Climate Science

We need to reduce the uncertainty around the next century of climate change, to inform sound policy decisions and deployment of capital.

Research aligned with this initiative focuses on the development of new methods and improved models to help populations assess, prepare for, and respond to climate change risks. Projects can be focused on improving our understanding of how human activities are changing the climate (diagnosis), developing ways to reduce climate forcing (mitigation), or creating resilient infrastructure that can help society deal with the changes (adaptation).

Quantifying the forcing of climate change (e.g. emissions of methane from agriculture and natural gas production, land use change in tropical regions, emissions of carbon dioxide from the growing megacities) is essential for informing efforts to reduce the rate of global warming. New methods, models, and improved use of data are needed to improve these forecasts.

Given the current trajectory of Earth's climate, there is a pressing need to develop methods to reduce climate forcing by reducing emissions of methane, removal and burial of carbon dioxide, and possibly by engineering increases in the reflectivity of Earth.

Given increasing temperature, flooding, drought, and sea level, there a pressing need to develop technologies and approaches for adaptation (creating resiliency in built and natural systems).