Initiative

Climate systems engineering

Even if the world committed to burning zero fossil fuels today, the carbon already emitted would still be left in the atmosphere for centuries and have the potential to cause disruptive climate change.  At the same time, as global efforts to reduce carbon emissions must intensify, it is essential to study all potential approaches and tools that could be used to manage the risks of these accumulated emissions.

The Climate Systems Engineering initiative (CSEi) is designed to provide an open and inclusive research environment to explore approaches and technologies that may be needed to manage the effects of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, as well as vigorously debate the human and governance challenges surrounding these potential innovations. Applying insights from systems engineering and climate science, the scope of CSEi will include open-systems carbon removal, solar geoengineering, and local interventions to prevent glacial melting. Its goal is to advance understanding of the potential benefits and risks of using these technologies to inform decision-makers and to educate students who will face the challenges of managing industrial civilization on a fragile planet.

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