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![Photo: Deployment of offshore wind at utility scale is one of many strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with net-zero emissions targets. (Source: Jesse Costa/WBUR) Image-from-iOS-1-1000x667_WEB.jpg](https://globalchange.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/490x340_manual/public/news/Image-from-iOS-1-1000x667_WEB.jpg?itok=kHn0rAna)
To avert the worst impacts of climate change, from extreme flooding to devastating droughts, the world will need to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to the latest United Nations IPCC Report on the Earth’s climate system. Achieving that goal means that by around 2050, the...
![Photo: At the international symposium The Future of Energy: Tackling Climate Change held in Madrid on March 17, MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) Senior Research Engineer Howard Herzog and MIT Joint Program Deputy Director/MITEI Senior Research Scientist Sergey Paltsev delivered presentations on pathways to global decarbonization. (Source: MIT Joint Program) Paltsev_MADRID_WEB.jpg](https://globalchange.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/490x340_manual/public/news/Paltsev_MADRID_WEB_0.jpg?itok=W6DMInyS)
Currently, there is no magic bullet for fossil fuels—no one energy technology that can provide a cheap and reliable alternative capable of supporting the world’s growing energy needs. Instead, decision-makers looking to lower greenhouse gas emissions must choose from an expansive menu of...
![](https://globalchange.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/490x340_manual/public/media/Paltsev_MADRID_WEB.jpg?itok=__MTqNJs)
Currently, there is no magic bullet for fossil fuels—no one energy technology that can provide a cheap and reliable alternative capable of supporting the world’s growing energy needs. Instead, decision-makers looking to lower greenhouse gas emissions must choose from an expansive menu of...
![MIT Grand Challenges finalists are working with promising technologies, materials and methods that could help unlock a low-carbon future in sectors where emissions are hardest to cut (Source: Stock photo (courtesy of MIT)) MIT-CGC-Q&A-Industry-01_0_WEB.jpg](https://globalchange.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/490x340_manual/public/in-the-news/MIT-CGC-Q%26A-Industry-01_0_WEB.jpg?itok=466ZoxLU)
Faculty leaders detail promising technologies, materials, and methods that could help unlock a low-carbon future in sectors where emissions are hardest to cut
Note: This is the third article in a four-part interview series highlighting the work of the 27 MIT Climate Grand Challenges finalist teams, which received a total of $2.7 million in startup funding to advance their projects. In April, the Institute will name a subset of the finalists as...
![Photo: Sergey Paltsev (right) with Michael Cohen, Chief U.S. Economist at BP (Source: MIT Joint Program) IMG_5119_WEB.jpg](https://globalchange.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/490x340_manual/public/news/IMG_5119_WEB.jpg?itok=vu2t8u63)
To meet the Paris Agreement’s long-term goal of keeping global climate change below two degrees Celsius, the world needs to rapidly reduce carbon emissions and scale up low-carbon technologies. Decision-makers seeking to lower greenhouse gas emissions must choose from many technology and policy...
![Caption: An MIT Team has generated new maps of jet contrails over the U.S. before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, which show a steep reduction in the area covered by contrails in 2020. (Credit: iStockphoto) MIT-CovidContrails-01_0_WEB.jpg](https://globalchange.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/490x340_manual/public/in-the-news/MIT-CovidContrails-01_0_WEB.jpg?itok=zq2ckSgK)
The computer-vision technique behind these maps could help avoid contrail production, reducing aviation’s climate impact
As Covid-19’s initial wave crested around the world, travel restrictions and a drop in passengers led to a record number of grounded flights in 2020. The air travel reduction cleared the skies of not just jets but also the fluffy white contrails they produce high in the atmosphere.
![Caption :Faculty from teams in the “Building equity and fairness into climate solutions” category share their thoughts on the need for inclusive solutions that prioritize disadvantaged, minority, and indigenous populations. Credits :Image: iStockphoto MIT-CGC-Equity-01_WEB.jpg](https://globalchange.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/490x340_manual/public/in-the-news/MIT-CGC-Equity-01_WEB.jpg?itok=yZ3NxpWf)
Faculty leaders discuss the opportunities and obstacles in developing, scaling, and implementing their work rapidly
Note: This is the first in a four-part interview series that will highlight the work of the Climate Grand Challenges finalists, ahead of the April announcement of several multiyear, flagship projects.
![Caption :Smoke from bushfires blankets the southeast coastline of Australia during the wildfires in 2020. Credits :Image: NASA MIT-Stratospheric-Wildfires-01-PRESS_WEB.jpg](https://globalchange.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/490x340_manual/public/in-the-news/MIT-Stratospheric-Wildfires-01-PRESS_WEB.jpg?itok=sdJhxT8L)
If wildfires become larger and more frequent, they might stall ozone recovery for years
The Australian wildfires in 2019 and 2020 were historic for how far and fast they spread, and for how long and powerfully they burned. All told, the devastating “Black Summer” fires blazed across more than 43 million acres of land, and extinguished or displaced nearly 3 billion animals. The...
![Kelly Nieuwenhuis, farmer, with his grain auger loading corn into his semi-tractor trailer used to haul grain to ethanol plants in Primghar, Iowa on Sept. 23, 2019. Credit: Kathryn Gamble for The Washington Post via Getty Images Reilly_ICN_WEB.jpg](https://globalchange.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/490x340_manual/public/in-the-news/Reilly_ICN_WEB.jpg?itok=JZm43LBx)
Long touted as a renewable fuel emitting 20 percent fewer greenhouse gases than gasoline, ethanol’s emissions may be 24 percent higher. If verified, one expert said the finding shows ethanol failed spectacularly. (Inside Climate News)
![Photo: DC Youth Climate Strike 2019 at U.S. Capitol (Source: Flickr/Hillel Steinberg) Morris_EEPS_WEB.jpg](https://globalchange.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/490x340_manual/public/news/Morris_EEPS_WEB.jpg?itok=WGmVuXBj)
Like many of its predecessors, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow concluded with bold promises on international climate action aimed at keeping global warming well below two degrees Celsius, but few concrete plans to ensure that those promises will be kept.