Climate Institute

CLIMATE INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2019 WERE AS FOLLOWS: 1. THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE INITIATED IN 2016 AND MADE ITS MAJOR PRIORITY IN 2017 A NORTH AMERICAN SUPERGRID TO SLASH POWER SECTOR GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS WHILE ALSO ENHANCING GRID SECURITY AGAINST DEVASTATION FROM SOLAR STORMS, ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE ATTACKS AND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS. ON NOVEMBER 29, 2017, IT RELEASED THE RESULTS OF ITS 18-MONTH STUDY IN A SPEAKER EVENT AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON, DC. THE REPORT IS ACCESSIBLE ONLINE. THE FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY CHAPTER OF THE REPORT WAS UPDATED IN 2018 AND 2019 TO REFLECT DECLINING PRICES OF WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY WITH THE UPDATED REPORT PUBLISHED AND CIRCULATED LATE SUMMER OF 2019. SINCE THEN THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE HAS FOCUSED ON ADVISING POLICYMAKERS OF THE POTENTIAL OF A NATIONWIDE SUPERGRID AS A KEY ELEMENT OF A NATIONAL OR EVEN CONTINENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE EFFORT WHILE ALSO HIGHLIGHTING POSSIBILITIES OF BUILDING SOME SMALLER PORTIONS AS REGIONAL HIGH VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT OVERLAYS LINKING LARGELY RURAL SOURCES OF WIND, SOLAR AND OTHER RENEWABLE ENERGY WITH LOAD CONSUMING AREAS.2. IN APRIL 2019 A WIDELY ACCLAIMED BOOK BY NEW YORK TIMES WRITER, NATHANIEL RICH, LOSING EARTH: A RECENT HISTORY, HIGHLIGHTED THE WORK OF THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE AND SEVERAL OF ITS BOARD MEMBERS IN SHAPING MUCH OF THE LAUNCH AND EARLY SUCCESS OF THE US CLIMATE PROTECTION MOVEMENT FROM 1979-1989. RICH HIGHLIGHTED THE INSTITUTE'S SUCCESS IN ITS OCTOBER 1987 FIRST NORTH AMERICAN CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON IN CONVENING A WIDE RANGE OF STAKEHOLDERS OF VARYING POLITICAL PERSUASIONS, NATIONALITIES AND SECTORS TO DISCUSS COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES TO CLIMATE PROTECTION. THE PUBLICATION OF RICH'S BOOK GAVE THE INSTITUTE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT ITS SUCCESS THE SAME YEARS IN CONVENING PIVOTAL CLIMATE MEETINGS NOT ONLY ON NORTH AMERICA (1987 AND 1988) UN MISSIONS (1988) THE ARCTIC (OTTAWA 1989) AND THE MIDDLE EAST (CAIRO 1989).BUILDING ON THE RECOGNITION IN RICH'S BOOK AND A NEAR BOOK LENGTH ARTICLE BY RICH IN THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE IN AUGUST 2018, THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE RECRUITED CLIMATE INSTITUTE CO-FOUNDER, MARK GOLDBERG, A DRAFTER OF THE 1989 CAIRO COMPACT, TO SERVE AS THE INSTITUTE'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. DRAWING BOTH ON HIS EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF CLIMATE POLICY AND CONSIDERABLE IN RECENT YEARS IN ORGANIZING AND CONVENING OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS AT BOTH THE NATIONAL AND REGIONAL LEVEL FOR COLLABORATIVE MEETINGS ON HEALTH CARE POLICY, MARK GOLDBERG IN 2019 BEGAN TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE ASSUMING ONCE AGAIN A CRUCIAL ROLE AS A CONVENER OF COLLABORATIVE MEETINGS IN AN INCREASINGLY POLARIZED POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT. AMONG THE AREAS IN WHICH HE MAY LEAD CLIMATE INSTITUTE CONVENING'S ARE ON SUCH TOPICS AS 1) IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE HEALTH CARE SECTOR, 2) HOW COASTAL CITIES CAN ADAPT TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE, SEA LEVEL RISE, AND STORM SURGE. 3) IMPLICATIONS OF OCEANS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE OCEANS, E.G. HOW CAN OFFSHORE WIND OR TIDAL POWER BE HARNESSED FOR ELECTRICITY, HOW CAN WE USE NATURAL DEFENSES AGAINST SEA LEVEL RISE OR STORM SURGE, E.G. REESTABLISHING OYSTER BEDS, PLANTING MANGROVES AND USING UNCONVENTIONAL MEANS OF PRESERVING CORAL, AND 4) REMOVING OBSTACLES TO A QUICK ROLL OUT OF A REGIONAL HVDC SUPERGRID AND ENSURING THAT THESE REGIONAL SEGMENTS ARE DESIGNED IN A WAY THAT ENABLES A RELATIVELY OPTIMAL CONTINENT - WIDE SUPERGRID.3. CONTINUED WORK ON AN INITIATIVE TO FACILITATE REDUCTIONS IN EMISSIONS OF BLACK CARBON AND SHORT-LIVED GREENHOUSE GASES. IN 2013 THE INSTITUTE REVISED THE FOCUS OF THIS EFFORT TO HIGHLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES TO ACHIEVE LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS IN BLACK CARBON EMISSIONS IN MEGA-CITIES OF ASIA BY CREATING A VALUATION WITHIN CLIMATE TRADING SYSTEMS FOR SUCH BLACK CARBON EMISSION REDUCTIONS. IN 2017, 2018 AND 2019, THE INSTITUTE FOCUSED MUCH OF THIS EFFORT ON ARCTIC CLIMATE MITIGATION.4. ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT OF THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE IN THE EFFORT UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE (ANSI) TO DEVELOP A LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT STANDARD. THE INSTITUTE'S PRESIDENT JOHN TOPPING IN 2011 ASSUMED THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMPACTS OF GREENHOUSE GASES AND BLACK CARBON OF THE FULL ANSI COMMITTEE DEVELOPING THE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT STANDARD. HE HAS DEVOTED CONSIDERABLE TIME TO THIS ACTIVITY IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS. MICHAEL MACCRACKEN, CLIMATE INSTITUTE CHIEF SCIENTIST FOR CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAMS, HAS PROVIDED A SCIENTIFIC LEAD TO DEVELOP CLIMATE METRICS FOR THE EMERGING ANSI STANDARD THAT WOULD GIVE APPROPRIATE VALUATION FOR REDUCTION OF EMISSIONS OF SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE FORCERS.5. BUILDING ON THE MOMENTUM OF THE EMERGING ANSI STANDARD, THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE IN 2012 LAUNCHED AN EFFORT TO EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY OF AN ARCTIC CLIMATE ACTION REGISTRY TO FACILITATE REDUCTION OF EMISSIONS OF BLACK CARBON AND TROPOSPHERIC OZONE FORMING COMPOUNDS. THIS WAS EXPANDED IN 2013 AND 2014 WITH SEVERAL PANELS AT CONFERENCES AND WEBINARS TO EXPLORE HOW IT MIGHT FUNCTION. THE SPRING 2014 ISSUE OF CLIMATE ALERT PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE ASSESSING THE CONTRIBUTION TO ARCTIC CLIMATE CHANGE BY THE EIGHT ARCTIC COUNCIL MEMBER COUNTRIES AND TWO MOST POPULOUS OBSERVER NATIONS, AS AUTHORED BY TOBIAS SCHULTZ AND MICHAEL MACCRACKEN. IN 2015 THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE PUBLISHED A SPECIAL EDITION OF CLIMATE ALERT ON THE POTENTIAL OF METHANOGENS TO AFFECT ARCTIC WARMING. IN 2017 AND 2018 THE INSTITUTE REINFORCED THIS THRUST WITH AN ACTIVE EFFORT TO DEVELOP AN ARCTIC SURVIVAL CHALLENGE GAME PLAYABLE ON SMART PHONES AND OTHER COMPUTER DEVICES. THIS GAME EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF REDUCING EMISSIONS OF BLACK CARBON AND METHANE SO AS TO SLOW ARCTIC CLIMATE WARMING. THIS EFFORT IS ON-GOING AS PART OF A LARGER EFFORT TO USE VIRTUAL REALITY AND GAMING TO INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE SITUATION IN THE ARCTIC AND POSSIBLE MEANS OF REDUCING THESE IMPACTS.6. WORKING WITH FACULTY, ADMINISTRATION AND ALUMNI OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, VERMONT LAW SCHOOL AND KIMBALL UNION ACADEMY, YALE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, YALE LAW SCHOOL, AS WELL AS WITH INSTITUTIONS OUTSIDE NEW ENGLAND, THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE CONTINUED LAYING PLANS FOR AN ENHANCED CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING (CELT). THIS IS A LARGELY VIRTUAL ORGANIZATION TO EMPOWER YOUNG PEOPLE TO BECOME CLIMATE PROBLEM SOLVERS. BY THE END OF 2018 THIS EDUCATIONAL ARM OF THE INSTITUTE HAD GROWN TO INVOLVE OVER ONE HUNDRED FELLOWS OR INTERNS AND HAS ALUMNI FROM TWENTY NATIONS. IN 2015 THE INSTITUTE BEGAN TO DEVELOP AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS INITIATIVE THAT MATCHES ASPIRING AND LARGELY YOUNG CLEAN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS AND INNOVATORS WITH HANDS ON LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES WITH CUTTING EDGE CLEAN ENERGY FIRMS. THIS ACTIVITY CONTINUED IN 2019.