Climate Institute

Programs: 1. The climate institute initiated in 2016 and made it a major priority in 2017 a north american supergrid project. On november 29, 2017, it released the results of its 18-month study in a speaker event at george washington university in washington, d. C. The report is accessible online. 2. During 2017, the institute continued work on an earth science gallery in the children's museum in dubai. This is the first such climate theatre in the arabic speaking world, built and opened in mid-2015. 3. Continued work on an initiative to facilitate reductions in emissions of black carbon and short-lived greenhouse gases. In 2013, the institute revised the focus of this effort to highlight opportunities to achieve large-scale reductions in black carbon emissions in mega-cities of asia by creating a valuation within climate trading systems for black carbon emission reductions. In 2017, the institute focused much of this effort on arctic climate mitigation. 4. Active involvement of the climate institute in the effort under the auspices of the american national standards institute (ansi) to develop a life cycle assessment standard. The institute's president john topping assumed the chairmanship of the subcommittee on impacts of greenhouse gases and black carbon of the full ansi committee developing the life cycle assessment standard. He has devoted considerable time to this activity in subsequent years. Michael maccracken, climate institute chief scientist for climate change programs, provided a scientific lead in efforts to develop climate metrics for the emerging ansi standard that would provide appropriate valuation for reduction of emissions of short-lived climate forcers. 5. Building on the momentum of the emerging ansi standard, the climate institute in 2012 launched an effort to create an arctic climate action registry to facilitate reduction of emissions of black carbon and tropospheric ozone forming compounds. This was expanded in 2013 and 2014 with several panels at conferences and webinars to explore how it might function. The spring 2014 issue of climate alert published an article assessing the contribution to arctic climate change by the eight arctic council member countries and two most populous observer nations, as authored by tobias schultz and michael maccracken. In 2015 the climate institute published a special edition of climate alert on the potential of methanogens to affect arctic warming. The institute also reinforced this thrust with an active effort to develop an arctic survival challenge game playable on smart phones and other computer devices. This game emphasizes the importance of reducing emissions of black carbon and methane so as to slow arctic climate warming. In 2016, the principal arctic related work was publication of a winter 2016 issue of climate alert. In 2017, work was continued on the arctic survival challenge game. 6. Working with faculty, administration and alumni of dartmouth college, vermont law school and kimball union academy, yale school of forestry and environmental studies, yale law school as well as with institutions outside new england, the climate institute continued laying plans for an enhanced center for environmental leadership training (celt). This is a largely virtual organization to empower young people to become climate problem solvers. By the end of 2017 this educational arm of the institute had grown to include over a hundred fellows or interns and has alumni from twenty nations. In addition, in 2015 the institute began to develop an innovative solutions initiative that matches aspiring and largely young clean energy and environmental entrepreneurs and innovators with hands on learning opportunities with cutting edge clean energy firms. In 2016 and 2017, much of the celt efforts focused on the nas7. In 2017, the climate institute continued as an active member of the indigenous peoples climate change working group and worked closely with tribal colleges on climate related issues. In september 2016 it participated in the 10th anniversary meeting of the working group held at haskell indian nations university. At that meeting, the institute made an award to the working group's founder, professor daniel wildcat, climate institute board member since 2008. In november 2013, celt, the lnstitute's educational arm, played a key role in organizing a threeday conference of the working group in hanover, new hampshire hosted by dartmouth college. That conference focused on both climate related displacement of indigenous peoples and alternative energy efforts on tribal lands. The summer 2014 issue of climate alert entitled climate related displacement and relocation in the us and abroad built on these discussions. In 2014, celt, working with indigenous leaders, began to build a tribal sustainability partnership initiative encouraging celt students and faculty at colleges and universities, including tribal colleges and universities, to collaborate in designing alternative energy and anticipatory adaptation responses to challenges faced by indigenous communities. In 2015 this work included two clean energy projects and one project studying potential of drip irrigation on tribal lands in the us southwest. These projects continue to date. 8. In 2017, the institute continued a major transformation of its website to make it more userfriendly and attractive. The website managed to greatly increase its daily visitor-ship. 9. Continued activity to identify opportunities to remove barriers to energy recycling, thus realizing savings to industry and consumers while also reducing radioactive forcing climate change with some success in lowering such barriers within the southeastern us. This activity involved publication of a major paper on the topic, time to rethink climate policies, in the edition of climate alert disseminated at cop-16 in december 2010, and later widely disseminated in 2011 and 2012 and then referenced in 2013 and 2014. In 2017 the institute continued public advocacy in this area. 10. Continued coordination of the global sustainable energy islands initiative (gseii), including expansion of this effort to encompass ten island nations- seven in the caribbean, two in the pacific and one in the indian ocean. In 2016 the institute modified this website to contain information on clean energy transformation in other island nations. This work continued in 2017. 11. The climate institute in 2017 continued to work with its mexican partner organization, climate institute mexico y america latina, sc, in support of its efforts to perform greenhouse gas monitoring at the world's highest greenhouse monitoring station, the sir crispin tickell high altitude climate observatory. That observatory, at over 15,000 feet above sea level in mexico's state of puebla, opened in january 2009. The staff of the mexican partner take measurements throughout the year and send them to noaa's earth systems research laboratory in boulder, colorado for incorporation in global greenhouse monitoring data sets. Climate institute involvement has been limited to publicizing the existence of the tickell observatory, although two persons are members of the board for both the institute and the mexican partner group. 12. Continued compilation of a set of problem solving tools and climate education games in english, spanish, portuguese, chinese and french for use both on the institute website www. Climate. Org- and by interested climate outreach centers, museums and science centers throughout the world. The development of a saving the arctic game highlighting the advantages of reducing black carbon emissions to slow arctic melting was begun in 2013. This work continued in 2017. 13. Work continued in 2017 to assist our mexican partner to develop plans to build a tickell interactive network for climate awareness and response to connect the tickell observatory and the growing cluster of climate outreach centers in mexico with information resources to enable the visitors to those centers to become involved in climate problem solving. 14. Speeches, articles, op-eds, and television, radio and print media interviews of climate institute staff and board members on a wide range of topics concerning scientific, economic, policy and ethical aspects of climate protection. 15. Use of social media, including facebook and twitter, to expand institute presence.