Connections
Global change issues are too wide-ranging and challenging for any single institution, even one that draws on all of MIT's resources, and therefore we forge a variety of relationships with organizations and individuals around the world. This strengthens our key efforts, improves the networks to disseminate study results more widely, and encourages cooperation among scholars and the free exchange of ideas.
MIT Connections
The Program's efforts are bolstered by interactions with MIT colleagues and complementary projects taking place throughout campus. Notable among these are the significant contributions of the MIT Energy Initiative, the Climate Modeling Initiative, and the Darwin Project, among others as noted under Program Structure.
Affiliate Organizations
The Program maintains a mutually-designated Affiliate relationship with three independent "think-tanks", based in New York, London, and New Delhi, that have in common a similar dedication to tackling the challenges of the climate change issue:
- Environmental Defense Fund
- Chatham House
- The Energy and Resources Institute
- Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis
Collaborative Efforts
Cooperation within the research community underlies much of the Program's progress. We benefit from untold collective effort that, for example, develops sophisticated computer models, acquires observational datasets, and compiles global database resources. Group efforts that are essential in our work include:
- CESM: the MIT IGSM earth system component incorporates portions of the Community Climate System Model developed at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research.
- GTAP: the MIT EPPA model utilizes the economic database maintained by the Global Trade Analysis Project.
- AGAGE: measurements of the chemical composition of the atmosphere, as observed by the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment network, enable us to validate and improve the accuracy of our model estimations.
Professional Participation
Our faculty and researchers are active in advisory roles, serving on professional committees and panels, and responding to requests for information and assistance from the press, government representatives, and other assessment groups. Special briefings from Program members have been requested by the U.S. Congress and federal and state agencies, by governments working through their ministries and international organizations, and by independent research panels. Some examples of theses are:
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- U.S. Global Change Research Program
- U.S. National Assessment of Climate Change
- U.S. National Research Council
- U.S. National Academy of Sciences
- U.S. National Academy of Engineering
- International Geosphere Biosphere Program
- World Climate Research Program
- Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Working Contacts
The Program also benefits from our working interactions and cooperative projects with leading research institutions and non-profit organizations worldwide. Some of the groups with which we interact include:
- Energy Modeling Forum
- NCAR Institute for Social Science and Environment
- UK Met Office Hadley Center
- Energy Information Administration
- NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
- World Bank
- Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
- Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
- European Commission Environment Directorate
- Resources for the Future
- International Energy Agency
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
- UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space
- Austrian Institute of Economic Research
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis