Brief

The Harvard Climate Brief brings Harvard faculty expertise on climate change and sustainability to the wider world. Authors’ views are their own. Republish.

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Boston trees

Urban forestry is climate infrastructure hiding in plain sight

Boston and Cambridge treat trees as a public system, not decoration. Three contributors to these cities’ urban forest plans explain how heat and historic disinvestment are guiding where canopy goes next – amid pressure to add housing and density.
Biodiversity
Thu, Mar 5, 2026
cirrus clouds

Could – and should – we thin clouds to cool the planet?

A solar geoengineering proposal could change how ice crystals form high in the sky. But there are many risks and unknowns.
Geoengineering
Thu, Feb 26, 2026

The legal reasoning behind the endangerment rescission

Experts from Harvard Law School explain how the Trump Administration justified eliminating the bedrock finding for federal greenhouse-gas regulation, and what comes next.
Climate Policy
Tue, Feb 17, 2026
offshore wind

The legal weaknesses in Trump’s war on offshore wind

Donald Trump keeps losing in court. He’s battered offshore wind, but his strategy may curb his powers elsewhere.
Energy Law & Policy
Tue, Feb 10, 2026
a cow

Sniffing out cow burps with an electronic nose

A bovine wearable brings lab-style methane monitoring to the farm, helping scientists test ways to cut livestock emissions of a formidable greenhouse gas.
Methane
Wed, Feb 4, 2026
A European Space Agency transport vehicle burning up on reentry at the end of its mission. (ESA)

Burning satellites in the stratosphere: Emerging questions for climate  

Since the start of the space age, humans have treated the upper atmosphere like a garbage dump. Here is what we know – and what we don’t – about incinerated space trash.
Climate Explained
Tue, Jan 27, 2026
Smokestacks at sunset

Ignoring lifesaving when regulating air pollution: An explainer

The Trump administration says it will no longer quantify the health benefits of reduced air pollution. Here’s what that means and why it matters.
Health Law & Policy
Wed, Jan 21, 2026
oil derrick in Venezuela

New tool lets anyone audit a country’s methane claims

Harvard researchers’ open-access software pairs satellite observations with atmospheric modeling. Among the findings: Venezuela’s oil and gas industry might be the world’s filthiest.
Energy Methane
Mon, Jan 12, 2026

All perspectives expressed in the Harvard Climate Brief are those of the authors and not of Harvard University or the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability. Any errors are the authors’ own. The Harvard Climate Brief is edited by an interdisciplinary team of Harvard faculty.