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Climate Change Science and Solutions

Businesses, ecosystems, industries, societies, and political systems are all vulnerable to climate change. This LC focuses on the science of climate change and on investigating innovative, interdisciplinary ways to address it.

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    Lia Nicholson

    Speaking for the Islands

    At the end of 2021, Lia Nicholson ’14 MEM traveled to Glasgow, Scotland, on a mission with existential stakes. As the lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States at the U.N.’s annual climate change conference, COP26, Nicholson represented the bloc of 39 small island nations, which together comprise 20% of all U.N. member states. While the numbers alone can seem abstract, the difference between a global temperature rise of 1.5° Celsius over the preindustrial baseline and a rise of 2° is “existential” for the vulnerable AOSIS nations that were among the first to have to reckon with the impacts of climate change nearly 30 years ago, she says.

    Rita Effah

    Financing Community-led Climate Action in Africa

    As a YSE student, Rita Effah ’12 MFS participated in COP 17 in Durban, South Africa. She says her experience at the annual U.N. climate change conference was the catalyst that sparked her interest in working to mitigate climate change impacts in Africa.

    Now a senior climate finance officer at the African Development Bank, Effah is managing the Africa Climate Change Fund, which implements small grant projects in 28 African countries.

    Climate Change Science and Solutions in the News

    Aerial view of coastal marsh in Georgia
    News

    Mussels and Other Aquatic Animals Provide Critical Coastal Ecosystem Protections

    New research led by the Yale Carbon Contain Lab encompassing 750,000 acres of coastal areas in the U.S. finds that mollusks play an important role in the health and growth of salt marshes.

    Photo of fire in the Amazon forest
    News

    Loss of Tropical Biomass Due to Climate Change Could Lead to Increased Carbon Emissions

    A YSE-led study predicts that losses in carbon-storing biomass in tropical forests due to climate change could accelerate global warming.

    Paulo Brando
    News

    International Tropical Ecology Expert Paulo Brando Joins YSE Faculty

    Paulo Brando, an internationally recognized expert of tropical ecosystems, joins the Yale School of the Environment. His research explores the causes of deforestation and forest degradation in the Amazon and the associated consequences to climate, ecological stability, and the potential future pathways of forests.

    Related Centers, Programs, and Initiatives

    County-level map of climate opinions
    Centers & Programs

    Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC)

    YPCCC is a leader in climate change communication, tracking Americans’ perception of climate change at all scales and building public and political will for climate action.

     
    Centers & Programs

    Affiliated: Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture

    Finding solutions to climate change through advances in natural carbon sequestration.

     
    Centers & Programs

    Carbon Containment Lab (CC Lab)

    The Carbon Containment Lab is finding big solutions to the climate challenge, designing and testing innovative, affordable, and scalable methods of atmospheric carbon containment.

    Centers & Programs

    SEARCH Center: Solutions for Energy, Air, Climate, and Health

    At the nexus of energy and public health, the SEARCH Center utilizes cutting-edge scientific research and technology to support the EPA’s strategic goals of protecting human health and the environment.

    Centers & Programs

    Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP)

    Through discussion and collaboration across campus, YCELP introduces fresh thinking and analytically rigorous approaches to environmental decision-making across disciplines, sectors, and scales.

    Degree Programs

    YSE's learning communities span across all master's and doctoral degree programs.

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    Learning Communities

    YSE's Learning Communities were created to offer robust interdisciplinary experiences and networks. Students may engage with as many learning communities as they choose, regardless of their degree program or specialization.