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Agriculture in Forests Can Provide Climate and Economic Dividends

Forest-based agroforestry can restore forests, promote livelihoods, and combat climate change, but emerging agroforestry initiatives focusing only on tree planting is leading to missed opportunities to support  beneficial outcomes of forest management, a Yale-led team of scientists found.

Research Day: Be Inspired by Next-Generation Innovators

The Yale School of the Environment’s Annual Research Day gives students from across YSE and Yale an opportunity to keep up with – and draw inspiration from – their colleagues’ work. Listen to Eileen Zhang, Leo Goldsmith, and Destiny Treloar talk about the research they’re presenting on green chemistry, mental health burden outcomes among displaced populations after a disaster, and food insecurity at times of crisis.

In the Media

News in Brief

Mapping Public Opinion on Climate Change Across the UK

Urban residents in the United Kingdom perceive greater risks from climate change than rural residents, according to new opinion maps released by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

The online interactive maps depict public climate change beliefs, risk perceptions, policy support, and experiences with climate impacts across the U.K. by respondents 16 years and older in 12 regions who were surveyed in November, 2024. The responses show that a majority of U.K. residents believe climate change is happening (85%), that it is caused mostly by human activities (74%), and is worrisome (78%). However, 84% believe it is a distant threat, harming future generations. Only 55% think it will harm them personally, despite many of the respondents reporting that they dealt with major floods in the past year.

“The mismatch between personal experience and climate attribution revealed by the maps is consistent with prior research finding that direct exposure to extreme weather does not automatically translate into stronger belief that climate change affects these events,” the Yale researchers note.

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Flooding on a street Photo credit: SteveAllenPhoto via iStock

YPCCC’s Eric Fine Honored With Kroon Cup

As a project manager at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Eric Fine’s dedication to sustainability extends far beyond his job description. He leads by example: biking to work in all weather, personally maintaining the campus bike repair station he helped install, pushing for carbon-free retirement investment options, and is working towards net-zero at home.

In recognition of his efforts, Fine was awarded the Yale School of the Environment Kroon Cup, , which is presented annually to individuals and groups that embody stewardship and implement projects that engage and inspire the YSE community. Students, staff, and faculty vote to determine the winner among a list of nominated candidates. 

One of his nominators said it best. “Nobody more than Eric walks the talk on advancing YSE's mission of sustainability on a daily basis, through his individual actions and on behalf of the YPCCC and the YSE community.”

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Eric Fine holding the Kroon Cup

Fenichel Paper Honored for Enduring Impact on Epidemic Modeling

Eli Fenichel, the Knobloch Family Professor of Natural Resource Economics, and co-authors have been awarded the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association’s 2025 Paper of Enduring Quality Award for their 2011 PNAS paper on integrating human behavior into models of infectious disease. The study laid key foundations for interdisciplinary research, bridging economics and epidemiology—an approach that proved critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I saw a lot of epidemiologists and economists recommending it to each other to figure out how to collaborate on COVID-19 research,” Fenichel said. “I think it set a benchmark for interdisciplinary research on epidemics.”

The award will be presented at the AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, on July 28.

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Eli Fenichel

Knobloch Family Professor of Natural Resource Economics

All Communication Is Local

As local governments increasingly address the need to build climate resiliency and adapt effective climate mitigation strategies, it is vital that they develop and implement effective communication plans. However, climate communication has not always been a priority, according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC). A discussion hosted by YPCCC on April 15, 2025, explored effective communication strategies being employed by municipal communications officials around the country. The key, the officials said, is to embed communications at the beginning of an initiative and make climate mitigation efforts relevant to the daily lives of community members by connecting the initiatives to efficient and cheaper energy bills, job creation, and healthier air.

“Instead of being conceptual and abstract about decarbonization, tell a story about actual people who are making their house efficient and saving money. These kinds of stories consistently connect with people across the political spectrum and across levels of understanding and engagement on climate change,” said Julia Trezona Peek, chief strategy and partnership officer at the Urban Sustainability Directors Network.

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an adult and a young child looking at a sign which reads E-Bikes for the Climate Win

Credit: Denver Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency

On the Record

Forest management often necessitates removing some trees for the collective benefit of the forest. As people start to become aware of forest-based agriculture, we need to get that message out that effective forest management can achieve multiple services.”

Mark Bradford  E.H. Harriman Professor of Soils and Ecosystem EcologyRead the story

Canopy Magazine

collage of solar panels, rainforest, and a container ship underway
Cover Story

Getting to Net Zero

Achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require bold action in nearly every sector of the economy. Meet seven members of the YSE community who are working on groundbreaking solutions that give us hope.

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Media Inquiries and Communications Contacts

 

Paige SteinChief Communications and Marketing Officer, paige.stein@yale.edu

 

Editorial

Fran Silverman
Associate Director of Communications
fran.silverman@yale.edu

Bree Shirvell
Assistant Editor
bridget.shirvell@yale.edu

Faculty Directory

 

Design/Multimedia

Angela Chen-Wolf
Director of Design
angela.chen-wolf@yale.edu

Joe Dwyer
Multimedia Specialist
joseph.dwyer@yale.edu

Branding Resources

 

Web Operations

Matthew Garrett
Director of Web Operations
matthew.garrett@yale.edu

Mike Slattery
Associate Director of Web Operations
mike.slattery@yale.edu

Contact Web Support

 

Project Coordination

Sarah Hill
Communications Project Coordinator
sarah.c.hill@yale.edu

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