CS3 In the Media
Around the world, scientists are observing evidence of climate change — record high temperatures, rising sea levels, and melting ice sheets. But new research from MIT’s Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate indicates that Antarctica and the Southern Ocean may be experiencing a period of cooling before warming takes over — and the culprit might be the ozone hole rather than greenhouse gases.
MIT Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Professor Kerry Emanuel comments on the potential climate change implications of the anticipated opening of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar reactor, which is expected to generate enough electricity to power 650,000 homes.
New research may explain why sea temperatures around Antarctica haven’t risen as much as surface temperatures around the globe
Around the globe, ocean surface temperatures have been rising due to global warming, but the seas around Antarctica haven’t changed much. Now, researchers may have discovered why.
MIT researchers demonstrate new approach to designing location-specific emissions-control measures
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed support for the enactment of the Paris climate agreement this year in a meeting Tuesday at the White House. Support for the agreement falls short of a commitment to ratify that U.S. President Barack Obama had been hoping for.
Climate scientists disagree on the impact of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation—a 25-to-40-year cycle of cooling and warming of the Atlantic Ocean—on the frequency of hurricanes. Some expect the AMO to drive cooler sea surface temperatures and fewer hurricanes in coming decades, but others do not think the AMO works this way. EAPS Professor Kerry Emanuel, who is affiliated with the MIT Joint Program, believes that another factor—air pollution—has played a significant role in reducing hurricane activity.
Modeling the diverse world of phytoplankton opens up a predictive view of our own
Joint Program faculty model health benefits, economic costs of energy and climate policies
Research from MIT's Institute for Data, Systems, and Society uses data and models to better design and predict the outcomes of technologies and policies in the critical area of energy and environmental sustainability.
Joint Program Research Associate Howard Herzog on the future of carbon capture and sequestration
On the path to a low-carbon economy, most experts agree that a variety of strategies will be needed, from the dramatic expansion of wind and solar power to electrification or better biofuels for cars and planes. Some technologies remain more controversial than others, however. Carbon capture and storage — the idea of trapping carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and other industrial sources before they are released into the atmosphere and then storing them, usually underground — is one such widely debated approach.
Led by World Bank and IMF, coalition seeks to price emissions to tackle climate change
MIT has formally joined the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, a global partnership of governments, businesses, and civil society organizations working together with the goal of applying a price on carbon emissions, the predominant cause of climate change.
The energy giant signals a change in its thinking
Royal Dutch Shell is creating a new unit specially for renewables and alternative energy, but it continues to insist that its current business of burning hydrocarbons is under no threat from global policies to mitigate climate change.
Grad student Jesse Jenkins and professor Valerie Karplus discuss challenges of emissions pricing in a new paper
In a new working paper titled "Carbon pricing under binding political constraints," MIT Institute for Data, Systems and Society doctoral candidate Jesse Jenkins and Sloan School of Management Assistant Professor Valerie Karplus discuss the political obstacles facing efforts to price carbon emissions and outline a set of starting points that are both politically palatable and steps toward effective policies to curb climate change.