Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability

Now Hiring MA Students! Advance an equitable energy transition in Massachusetts with the CELT Initiative as a Municipal Fellow or Office of Energy Transformation (OET) Fellow. OET Fellow Part of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. 12-month placement. Work directly with OET’s working groups and projects. Municipal Fellow Work with local governments across Massachusetts on sustainability projects. 6-month placement.

📣 Students, apply now to advance a #CleanEnergy transition here in MA! The CELT Initiative is hiring its second cohort of Municipal Fellows and Office of Energy Transformation (OET) Fellows. Both opportunities start in January 2026. www.bu.edu/igs/2025/09/...

Major findings: There is increasing certainty in health harms due to climate change and that greenhouse gases pose an indisputable danger to human health and well-being. These health harms span harms due to heat, extreme weather including floods, droughts, storms, and wildfires...

Proud to be part of the Expert Working Group on Climate Change and Health that just put together a report summarizing the evidence of health harms of climate change to date. Report is here: zenodo.org/records/1728... 🛟 #climatesky

Welcome to IGS Talia Feldscher, Research Fellow, Supporting the Clean Energy and Environment Legacy Transition Initiative, Background in geospatial analysis

IGS welcomes our new Research Fellow Talia Feldscher, who will use her expertise in #geospatial analysis and passion for #community engagement to support the Clean Energy Legacy Transition (CELT) Initiative!
www.bu.edu/igs/profile/...

There is nothing new about renewable energy: Tracing the life of solar panels Industrial-scale renewable energy does not offer an alternative to the capitalist order and its exploitative relationships to earth.

How clean is the #RenewableEnergy #SupplyChain? From Utah to Ohio, and California to the Sunbelt, IGS postdoctoral research fellow Alexander Dunlap tracked the lifecycle of #SolarPanels across the US. Follow Dunlap's journey w/@postcarbon.org @resilience.org:
www.resilience.org/stories/2025...

Meeting climate goals will require #emission cuts & deploying Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) tech. A #NewStudy on global funding patterns in #CDR research, co-authored by @sovacool.bsky.social, makes several recommendations to accelerate #innovation:
cdr.apps.ece.iiasa.ac.at/story/cdr_gr...

Innovate@BU Insiders Discover and connect with innovation events at Boston University

Next Friday, join startup coach and Greentown Labs Expert-in-Residence Sheri Palazzo for insights on turning bold climate ideas into scalable solutions. This event is hosted at Innovate@BU.

📅 Register now: innovatebu.app/markitai-eve...

Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action Join global leaders, policymakers, scientists and health experts for Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action – the inaugural High-Level Side Event on indoor air quality, to take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

"With Dr. Fabian's team, we have been able to take the 2 billion data points we collect annually and transform that into research grade data."

At the #UnitedNations, Boston Public Schools' Katherine Walsh talks #IndoorAirQuality & working w/ patriciafabian.bsky.social

webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1v...

Publication alert, fantastic new global study drawing from 44 focus groups across 22 countries to deliberate on the futures deriving from net-zero, carbon removal, and solar geoengineering. Available fully open access at: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

BU College of Engineering Hosts Showcase on Engineering a Smarter Energy Future Catalyst Summit Friday will bring together students, faculty, and alumni to explore bold ideas and cutting-edge technologies

⚙️ Tomorrow's 2025 Catalyst Summit: Engineering a Smarter Energy Future includes a faculty panel exploring cutting-edge #innovations coming out of @bostonu.bsky.social that have the potential to shape the future of #energy, feat. several IGS affiliates. www.bu.edu/articles/202...

What is nuclear power uprating and why is it important? Nuclear power in the US has steadily contributed 19% of electricity since 1990, mainly through uprates. These uprates, approved by the NRC, have boosted capacity by 24,080 MWt or 8030 MWe, equivalent ...

An important boost for #NuclearPower comes through the “uprating” of existing plants. Uprating generally involves physically modifying a plant to increase its generating capacity, @cutlercleveland.bsky.social writes for #VisualizingEnergy: visualizingenergy.org/what-is-nucl...

The need for sustainability premium of the early retirement of coal plants: Evidence from Indonesia To fulfill climate commitments and attain net zero emission goals, there is a global effort to retire coal fired power plants (CFPPs) early. Carbon pr…

How do we retire coal fired #PowerPlants when traditional financial incentives aren't enough? In a new paper, researchers present a novel financial tool, the "sustainability premium," capturing #socioeconomic & #environmental aspects of early retirement:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🦀🎣 #Lobster populations are in decline & fishermen are turning to Jonah Crabs. A new study by IGS affiliates complements quantitative methods with #fishermen knowledge to support #sustainable management: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... nonlinearnature.bsky.social

"Our team is working to understand and support how stories gain trust and legitimacy." @ericbot73.bsky.social talks with @bu-igs.bsky.social about the mission of MISI, its fellowships around the theme of #environmentaljustice, and why storytelling matters.

@bostonu.bsky.social @comatbu.bsky.social

Trust in major institutions, including #media outlets, is down 📉 A new @bostonu.bsky.social Center brings together local #storytellers & BU faculty to restore #communication.

💬 Q&A w/director: www.bu.edu/igs/2025/09/...

🎫 Register for the upcoming symposium: combeyond.bu.edu/offering/mis...

Global nuclear power capacity additions Nuclear power plants have a nameplate capacity of about 390 gigawatts and supply 10% of the world’s electricity. The United States, Russia, France, Japan, South Korea, and China account for 71% of glo...

71% of the world’s #NuclearGeneration is concentrated in the US, Russia, France, Japan, South Korea, and China. 🌎⚡ While most new additions are built in Asia, this has not always been the case. More from @cutlercleveland.bsky.social: visualizingenergy.org/global-nucle... #VisualizingEnergy

Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability Annual Report 2025, Advancing a Resilient Future.

We're proud to highlight our growing IGS community in this year's annual report! @bostonu.bsky.social continues to be a leader in #sustainability and #climate #research, strengthened by IGS’s efforts to support university-wide collaborations. Full report: spr.ly/63328AROor

A group of people wearing hard hats.

Two smiling students in an office.

A person works at a fair beside an interactive poster which reads "Arlington is updating our Net Zero Action Plan."

A group of people converse on the sidewalk.

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦🧑‍🎓 The CELT Initiative puts #communities and students at the center of Massachusetts’ #CleanEnergy future. In a new article, current @bostonu.bsky.social CELT fellows share what they've learned. Read more — and apply to join the second fellow class:
www.bu.edu/igs/2025/09/...

New study in @Nature: Drawing on powerful insights from #SocialScience, #energy developers can better engage communities and ensure #decarbonization projects benefit them. Co-authored by @BenjaminSovaco1. Full story ➡️ t.co/feISTl9EHx

Lessons from social sciences could move community engagement on industrial decarbonization projects from “public relations” to meaningful impact A new paper in Nature Communications calls on energy developers to incorporate state-of-art knowledge to ensure decarbonization projects benefit the communities that choose to host them.

New study in nature.com: Drawing on powerful insights from #SocialScience, #energy developers can better engage communities and ensure #decarbonization projects benefit them. Co-authored by sovacool.bsky.social. Full story ➡️ www.minesnewsroom.com/news/lessons...

A group of smiling students in front of the "IGS" wordmark.

What's it like to be an IGS Summer Fellow? 2025 fellow Sophia Tigges says, “I have made so much progress on my research, and my ability to concentrate on my work has led my project in an unexpected and exciting direction.” More from this year's class:

www.bu.edu/igs/2025/09/...

A scholar stands with her book, titled "Concrete Mirage" in front of a green lawn and modern building.

🏜️ What does it mean to be a #sustainable #desert city? In her new book "Concrete Mirage," IGS's Erin Heinz examines #governance, #equity, and sustainable development in the southwest US. Visit the IGS office to see a signed copy of the book. Learn more: www.bloomsbury.com/us/concrete-...

Regarding a new ordinance by the #Boston City Council calling for better protection from #ExtremeHeat for workers, mscammell.bsky.social tells baystatebanner.bsky.social: "The truth is, nobody is immune to the harmful effects of heat."
baystatebanner.com/2025/09/03/n...

Researchers Partner with Nonprofits to Track Health Effects of Federal and State Environmental Policies Jonathan Buonocore and Jonathan Levy in the Department of Environmental Health have received a new grant to support their ongoing efforts to advance public discourse around health-protective environme...

A new SPH initiative aims to ensure #PublicHealth remains central to #environmental #policymaking. Led by jonlevybu.bsky.social‬ & jjbuonocore.bsky.social��� https://www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2025/researchers-partner-with-nonprofits-to-track-health-effects-of-federal-environmental-policies/

📣 Interested in #climate and #sustainability #research that makes a real impact at @bostonu.bsky.social & beyond?

BU's Campus Climate Lab offers up to $10,000 for student-mentor teams to use our campuses as a living lab for sustainability research! Apply now: www.bu.edu/igs/research...

What do these charts say about the safety of nuclear reactors? The safety of nuclear reactors is a subject of debate. While incidents like Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima have had impacts on human health and the environment, the overall risks of radia...

How safe is #NuclearPower? No question has generated more debate and disagreement in the world of #energy, writes @cutlercleveland.bsky.social in this week's Visualizing Energy data story. He delves into prominent nuclear disasters through history: visualizingenergy.org/what-do-thes...

A group of students listens to a professor at the front of the group, gesturing to engineering equipment.

#MaterialsScience #research is key to identifying new approaches for #RenewableEnergy storage & conversion. Our ENERGIZE grad students recently toured BU's #Photonics Center, learning about tools that enable study of materials at the atomic level 🔬 www.bu.edu/igs/research...

Is AI Slowing Climate Progress? It’s Complicated Two BU experts studying grid solutions and sustainable energy transitions say that tech companies racing to build more AI could make data centers more energy efficient

Is AI actually slowing climate progress? Huge data centers consume enormous amounts of energy, but two Boston University experts explain how energy-saving solutions can, and should, be applied to slow climate change.

Boston’s Native Bees Are Under Threat. A BU Student Researcher Wants to Help Protect These Crucial Pollinators Biology undergraduate Matteo Finnerty’s findings at the Arnold Arboretum could inform bumblebee-friendly plantings

🐝 🌸 Insect diversity is dwindling. Some fear that #honeybees are outcompeting native #bumblebees, with potentially serious effects on #crops and #ecological diversity. Learn more in this video & article feat. IGS affiliated faculty Richard Primack and his students: www.bu.edu/articles/202...

New study looks at how severe heat impacts workers Researchers at Boston University are studying the impacts on people who work in fields that are regularly subjected to hot conditions, like landscaping and construction.

A #NewStudy on how #ExtremeHeat affects workers is especially relevant for those using heavy machinery. "Your reaction time is delayed when you’re experiencing extreme heat, and injury rates definitely increase with temperatures," mscammell.bsky.social tells @wgbh.org.

www.wgbh.org/news/health/...