MIT centers, laboratories, departments and programs provide a multi-faceted approach to solving the world's energy challenge.
Carbon management
Achieving substantial and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will require a broad and diverse set of actions encompassing renewable energy sources (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and others); non-carbon generation (nuclear and fossil with carbon capture and sequestration); and of course energy efficiency in industry and commerce, at home, on the roads and in the skies.
Policies such as cap-and-trade systems for greenhouse gas emissions provide the means by which emissions reductions can be valued, financed and affordably realized. Such approaches to carbon management have three critical elements: the selection of emissions targets and the mechanism by which emissions are measured and tracked; the provision of technological and economic means to reduce emissions by diversifying into non-carbon supplies or reducing energy consumption outright; and the presence of a robust system for trading emissions to ensure that the most cost-effective means to reducing emissions is achieved. Research in carbon management that links all of these elements is also critical if the climate challenge is going to be met.
Specific research program descriptions are being developed and will include a technical description of topics, challenges, approach, capabilities, and faculty.
