News + Media
Commentary
Yale Climate Connections | Oct 23, 2020
Restoring its international standing on climate leadership is critical to the country's national interests and global stability (Yale Climate Connections)
By Richard Richels, Henry Jacoby, and Gary Yohe | Friday, October 23, 2020
When the Trump administration gave notice that the U.S. would drop out of the Paris Climate Agreement, it said it was doing so because it was a bad deal for the country. This view is wrongheaded. The science is...
News Release
Oct 16, 2020
Joint Program researchers to share findings on the state of global change
This year’s American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting will be held online, making it one of the world’s largest virtual scientific conferences ever. Held December 1-17 (with most scientific programming taking place December 7-11) and presenting more than 1,000 hours of content, AGU20 will...
News Release
MIT News | Oct 15, 2020
High-resolution climate projections could enable a robust adaptation and resilience response
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is at a crossroads. Recent long-term studies of the area indicate that rising temperatures and evaporation rates will likely further deplete scarce water resources critical to meeting the nation’s agricultural, industrial and domestic needs; more extreme...
News Brief
MIT Press | Oct 14, 2020
MIT EAPS/IDSS Assoc. Prof. and Joint Program faculty affiliate Noelle Selin co-authors new book (Book website)
Summary
An interdisciplinary analysis of human interactions with mercury through history that sheds light on efforts to promote and achieve sustainability.
Around Campus
MIT News | Oct 13, 2020
The atmospheric chemist shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery that chemicals known as CFCs deplete the ozone layer
News Release
Auburn University | Oct 07, 2020
Nature paper co-authors include Joint Program Director Ronald Prinn and Collaborator Hanqin Tian (lead) (Coverage: The Guardian, The Conversation)
Published: October 07, 2020
Teri Greene | School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
Rising anthropogenic nitrous oxide emissions are jeopardizing climate goals and the Paris Accord, a study published in Nature and led by an Auburn University researcher has found.
In The News
The Independent | Oct 02, 2020
The US is the first country to formally withdraw from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (The Independent)
Towards the end of Tuesday night’s fractious presidential debate, moderator Chris Wallace dropped in a surprise question on the climate crisis, leading both candidates to lay out their opposing stances on the Paris Climate Accord. “If you look at the Paris Accord, it was a disaster from our...
News Release
Environmental Solutions Initiative | Oct 01, 2020
Website features accessible "Explainers" by MIT Joint Program researchers and other MIT climate experts
Stepping up its ongoing efforts to inform and empower the public on the issue of climate change, MIT today announced a dramatic overhaul of the MIT Climate Portal, climate.mit.edu, which provides timely, science-based information about the causes and consequences of climate change — and what can...
Around Campus
MIT News | Oct 01, 2020
Study suggests sea ice blocks the flow of carbon both into and out of the ocean, in roughly equal measure
The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is a region where many of the world’s carbon-rich deep waters can rise back up to the surface. Scientists have thought that the vast swaths of sea ice around Antarctica can act as a lid for upwelling carbon, preventing the gas from breaking through the...
News Release
Sep 29, 2020
Aggressive climate policy could boost EV market share, halve roadway emissions by 2050
The electrification of private cars and light trucks—the vast majority of which are now powered by internal combustion engines (ICEs)—will be critical to efforts to keep global warming well below 2°C or 1.5°C, the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. Replacing today’s fleet of gasoline and...