Harvard’s Home for Climate and Sustainability

India farm with a hot sun
A forest and soil

Harvard Climate Brief

May’s heatwaves offer early warning for workers

As cities prepare for hotter summers, protecting people on the job will require enforceable rules, local action, and workers’ voices.
Thu, Jun 4, 2026

Is “rights of nature” the right phrase?

A growing legal movement is translating older Indigenous traditions of reciprocity and responsibility into Western law – but its core terms remain contested.
Wed, May 27, 2026
Young oak sprout

What oaks teach us about biodiversity

Oak trees, with more than 430 species worldwide, help us see how biodiversity is built over evolutionary time – and why that matters as forests face climate change and ecological disruption.
Thu, May 7, 2026
A forest and soil

The science of measuring carbon in forests and soils

As forests become more central to climate policy and carbon markets, researchers are trying to pin down how much carbon they hold above ground – and below.
Tue, Apr 28, 2026
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Research Stories

sheep shearing

From waste wool to building insulation

A Harvard team is turning discarded wool into retrofit insulation that could help lower the carbon cost of building materials.
News Harvard Research
Tue, May 26, 2026
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A figure from the PNAS paper

Fluid-filled smart windows cut heating and cooling costs

A new window design uses temperature-sensitive liquid patterns to shade rooms when they are hot and admit more sunlight when they are cool.
News Harvard Research Energy
Tue, May 26, 2026
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India farm with a hot sun

Rethinking how India adapts to extreme heat

A new white paper from the Salata Institute’s Climate Adaptation in South Asia research cluster brings together perspectives from climate science, public health, labor, agriculture, design, and finance to examine how extreme heat is reshaping life and livelihoods across India.
News White Paper Harvard Research
Wed, Apr 15, 2026
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Experiment asks: What helps trees resist climate change?

Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Professor Jeannine Cavender-Bares investigates how biodiversity furthers forest resilience.
News
Wed, Apr 8, 2026
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Request for Proposals: Urban Mobility and Climate Change Research Fund

The Urban Mobility and Climate Change (UMCC) Research Fund supports innovative and interdisciplinary research projects that aim to better diagnose pressing challenges at the intersection of urban mobility and climate change and create policy innovations on an accelerated timeline.
News
Thu, Mar 19, 2026
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Heat waves and annual death rates in older adults in the United States

A new nationwide study of more than 73 million older Americans finds that heat waves are driving a substantial increase in deaths each year, with disproportionate impacts on Black and low‑income communities, while neighborhoods with more green space see lower death rates.
News Harvard Research
Tue, Mar 17, 2026
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Seasonality and Declining Intensity of Methane Emissions

Harvard research group publishes paper characterizing seasonal changes in emissions and longer-term reductions in methane intensity in the U.S. Permian Basin.
Cluster Research News Methane
Thu, Mar 5, 2026
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windmill at sunset, overlaid with graph indicating ups and downs

Harvard research: Half of U.S. public companies are now creating climate solutions

New research from Harvard Business School shows American companies are moving forward with investments in climate-related technologies and products, even as the federal government dials back its support. Read more via Harvard Business School.
News
Tue, Feb 10, 2026
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A data center seen from above

AI, Data Centers, and the U.S. Electric Grid: A Watershed Moment

A team of experts across Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) outlines the current state and potential consequences of U.S. data center electricity usage and corresponding grid expansion. Read more via the Belfer Center.
News
Tue, Feb 10, 2026
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MethaneSAT satellite above earth

MethaneSAT Update: Oil & gas methane emissons exceed both reported inventories and industry goals

Take a first look at a system-wide view of oil and gas methane emissions. Read the latest from MethaneSAT via the MethaneSAT website.
News
Thu, Feb 12, 2026
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Research Brief: Recent History of U.S. Methane Regulation

The Harvard Methane Initiative has released a new research brief, reviewing and analyzing the recent history of methane regulation in the United States.
Cluster Research News Methane
Wed, Jan 21, 2026
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West African youth turn their lenses on climate change

A Salata Institute project is helping young photographers from the Gulf of Guinea learn to tell their stories of climate change.
Cluster Research News
Wed, Jan 21, 2026
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a worker in India dealing with extreme heat

World Bank panel hears from Salata extreme heat researcher

New field evidence from India shows why heat risk is a health and income issue – and why solutions must be locally grounded.
Cluster Research News Harvard Research
Wed, Jan 7, 2026
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Harvard Methane Initiative Director Robert Stavins Moderates Climate Week NYC Panel on “Methane-Emissions Abatement in the Oil & Gas Sector”

Experts at a Climate Week NYC panel highlighted how new technologies and data are enabling significant, cost-effective reductions in oil and gas methane emissions to quickly address climate change.
News Climate Week NYC Methane
Thu, Oct 2, 2025
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Upcoming Events

5
Jun
2026
Harvard Alumni Day: The State of Climate Science and Adaptation to Climate Change with the Salata Institute
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7
Jun
2026
Alumni can fall in love with trees: Guided walking tour of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
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22
Jun
2026
Climate Adaptation in the Gulf of Guinea: Building Preferred Futures
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Latest News

May’s heatwaves offer early warning for workers

As cities prepare for hotter summers, protecting people on the job will require enforceable rules, local action, and workers’ voices.
Thu, Jun 4, 2026
Read More

Is “rights of nature” the right phrase?

A growing legal movement is translating older Indigenous traditions of reciprocity and responsibility into Western law – but its core terms remain contested.
Wed, May 27, 2026
Read More

Handbook of the Economics of Climate Change

Harvard Kennedy School professor Ishan Nath writes on climate change, climate policy, and trade in the Handbook of the Economics of Climate Change
News
Wed, May 27, 2026
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