News & Announcements

Reducing methane emissions can buy the world crucial time to avoid catastrophic global warming. A Harvard team that includes Harvard Project on Climate Agreements Robert Stavins, is helping provide policymakers with the tools to help policymakers do just that.

What is really striking is that the most important development at COP-27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt has taken place thousands of miles away from where the negotiations are taking place. Namely in Bali, Indonesia, where President Biden and President Xi of China met, shook hands, and then engaged on November 14 in a three-hour conversation in which, among other topics, they signaled returning to the cooperative stance that had been so important previously on climate change.

Please note that the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements hosted or co-hosted two official Side Events at COP27 last week.

China and the United States are back on a productive track to adopt more cooperative approaches on global climate change. Those were the sentiments expressed by Harvard Project Director Robert Stavins on Wednesday (November 16) during a side event focusing on the China National Climate Change Assessment Report at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

The myriad challenges incumbent in expanding the world carbon market were the foci of discussion Wednesday (November 16) at a COP-27 side event hosted by the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements (HPCA). HPCA Director Robert Stavins moderated the panel, “Frontiers in Carbon Pricing,” on day 8 of the international climate talks in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Significant technological advances in satellite technology and atmospheric measurements have greatly enhanced the understanding of methane concentrations and emissions. The dynamic ways in which those advancements are allowing researchers to monitor methane emissions down to the source level was the focus of discussion Thursday (November 17) at a COP-27 side event co-hosted by the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, the Enel Foundation, and the government of Mexico.

Representatives from more than 200 nations are gathering in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt this week and next for the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP-27) of the United States Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Robert Stavins, A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy & Economic Development and director of the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, will lead a small delegation of Harvard attendees, which includes Daniel Jacob, Vasco McCoy Family Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, who studies methane and climate-change policy.

The Danish Minister of Climate, Energy, and Utilities expressed his hope that the tragic war in Ukraine will help accelerate the clean energy transformation by weaning Europe off Russian gas during a Virtual Forum (view recording here) last Friday (April 8). The event was hosted by the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements (HPCA) and moderated by Robert Stavins, HPCA Director and A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development. 

Near term action to combat climate change is critical if the world is going to slow the pace of global warming to a significant degree. That was the perspective voiced on Tuesday (November 30) by Laurence Tubiana, Director General of the European Climate Foundation during a Virtual Forum hosted by the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements (HPCA) and moderated by Robert Stavins, HPCA Director and A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development.

With negotiators from around the world hammering out the details of a revised global climate deal at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland, much of the work is centered on reaching agreement on a set of rules governing the global carbon market. The so-called “Rulebook” for implementing Article 6 of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement is considered by many to be critically important for enhancing ambition among countries for the plans and pledges contained in their Nationally Determined Contributions. Potential solutions to achieve consensus on the Article 6 Rulebook were the focus of discussion on November 10 at a COP26 side event—“Securing Climate Ambition with Cooperative Approaches: Options under Article 6.”

Negotiators convening this week and next at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow, Scotland will be challenged to find consensus on a range of issues, but perhaps none more important than the so-called “Rulebook” for implementing Article 6 of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. A panel of experts shared their perspectives on the negotiations during a webinar on Monday (November 1), co-sponsored by the Enel Foundation and the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements (HPCA). Titled “Prospects for Article 6: COP-26 and Beyond,” the webinar was moderated by HPCA Director Robert Stavins.