Harvard Research

Harvard has a distinguished history of research in climate and climate-related fields. Harvard faculty helped to develop a fundamental understanding of the chemistry, physics, and biology of our planet’s climate system. Their work has changed the way we think about interactions among the atmosphere, the land, and the ocean, and how these shape Earth’s climate. That work continues, with ongoing discoveries in wide-ranging areas, such as atmospheric chemistry climate dynamics, geophysics, solar geoengineering, and climate-related data science.

Two female scientist working in a laboratory.
AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
THE SALATA INSTITUTE FOR CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABILITY

Climate Research Clusters Call for Proposals

Clusters comprise interdisciplinary, cross-School teams of researchers, whose varied expertise is required to address the complexity of the problems that they seek to solve. The problems are broad enough that their solutions represent significant progress in meeting the world’s climate challenge. Concept proposals due by April 1, 2024.

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Climate & Health

In a November 16th session of “Harvard Speaks on Climate Change,” Professor Kari Nadeau delved into the critical intersection of climate and health. Her insights shed light on the significance of this relationship, especially in the run-up to COP28, where the topic of health was addressed for the first time.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
THE SALATA INSTITUTE FOR CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABILITY

Salata Institute Fellows Program

The Salata Institute Fellows Program accepts exceptional academics and practitioners working on climate change and sustainability for the purpose of supporting their scholarship or professional development. Applications for the 2024-2025 academic year are now open.

Aug 7, 2023

Updated Call for Proposals: Salata Institute Seed Grant Program in Climate and Sustainability

The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University solicits proposals for funding under its Seed Grant Program in Climate and Sustainability. Proposals will be considered three times per year, with deadlines of the second Friday of January, May, and September.

Aug 22, 2023
Children collecting water in the desert

Managing planetary health in an era of climate crisis

Climate change and public health demand a new architecture for collaboration.

Feb 12, 2024

In E&E News: Harvard Study Documents ‘Extreme’ Methane Bursts

Featured today in E&E News: New Harvard-led research demonstrates a new method of methane emissions monitoring, revealing massive methane releases over short periods of time, including an extreme 3-hour methane release from a natural gas pipeline in Durango, Mexico.

A pipeline leaking methane in Texas

How Regulators Use Satellite Images of Methane

Volumes of the heat-trapping gas have tripled in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times. New tools are helping regulators target super-emitters.

Applying Pandemic Lessons to Climate Data

Climateverse is an accessible data repository driving insights to mitigate and prepare for climate crises.

satellite image of a methane plume in the Permian Basin

Using History to Target Methane Super Emitters

The greenhouse gas methane is invisible to the human eye, so easy to ignore. But by highlighting its local impacts on human health, researchers at Harvard University hope to score a win for both people and the planet.

A professor and student in a chemistry lab.

“The Sustainocene” – Making Energy and Food with Artificial Photosynthesis

Chemist Daniel Nocera is inventing green tools to provide the world’s poorest with food and power. Among the handy side-effects: capturing carbon.

Sep 20, 2023

The Challenge of Aligning Interests in Pennsylvania Methane Cleanup

A climate research workshop hosted by the Salata Institute explored solutions to the problem of abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania and beyond.

Quantifying Methane – To the Sky and Beyond  

Harvard University scientists have developed and are preparing to launch a new satellite that uses breakthrough technology to detect and measure methane leaks. The technology promises to make a significant contribution in limiting climate change, as methane is a greenhouse gas whose warming potential is more than 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide.

Rising CO2 and Tropical Forests 

Tropical forests are one of the most vital ecosystems on Earth, yet little is understood about how they will respond to increasing CO2 in the atmosphere. Harvard Professor Ben Taylor and his team are undertaking first-of-its-kind research exploring how increasing CO2 will affect plant-microbe partnerships in tropical forest ecosystems.

Mar 3, 2023
Two scientists analizing a graph in a compute screen.

On the Battery Frontier

Harvard Associate Professor of Materials Science, Xin Li is developing the energy storage materials of the future. The Li Lab has created solid state batteries that outperform current lithium-ion batteries used today. Their research is pushing boundaries that could lead to major breakthroughs for electric vehicle technology.

Feb 13, 2023
Close shot of two researchers talking to each other in a laboratory

Cooling Off: Low-Carbon Alternative to AC

The Aizenberg Lab is reimagining air-conditioning in order to meet growing global demand for cooling while combatting climate change. Their novel evaporative cooling technology uses advanced materials science and design to make affordable, environmentally-positive eco-friendly air conditioners that work in most climates without the use of synthetic refrigerants.

Feb 13, 2023

Harvard Climate

Research Drives Solutions

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Fri, May 5, 2023

The Salata institute

The Salata Institute supports interdisciplinary research that leads to real-world action; high-risk/high-reward projects by researchers already working in the climate area; and new endeavors that make it easier for Harvard scholars, who have not worked on climate problems, to do so.