On October 30, the University of Chicago hosted Climate Frontiers: Energy and Climate at UChicago, a day-long event where the University announced its new Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth.

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More than 700 students, faculty and world leaders gathered for a slate of events including a climate and energy career fair, and a climate showcase and a student poster session highlighting existing UChicago research and programs in the field. In the afternoon, a leadership forum hosted a dozen experts from academia, government and industry for discussions on the future of climate and energy policy and innovation.

After opening remarks from Provost Katherine Baicker and President Paul Alivisatos, the faculty director for the Institute, Michael Greenstone, introduced the Institute’s multi-dimensional mission. The Institute aims to leverage UChicago’s unique legacy and resources to address two urgent global issues: the devastating impact of climate change, and the growing energy needs of low- and middle-income countries.

“It’s these two ideas, climate and growth, and the question, ‘Must they really be in conflict with each other?’ that animate all that we’re trying to do with the Institute,” Greenstone said.

Greenstone detailed how the Institute is organized into three pillars: Markets and Policy, Technology and Innovation, and Climate Systems Engineering. The Institute is also launching the Chicago Curriculum on Climate and Sustainable Growth, which aims to create new degree programs and courses, including a capstone experiential learning course taking students off campus to locations key to the climate and sustainable growth challenge. Along with research and education, the Institute will focus on impacting society through its work.

“It’s not simply enough to produce new ideas and keep them inside the bubble of academia. What’s critical is to develop those new ideas and then go test them in the real world and ultimately ensuring that those ideas deliver improvements in human well-being,” Greenstone said.

Full Presentation

Following Greenstone’s presentation, Governor JB Pritzker and Senator Dick Durbin spoke about their experiences driving climate policy and expressed their support for the Institute.

“This is a place where the brightest minds in the field will come together from around the world, and from right here in Chicago, to drive world-altering progress,” Pritzker said. “I’m very proud to be governor of a state where we will work together to make this kind of positive change and where we will have an Institute that will help us lead the way.”

The afternoon then transitioned to a series of three panels discussing climate policy, energy technology and climate systems engineering.

Balancing Climate and Growth: A Policy Discussion

Heidi Heitkamp, former U.S. Senator from North Dakota and director of the UChicago Institute of Politics, moderated a discussion on the intersection of policy, climate and the economy with Greenstone and John Podesta, the White House Senior Advisor for International Climate Policy. They discussed the Inflation Reduction Act, Clean Air Act, fee on methane, and more.

One topic they discussed was the global aspect of climate change and the role of the United States in leading by example.

“[The Paris Agreement] is built around a national framework of transparency and accountability to the global system. So, that’s the framework we’re operating in and we need everybody to participate,” Podesta said. “The question is, will countries actually come forward in doing that? That’s where I’m running around the world now trying to convince the rest of the world that we’re going to do our part.”

Greenstone emphasized that when one country acts, it benefits everyone. So it is in everyone’s interest—including the United States—to act.

“What comes out of those negotiations that’s so important is when China cuts a ton, or India, or Bangladesh cuts a ton, they’re doing a favor to us. They’re providing benefits to us, and that’s kind of the game of the international negotiations. Cutting in isolation is missing the larger picture. The larger picture is, we want to do cuts because others will maybe do six or seven tons in exchange for one of our tons, and that will provide benefits—that is, reduce climate damages for the United States. So I think that dynamic should not be lost.”

Energy Storage and the Future of Clean Tech

The second dialogue, moderated by Amy Harder, executive editor of Cipher, focused on energy storage and the future of clean tech. It featured world-renowned battery scientist Shirley Meng, who leads the Energy Technologies Initiative for the Institute, as well as former Department of Energy Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar and Exelon President and CEO Calvin Butler. Among the topics discussed was China’s role in the energy storage field.

Meng said that she was “not worried about the China dominance in this time slot” as countries around the world continue to innovate and take on new roles in the climate challenge. “Yes, maybe for lithium ion batteries, China is taking this leading position,” said Meng. “It’s a global race, and in the end, all of us should race to a sustainable future.”

Dabbar acknowledged “competition from overseas,” but said he thinks “the focus on the future is more important,” citing advancements in solar and drilling technologies over the last 20 years. “Almost everything that we’re deploying today did not exist 20 years ago,” Dabbar said, paraphrasing hockey star Wayne Gretzky, it’s about “where’s the puck going to be, not where it is today.”

Butler raised “security concerns” about technologies developed by foreign nations. “But what you do get is that a bar is set,” Butler said. “We have to get better and we have to get quicker, and that efficiency is developed because of the pressure that’s being put on us via China.”

This high bar, Butler said, encourages partnerships like with the University of Chicago and national labs like Argonne. “I do not believe those public-private partnerships with government and academia would exist, but for those other pressures being laid out.”

Climate Systems Engineering: A Research-First Approach to a Multidimensional Challenge

Amy Harder also moderated the final panel of the day, which included David Keith, who leads the Climate Systems Engineering Initiative for the Institute, former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Hina Rabbani Khar, and President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions Nat Keohane. The panelists spoke about the need for research into climate systems engineering technologies.

Keith explained the most common technology would be Solar Radiation Management—putting aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect some sunlight and make the earth a little bit cooler. “This is not an obscure piece of climate science,” Keith said, noting that the research is well established but there needs to be more confidence in our ability to predict “what the effects would be and what the harms would be.”

Khar, who was a member of the Climate Overshoot Commission—which proposed strategies to mitigate risks should global warming exceed the 1.5°C target—said she was initially skeptical about using such technologies. But after listening to scientists, she became convinced. “[If] they say there’s a brand new drug, it can save your life, do you not want to know what are the repercussions and ramifications of taking that brand new drug?”

Keohane echoed this sentiment, but said the research needs to be global. “We have to be building the capacity of the research throughout the world, including in the global South, including in the countries that are going to be most vulnerable to this,” he said. “Because when we get to the questions about governance, we need to have an equitable conversation where many voices feel that they’re not just able to be heard, but they’re informed.”

Keith said this governance aspect is the central challenge. He explained how the research had been around for a long time. “The central challenge,” he said, “is how we govern these technologies in a divided world.”

Speakers