Belfer Center Topics

Harvard Project Director Robert Stavins Moderates Climate Action Week Panel on “Strategies for Mitigating Global Methane Emissions”

Belfer Center — Jul 11, 2024

Jul 11, 2024

Efforts to measure and mitigate the impact of methane emissions was the topic of discussion last Monday (June 10, 2024) at a panel convened as part of Climate Action Week in the Northwest Building, sponsored by Harvard’s Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability and moderated by Harvard Environmental Economics Program and Harvard Project Director Robert Stavins.

Land Use Policy and Climate Change: A Conversation with Charles Taylor

Belfer Center — Jul 8, 2024

Jul 8, 2024

The ways in which land use and environmental policies intersect with natural resource sustainability and climate change was the focus of discussion in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program” featuring Charles Taylor, assistant professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School. The podcast is produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.

Opportunities for Cost-Effective Residential Heat Pump Adoption in Massachusetts

Belfer Center — Jun 26, 2024

Jun 26, 2024

The first-ever town-level spatial analysis of the effect of heat pump adoption on residential heating bills finds that air-source heat pump adoption will increase heating costs for approximately half of all Massachusetts households due to high electricity prices, challenging the state’s ability to achieve its recently announced ambitions for heat pump adoption.

Heat Pump Adoption Not Cost-Effective for Majority of MA Households, Says New Study

Belfer Center — Jun 26, 2024

Jun 26, 2024

Air-source heat pump adoption will increase heating costs for approximately half of all Massachusetts households due to high electricity prices, according to a new town-level spatial analysis by researchers at Harvard University. Concerns around increased energy bills could challenge Massachusetts’ ability to achieve its ambitions for decarbonization of buildings across the state.

Beyond the Headlines: A Kaleidoscopic Exploration of Contemporary African Politics and International Cooperation

Belfer Center — Jun 21, 2024

Jun 21, 2024

Dr. Gloria Ayee led a study group over the course of five sessions during the Spring of 2024, exploring the current pivotal moment on the African continent. Reflecting back, Dr. Ayee highlights the key takeaways from the study group.

Africa In Focus Speaker Series

Belfer Center — Jun 19, 2024

Jun 19, 2024

Africa in Focus, run by the Africa Futures Project, aims to create a forum for intellectual and critical analysis of processes and policies from the continent and its engagement with the international community. Through thoughtful and dynamic programming, Africa in Focus seeks to bring more African perspectives into broader policy conversations at HKS.

International Trade and Climate Change Policy: A Conversation with Robert Lawrence

Belfer Center — Jun 18, 2024

Jun 18, 2024

The rise of political populism and economic protectionism are serious barriers impeding efforts to combat global climate change. Robert Lawrence, the Albert Williams Professor of International Trade and Investment at Harvard Kennedy School, expressed those concerns in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.”

Africa Beyond the Headlines: A Kaleidoscopic Exploration of Contemporary African Politics and International Cooperation

Belfer Center — Jun 14, 2024

Jun 14, 2024

Dr. Gloria Ayee led a study group over the course of five sessions during the Spring of 2024, exploring the current pivotal moment on the African continent. Participants of the study group were invited to reflect on the role that international cooperation must play in supporting inclusive, sustainable development in Africa, as well as to move beyond outdated perspectives and learn about Africa’s profound transformation through trade, investments in clean energy and health, and youth empowerment initiatives.

Event Debrief: Why the Inflation Reduction Act Passed

Belfer Center — Jun 5, 2024

Jun 5, 2024

Harvard Kennedy School hosted Leah Stokes, Anton Conk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics at UC Santa Barbara, to discuss how the historic Inflation Reduction Act succeeded where so many previous climate bills failed.

What Do Africa and the Arctic Have in Common? A Lot, It Turns Out

Belfer Center — Jun 3, 2024

Jun 3, 2024

As the climate crisis intensifies, demand is surging for minerals needed to manufacture clean energy technologies. In the race to secure supplies of critical minerals, Africa and the Arctic have taken center stage as companies and governments around the world eye their vast mineral deposits. These seemingly disparate regions now face the same question: how to capitalize on their mineral wealth while maximizing the socioeconomic benefits and minimizing the environmental harms of mining.

Explainer: What is the Bonn Climate Change Conference?

Belfer Center — May 30, 2024

May 30, 2024

The intersessional conference stands as one of the most important regular milestones in international climate negotiations, but its relatively unknown status compared to the COPs has made it difficult to understand its place in international climate policymaking.

Constructing Climate Change: Exploring How Cities Frame Climate Change in the Arctic

Belfer Center — May 23, 2024

May 23, 2024

Framing climate policy actions to be acceptable by various stakeholders in cities poses a critical task for urban governance. This paper draws on the literature on climate change discourse to analyze the content of framing and its reasoning in the two municipalities located in the Arctic: Murmansk, Russia, and Tromsø, Norway.

US-China Cooperation Remains Possible

Belfer Center — May 6, 2024

May 6, 2024

Joseph S. Nye advocates for identifying areas for cooperation between the United States and China such as climate change and public health.

Energy, Geopolitics, and Climate Change: A Conversation with Meghan O'Sullivan

Belfer Center — May 6, 2024

May 6, 2024

International relations expert Meghan O'Sullivan, the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, expressed her hopes for achieving successful international climate policy solutions in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.”

Current and Future Arctic Cooperation: Where to Next?

Belfer Center — May 1, 2024

May 1, 2024

Viktoria Waldenfels MPA 2025 reflects on promising ways forward for Arctic cooperation.

This study group, led by Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Margaret Williams, is evaluating the costs and benefits of renewing cooperation with Russia on science and conservation issues.

Mapping a Path Forward for Arctic Cooperation with Russia: A Biodiversity Case Study

Belfer Center — Apr 22, 2024

Apr 22, 2024

For most of this century, the Arctic has been a place of peaceful cooperation in science and environmental protection, an approach built on a foundation of multiple agreements reached in the twentieth century. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the geopolitical reverberations of the war have disrupted or outright halted most collaboration between Western and Russian scientists and conservationists.

Climate Change: Political Implications and Policy Response in Africa

Belfer Center — Apr 18, 2024

Apr 18, 2024

The fourth session addressed the pressing issue of climate change and its political implications in Africa. This session highlighted the disproportionate impact of climate change effects on African nations and how governments are responding through policy measures. A significant focus of the discussion was placed on current climate financial models and the challenges to accessing funding for renewable energy and electrification projects in Africa. The study group counted with the presence of external expert speaker Ely Sandler, Fellow at the Belfer Center. Ely has worked as a senior consultant at the World Bank and previously at Morgan Stanley for nearly a decade. Policy proposals that Ely developed at Harvard were presented at COP27 and are now being adopted by the World Bank and UAE COP28 Presidency, with the hope of catalyzing trillions of dollars of green investment, in part through Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Arctic Initiative Highlights from Arctic Encounter Symposium 2024

Belfer Center — Apr 17, 2024

Apr 17, 2024

From climate science to healthcare to waste management, read on for key takeaways from our team’s activities at Arctic Encounter Symposium 2024 in Anchorage, Alaska.

Setting a Course for Arctic Research: Arctic Initiative at Arctic Science Summit Week 2024

Belfer Center — Apr 16, 2024

Apr 16, 2024

The Arctic Initiative team helped kick off discussions for the International Conference on Arctic Research Planning Process 2022-2026 (ICARP IV) research priority teams at the Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2024 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Impacts of Electric Vehicle Subsidies: A Conversation with Hunt Allcott

Belfer Center — Apr 8, 2024

Apr 8, 2024

Behavioral economist Hunt Allcott, Professor of Global Environmental Policy at the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University, questioned the impact of new and used electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.”