Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT has released an ambitious new plan for action to address the world’s accelerating climate crisis. The plan, titled “Fast Forward: MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade,” includes a broad array of new initiatives and significant expansions of existing programs, to address the needs for new technologies, new policies, and new kinds of outreach to bring the Institute’s expertise to bear on this critical global issue.
As MIT President L. Rafael Reif and other senior leaders have written in a letter to the MIT community announcing the new plan, “Humanity must find affordable, equitable ways to bring every sector of the global economy to net-zero carbon emissions no later than 2050.” And in order to do that, “we must go as far as we can, as fast as we can, with the tools and methods we have now.” But that alone, they stress, will not be enough to meet that essential goal. Significant investments will also be needed to invent
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MIT has released an ambitious new plan for action to address the world’s accelerating climate crisis. The plan, titled “Fast Forward: MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade,” includes a broad array of new initiatives and significant expansions of existing programs, to address the needs for new technologies, new policies, and new kinds of outreach to bring the Institute’s expertise to bear on this critical global issue.
As MIT President L. Rafael Reif and other senior leaders have written in a letter to the MIT community announcing the new plan, “Humanity must find affordable, equitable ways to bring every sector of the global economy to net-zero carbon emissions no later than 2050.” And in order to do that, “we must go as far as we can, as fast as we can, with the tools and methods we have now.” But that alone, they stress, will not be enough to meet that essential goal. Significa
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“We’re in an emergency, and we need a coordinated effort with all hands and all minds on deck trying to solve this problem.” The urgency in that call to confront climate change, issued by MIT faculty member Asegun Henry SM ’06, PhD ’09, reverberated throughout MIT Better World (Sustainability), a recent virtual gathering of the global MIT community.
More than 830 attendees from 57 countries logged on to learn about climate change solutions in development at MIT and to consider how, in the words of Provost Martin A. Schmidt SM ’83, PhD ’88, “Every academic discipline in every corner of our community can contribute to solving this global challenge.” Schmidt, who is the Ray and Maria Stata Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, moderated the main session of the program, which also featured Vice President for Research Maria Zuber and linguistics graduate student Annauk Denise Olin.
A year ago today, President Larry Bacow informed the Harvard community that the University would be transitioning to remote instruction as COVID-19 intensified its grip on the world, with hospitalizations and deaths in the United States beginning to rise at alarming rates.
“Like all of you, I have been intently following reports of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and considering the many ways in which its future course might alter my life and the lives of those closest to me,” he wrote. “These past few weeks have been a powerful reminder of just how connected we are to one another and how our choices today determine our options tomorrow.”
Faculty members discussed MIT’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Action Plan, issues surrounding MIT’s relations with China and international research collaborations, and updates on vaccine roll-out at the Feb. 17 faculty meeting.
Associate Provost Tim Jamison, Institute Community and Equity Officer (ICEO) John Dozier, and Deputy ICEO Maryanne Kirkbride presented updates on MIT’s development of a strategic action plan for DEI. Those involved with developing the plan include the DEI steering team which includes the Institute’s Committee on Race and Diversity.
An estimated timeline for the strategic plan presented to faculty projects that a first draft of the plan will be available in March and a second draft in April. Both drafts will receive community engagement before a final draft is developed in May, as well as an implementation plan and a public launch of the strategic action plan.