Columbia, University of Kassel, Stanford University, PIK - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Hertie School, IZA - Institute of Labor Economics, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg and Centre for Environmental Sciences (CMK) #ClimateChange #CarbonPricing #Sustainability #Research #NatureCommunications #MetaStudy #MachineLearning #EnvironmentalPolicy #CMK

Water quality is an ongoing concern as climate warms, especially in rivers. Yet different scientific disciplines have different ways of studying, modeling and understanding river systems. A recent review in Nature Climate Change shows the importance of the connections between rivers and the land they flow through - and, says study co-author and University of Vermont prof. Julia Perdrial, of making connections across scientific disciplines. “This is why transdisciplinary projects are critical: they provide opportunities for integrating different ways of understanding a system.” Perdrial also sees opportunities that extend beyond the specific ideas discussed in this review. "I hope, moving forward, that interdisciplinary work, undertaken with mutual respect and genuine collaboration, becomes a very clear requirement of the training, education and professional development that scientists receive." Read the paper here: https://go.uvm.edu/nj27p

🔬 Should Scientists Be Doing More? 🌍 Despite extensive efforts by NGOs like the International Science Council (ISC) and its members to inform policy, political action on climate and environmental crises remains insufficient. Traditional methods of scientific intervention are not achieving the necessary impact. A growing number of scientists are turning to activism to draw urgent attention to these issues. With knowledge comes responsibility, and it's time for the scientific community to engage more actively in advocating for change. ➡️ In this editorial, Dr. Tracey Elliott explores the rewards and risks of science activism. Have a read and let us know your thoughts below! https://lnkd.in/gTA-VVtn #ScienceActivism #ClimateAction #SustainableFuture #PolicyImpact

OUR GOAL @ Expedition Science We bring Researchers and Investors together. Getting scientists to the places they need to reach and giving investors powerful stories of real climate research projects that are delivering a genuine impact. Businesses are fed up of funding green initiatives that aren’t relatable, credible or real. That's where we come in. ➡ We work with world-leading climate academics and researchers to find credible academics projects that are delivering genuine science. ➡ We find investors who want to make their green investments work harder for them. ➡ We document the research, go behind the scenes and tell inspiring climate stories for the world to know and share. _________________________ FOLLOW US as our journey begins! #expeditionscience #climateresearch #makingsciencehappen

Changing the Game - Bypassing our current barriers for progress is now critical. Civil Unrest - Civil Disobedience - Environmental Catastrophes - VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of general conditions and situations) Society's inability to adapt to change, while contributing to impending risks and threats has put us in a very dangerous situation. Past methods and strategies have been ineffective. Those efforts that have been effective are too slow to positively impact our present situation. Then when we add the flooding of dis- and mis-information we have lost our ability to focus on a future we can mutually work toward. A Critical Task Force is essential with the ability to leapfrog or bypass the obstacles and resistance dynamics, capable of implementing a new #civilOS that strives to exist in harmony with the environment and support life in all of its forms. A overlay for a New Society and Civil Operating System is possible if the best tools are integrated for the built environment, social and governance systems, and economics. https://lnkd.in/gATUz7K7 #scholarswarning #breakdownwarning #CivilOS #NSFEngines Jem Bendell

Are you an advocate of limiting the effects of climate change? Are you looking for a platform to showcase your research on the overarching implications of climate change transcending across the economic, political, social, and cultural realms? If yes, this post is for you. Project Urvi is an initiative under the flagship of Academia for Sustainable Development aimed at raising awareness of Climate Change's Disproportionate Impact on the Global South. To promote Social Science Research on Climate Change and provide a Supportive Environment for Academic Discussion, Project Urvi is hosting its first-ever Research Presentation Competition “ClimateQuest: Navigating Challenges, Cultivating Solutions, and Shaping Tomorrow" We are looking for research papers which can unveil the nexus between climate change, institutions, agriculture and food security, displacement of the populace and the intersectionality between genders. The first phase of the competition calls for Abstracts of not more than 500 words via the Google form attached below. The last day for submission is 31st January. Submit Abstracts Here: https://lnkd.in/dHPEsqSq To know more, check out the brochure below. #callforpapers #callforabstracts #callforabstract #researchpaper #competition

I was reading this article in Nature (https://lnkd.in/eKUXtuXY) and it really took me by surprise. Concepts like "fear" and "emotion" are not normally part of the scientific dialogue, except when a psychologist is rigorously studying them. Fear is more often associated with superstition, a true scientist will try to remain detached. They know that fear can normally be assuaged with data. Anyway, the author of the piece, an expert climate scientist, apparently has a blind spot when it comes to social science. There's tons of data and many studies examining the impact of climate change on human society. A broad-brush summary would suggest that the physical effects of climate change have thus far been more pronounced than the observed societal or economic effects. This may change in the future, or it may not. My article (linked below) looks at these issues in greater detail. I hope you check it out. #climaterisk #science https://lnkd.in/eUQkkrz2

🚨 New Paper Alert ❓ What drives scientists to engage or not engage the different public about environmental change? Here, we respond to this question in our latest work. ✍ In this study, we found 19 factors (#individual, #organizational, and #systemic) affect how scientists talk with different audiences about our changing world.  Across society, there is an increasing expectation for more scientists to engage with industry, government, and communities to solve pressing issues affecting our modern world, including climate change. Yet, there is limited empirical evidence of what drives scientists to embrace or avoid engaging different audiences on environmental change. 📢 While scientists enjoy sharing their research findings with communities and policymakers, our study uncovered that they found it #hard to #deal_with_conflict, #face_skeptics, and navigate #organizational #politics and structures to engage others in a public-facing role. 📢 Also, a lack of #institutional_support and #engagement #culture, #role_ambiguity, unequal #power relations, and a legacy of past encounters led many scientists to engage in tokenism. 📜 This work shows why #scientists might not engage others in a public-facing role and what might be needed to transform engagement. Thanks to my awesome co-authors Gretta Pecl Emily Ogier Catriona Macleod and support from the University of Tasmania Centre for Marine Socioecology Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Here is the link to the full open-access article. https://lnkd.in/gDWkTM-n

New from our ENVS faculty ➡️ Professor Sikina Jinnah helps to weigh costs and benefits of controversial research on a high-risk technology to fight climate change Over nearly three years, Jinnah co-chaired Harvard University's SCoPEX Advisory Committee, crafting a new governance framework for outdoor solar geoengineering experiments. Though the SCoPEX experiment was recently canceled, the committee's legacy lives on in its pioneering governance model. Solar geoengineering, a high-risk technology aiming to combat climate change by reflecting sunlight away from the Earth, has sparked intense debate. Jinnah's expertise in global environmental governance and societal engagement was instrumental in advising Harvard on the experiment's potential risks and benefits. In their final report, the committee emphasized the importance of robust societal engagement, outlining guidelines for meaningful community involvement throughout the research process. Jinnah stresses the moral imperative to explore solar geoengineering responsibly, considering its potential to alleviate climate impacts on the most vulnerable communities. Looking ahead, Jinnah hopes the committee's work will guide future researchers in conducting equitable and effective societal engagement. As interest in solar geoengineering persists, Jinnah remains committed to advancing climate governance and fostering global progress in the fight against climate change. 🔗https://lnkd.in/e9u4jdZr

There is very limted research possible on a broken planet. "The world's understanding of the climate and ecological crises rests on science. However, scientists' conventional methods of engagement, such as producing ever more data and findings, writing papers and giving advice to governments, have not been sufficiently effective at persuading politicians to act on the climate and ecological emergency. To date, governments’ decisions (such as continuing with vast subsidies for fossil fuels) clearly show that powerful vested interests have been much more influential than the amassed scientific knowledge and advice. We argue that in the face of this inaction, scientists can have the maximum amount of influence by lending their support to social movements pressing for action, joining as active participants and considering civil disobedience. Scientists seeking to halt continued environmental destruction also need to work through our institutions. Too many scientific organizations, from national academies of science to learned societies and universities, have not taken practical action on climate; for example, many still partner with fossil fuel and other compromised interests. We therefore also outline a vision for how scientists can reform our scientific institutions to become powerful agents for change." https://lnkd.in/eN9V93Rh