MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy

Melting polar ice sheets

Presenting the August edition of MIT CS3's e-newsletter. Learn about our latest research on improving #climate models, assessing #foodsecurity at the country level, mitigating #Risks from natural and climate disasters, and more. #sustainability 🧪https://tinyurl.com/2mwejc72

There is a bizarre red-state quest to prevent community air quality monitoring In Louisiana, it’s illegal to publish results of personal air quality monitors without including ‘relevant uncertainties’ around the data—one of a series of new state laws designed to limit how much p...

A series of new state laws restricting local air-quality reporting could imperil human #health. Data from neighborhood-level air-quality sensors are needed to enable affected populations to limit their #airpollution exposure, says MIT CS3 Director Noelle Selin. (Fast Company) 🧪

Uncertainty in Climate Change Research This open access book discusses uncertainty in climate change research, and applies it to assess impact mitigation, adaptation, and vulnerability.

Consideration of different potential greenhouse gas #emissions futures is essential for understanding and preparing for future climate change. A new book chapter (pp. 163-176) co-authored by MIT CS3 researchers provides guidance to researchers and decision-makers in this space. 🧪

How energy systems are shaped We rely on our energy systems to allow us to do work, travel, process information,

We rely on #energy systems to allow us to do work, travel, process information & support economic activity. In this MIT Energy Initiative podcast, MIT Prof. Jessika Trancik, a CS3 faculty affiliate, takes a big-picture view of how energy systems are shaped & where there's opportunity to innovate.

MIT Energy Initiative funds seven early-stage energy research projects This spring, the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) awarded more than $1.2 million in grants to support seven novel energy research projects as part of its Seed Fund program. Each project will receive $175...

In one of 7 MIT Energy Initiative early-stage #energy research projects, CS3 researchers aim to create a framework for evaluating decarbonization & energy transition pathways for #Africa, which has the potential to be a major global player in #RenewableEnergy production & #carbon dioxide removal. 🧪

Climate Cafe | Substack A place for discussion of the climate system, the reality and seriousness of climate change, and efforts to control GHG emissions and increase resilience to mounting climate-driven economic and social...

Seasoned experts @ the new Substack blog Climate Café clarify the complex challenges of global #climatechange & identify opportunities for a bright & rewarding clean #energy, #resilient future. Co-produced by MIT CS3-affiliate/Professor of Management Emeritus Henry Jacoby. 🧪 climatecafe.substack.com

Climate Change’s Fingerprints Came Early, a Thought Experiment Reveals Climate change left its signature on the atmosphere early in the industrial revolution, reveals a thought experiment investigation

#ClimateChange left its signature on the #atmosphere early in the industrial revolution, reveals a thought experiment investigation by MIT Professor/CS3 faculty affiliate Susan Solomon and co-authors in Scientific American. 🧪

Trump’s DOGE Cuts Are a Texas-Sized Disaster Reckless agency layoffs and the dismantling of federal relief programs could leave the Lone Star State in peril.

From floods to drought, Texas is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather. Recent DOGE cuts and the dismantling of federal relief programs could imperil the state, says MIT CS3-affiliate/Prof. of Management Emeritus Henry Jacoby in a commentary. 🧪
#ClimateChange #flood #extremeweather #Texas

Tracing persistent ozone-depleting emissions to their source

Despite the Montreal Protocol's phase-out of #ozone- depleting substances (ODS) since 2010, #emissions of one potent ODS has continued to slow down ozone layer recovery. A study led by MIT CS3 postdoc Minde An sheds new light on the primary source & recent history of about 1/2 of these emissions. 🧪

Inaugural Disaster Management Conference Highlights U.S. Leadership in Innovation and Preparedness BANGKOK, Thailand – June 30, 2025 – The U.S. Embassy Bangkok, in partnership with the MIT ASEAN Initiative and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham),

In a keynote address at a disaster management conference in #Thailand, MIT Principal Research Scientist and CS3 affiliate Sai Ravela shared his expertise on mitigating risks from natural and #climate disasters, including #AI-driven exposure and vulnerability mapping.🧪

Some marine photoplankton can adapt to changing light, altering #ocean #ecosystems and, potentially, #carbon storage. (Source: NASA)

Am I Blue? Green? Something in Between? Some marine photoplankton can adapt to changing light, altering #ocean #ecosystems and, potentially, #carbon storage, finds a study co-authored by MIT CS3 Senior Research Scientist Stephanie Dutkiewicz. 🧪 ecco-group.org/storymaps.ht...

Jameel Index for Food Trade and Vulnerability launched at UK forum

In his keynote address at the inaugural Jameel Index for Food Trade and Vulnerability Forum on June 17, MIT CS3 Research Scientist Kenneth Strzepek highlighted the value of the Jameel Index in assessing country-level food security risk.
#food #climatechange #economics #population #geopolitics 🧪

Decarbonizing the steel industry

Presenting CS3's July 2025 e-newsletter. Learn about our latest research on decarbonizing the steel industry, land-use change in the U.S., transportation resilience amid the energy transition, and more. #climatechange #energy #landuse #aviation #airquality #sustainability 🧪
tinyurl.com/5xxjzczx

Business has a role to play in mitigating climate change. Here are 4 actions to take | MIT Sloan MIT Sloan climate expert John Sterman spells out the actions businesses can take to mitigate the economic and ecological harms of global warming.

At the MIT #Sustainability Summit 2025, MIT Sloan Professor/CS3 faculty affiliate John Sterman stresses the need for “multisolving”—actions that cut emissions and help us adapt to the #climate damage we have already caused.🧪

After more than a decade of successes, ESI’s work will spread out across the Institute MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) will close as a separate entity, many of its key functions will become part of the Climate Project at MIT, and John Fernandez, head of ESI for nearly a d...

After more than a decade of successes, the work of the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative will spread out across the Institute. Components of the ESI will become part of the Climate Project, CS3, Climate Policy Center and other MIT entities. #climate #sustainability

Fighting climate change, one yard at a time - The Boston Globe Some experts say how we tend our gardens can make a difference, and maybe even influence the world beyond.

“We obviously have a lot of technologies that are trying to remove #carbon from the air,” says CS3 Deputy Director C. Adam Schlosser, but “the best way of doing that, in terms of nature, is to plant new vegetation.” #climatechange

A vision for transportation resilience in the energy transition

Global #climate change and the clean #energy transition place #transportation systems at heightened risk for service disruptions & other hazards. CS3 researchers & co-authors of a new commentary in the journal Joule advance a holistic vision of transportation planning that could minimize that risk.🧪

A modeling study shows that global warming will likely make it harder to reduce ground-level ozone, a respiratory irritant that is a key component of smog, by cutting nitrogen oxide emissions. Image: iStock

WBUR: A study by MIT CS3 researchers finds that #climatechange may make it harder to reduce #smog in some regions. Senior author and CS3 Director Noelle Selin underscores the importance of policies that reduce #airpollution. 🧪https://news.mit.edu/news-clip/wbur-331

Has all the pavement built by humans warmed the planet? It’s possible, but if paving has had any effect on world temperatures, it’s far outweighed by our greenhouse gas emissions. In our daily lives, however, pavement can really heat us up—or, if we choose...

ASK MIT CLIMATE: Has all the #pavement built by humans warmed the planet? It’s possible, but if paving has had any effect on world temperatures, it’s far outweighed by our #greenhouse gas #emissions, says MIT CS3 Deputy Director Adam Schlosser.🧪

At the Climate Project at MIT spring gathering, CS3-affilated PhD student Chris Womack presented the Bringing #Computation to the #Climate Challenge (BC3) project, which aims to democratize access to reliable information about climate change. (Photo by Dimonika Bray)

At the Climate Project at MIT spring gathering, CS3-affilated PhD student Chris Womack presented the Bringing #Computation to the #Climate Challenge (BC3) project, which aims to democratize access to reliable information about climate change. 🧪 tinyurl.com/2s43dtyf

Hannah Rajput, a CS3-affiliated Master's student in the Technology and Policy Program at MIT, demoing CS3's System for the Triage of Risks from Environmental and Socio-economic Stressors (STRESS) platform at the Climate Project at MIT spring gathering. Rajput's current work involves developing the STRESS platform to be more publicly accessible and relevant to local stakeholders. (Photo by Dimonika Bray)

At the #Climate Project at MIT spring gathering, CS3-affilated Master's student Hannah Rajput demo'd CS3's STRESS platform, an open-science visualization platform to combine, overlay & diagnose landscapes of socioeconomic, health & environmental risk & injustice.🧪https://tinyurl.com/2s43dtyf

How will U.S. land use change by 2050?

Researchers at MIT CS3 and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a new modeling system that produces high-res projections of how multiple global forces may impact U.S. land allocated to #crops, #pastures and #forests in coming decades. #food #bioenergy #ecosystems #conservation🧪

MIT CS3 June 2025 e-newsletter: Air quality in the low-carbon transition

#AirPollution is influenced by the global #climate and by societal choices on climate policy and clean #energy technologies. In our June e-newsletter, we spotlight CS3 research at the nexus of climate change and #AirQuality. tinyurl.com/b77wvwx5 #sustainability🧪

RESEARCH INSIGHT: Decarbonization and air quality at the organizational level

As corporate #emissions tracking, #renewable #energy adoption, and digital infrastructure expansion gain prominence, MIT CS3 postdoc Albert Chen is developing a comprehensive framework to evaluate the sectoral, spatial and temporal #AirQuality impacts of these policies.🧪

RESEARCHER PROFILE: 3 Questions with Anthony Wong

MIT CS3 postdoc Anthony Wong discusses his research on the #climate, #AirQuality and #health impacts of burning different types of low- or zero-carbon fuels. Wong is developing an air quality emulator that could estimate how a climate policy would improve public health.🧪

A Complete Picture of Sustainability MIT’s Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy brings together natural and social scientists for an integrated approach to climate challenges

MIT Spectrum spotlights MIT CS3: “By modeling natural and societal systems in their full complexity, we can obtain a more complete picture of the Earth system—one that provides a more robust basis for decision-making.” - CS3 Director Noelle Selin #sustainability #environment #climatechange🧪

Brazil bets on macaúba palm to make renewable diesel and aviation biofuel Macaúba palm, also known as macaw palm, grows all over the Americas. Now, a drive by the Brazilian government to incentivize the decarbonization of the transportation and aviation sectors has resulted...

#Brazil bets on macaúba palm to make renewable #diesel and #aviation #biofuel. The palm has potential, but it is too early to assess, says MIT CS3 Deputy Director Sergey Paltsev. (Mongabay)

This image shows SAR11, the most common type of bacteria in the ocean. In the study by Zakem et al., SAR11 was found to be the most abundant group, especially near the ocean’s surface. The model used in the study assumes that SAR11 feeds on easily digestible organic material (Base image: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagibacterales#/media/Fichier:Pelagibacter.jpg)

A research team including MIT CS3 Senior Research Scientist Stephanie Dutkiewicz uses genetic data and #ecosystem modeling to simplify the complexity of marine #microbes to improve #climate predictions.🧪https://tinyurl.com/4r7erbwu

Study: Climate change may make it harder to reduce smog in some regions A modeling study conducted by MIT researchers shows that global warming will make it harder to reduce ground-level ozone, a respiratory irritant that is a key component of smog, by cutting greenhouse ...

MIT News: #climatechange will likely hinder our future ability to control ground-level #ozone, a harmful air pollutant that's a primary component of #smog, finds study co-authored by MIT CS3 researchers. The results could lead to more effective strategies for improving #AirQuality & human #health.🧪

Decarbonizing steel is tough as steel

The #energy-intensive #iron & #steel industry poses a major roadblock for #climate mitigation, but a new MIT CS3-led study shows the industry could substantially reduce its #carbon emissions by 2050 through recycling, energy efficiency, electrification, advanced technologies & alternative fuels. 🧪