Stay up to date on University Announcements and Penn-related news concerning sustainability and climate action.
For students in Engineers Without Borders at Penn, collaborating with Gambian farmers to design an irrigation system is a way to both address food insecurity in the smallest country in mainland Africa and apply their knowledge from the classroom in the real world.
The Freezer Inventory Project, launched in late 2023, aims to improve the efficiency of a major energy strain: ultra-low temperature freezers.
Penn biologists reveal how plants respond to seasonal flowering cues while protecting the stem cells at their growing tip, enabling continuous reproduction in changing environments.
Fourth-year philosophy major Mia McElhatton is investigating the effects of climate change on how people move from place to place.
Penn Carey Law professors Bill Burke-White and Ken Kulak attended COP30, this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, and incorporated their experiences into their International Climate Change and Energy Law and Climate Change courses.
An FY25 progress report highlights achievements on the goals of the University's Climate & Sustainability Action Plan 4.0 on campus and beyond.
Melissa Charenko’s new book shares the history of how 20th-century scientists used climate proxies’—such as tree rings and fossil pollen—to understand past climates, which has implications for future climate action.
For nearly a decade, Leigh Stearns and collaborators aimed a laser scanner system at Greenland’s Helheim Glacier. Their long-running survey reveals that Helheim’s massive calving events don’t behave the way scientists once thought, reframing how ice loss contributes to sea-level rise.
Carley is an expert on energy policy, affordability, and transition.
In the shadowy layers of the Pacific, microbes decide how much nitrous oxide—a potent greenhouse gas—rises skyward. New research from Penn’s Xin Sun offers an improved understanding of microbial ecology and geochemistry—key to forecasting global emissions in response to natural and man-made climate change.
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences comments on the Doomsday Clock.
Research from Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences shows how strong nor’easters are becoming stronger.
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences published a paper about warmer sea temperatures influencing snowstorms.
Benjamin Keys of the Wharton School says climate change is making insuring homes riskier and more expensive.
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences welcomes a recent UN climate report’s emphasis on tackling issues across governments and society.
A Wharton School study found that homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 were far less likely to default if they were inside the federal flood zone.
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says, “We don’t have decades to address the climate crisis.”
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that it no longer makes sense to artificially cap the hurricane scale at five while wind-based metrics continue to be used.
Micheal Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses Bill Gates’ shift in rhetoric on climate.
Joseph Romm of the School of Arts & Sciences conducted research on the effectiveness of carbon offsetting to date, concluding the practice is ineffective and riddled with “intractable” problems.
For students in Engineers Without Borders at Penn, collaborating with Gambian farmers to design an irrigation system is a way to both address food insecurity in the smallest country in mainland Africa and apply their knowledge from the classroom in the real world.
The Penn community gathered to celebrate the opening of Weitzman Hall, the Weitzman School of Design’s first new building in nearly 60 years.
The Freezer Inventory Project, launched in late 2023, aims to improve the efficiency of a major energy strain: ultra-low temperature freezers.
Penn biologists reveal how plants respond to seasonal flowering cues while protecting the stem cells at their growing tip, enabling continuous reproduction in changing environments.
Engineering professor Lorena Grundy says people looking to make a sustainable decision should consider how many years they would use an artificial tree, how they plan to dispose of a real tree, and how the tree was transported.
An FY25 progress report highlights achievements on the goals of the University's Climate & Sustainability Action Plan 4.0 on campus and beyond.
As part of the new Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence collaboration, The Water Center at Penn is helping answer key questions around technology and sustainability.
As the Weitzman School of Design prepared to open its first new building in more than 50 years, members of the design, preservation, and construction teams were highlighted in a series of conversations about the making of Stuart Weitzman Hall.
As Penn’s urban park manager, Craig Roncace leads a versatile team in charge of outdoor maintenance, waste management, and sustainability initiatives across campus.
Taking place Oct. 13 to 17, Penn’s sixth Climate Week includes dozens of in-person and virtual events that cross disciplines, from energy policy and history to engineering and medicine.
Nina Morris of the sustainability office discusses reduction of campus move-out waste.
Angela Pachon of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy in the Weitzman School of Design comments on the importance of a track record when advocating for sustainable energy.
John Quigley of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that the construction of every new natural gas plant is a setback for climate goals.
A report by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design predicted that fuel standard changes in California could increase the cost of gas by 85 cents a gallon through 2030.
Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that the negative impacts of biofuels on land are difficult to overstate.
Penn’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan outlines the University’s efforts to combat climate change during the next five years.
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses how much a president can do or undo when it comes to environmental policy.
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences voices his concern about the possibility that the U.S. could become a petrostate.
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that total carbon emissions including fossil fuel pollution and land use changes such as deforestation are basically flat because land emissions are declining.
Jennifer Wilcox of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that the carbon-removal potential of forestation can’t always be reliably measured in terms of how much removal and for how long.
November 29, 2022
The world gathering in Egypt for COP27 reminds us of the urgency of our collective fight against climate change. Faculty, student, and staff attendees from Penn represent the energy and talent that so many Penn community members contribute to this crucial effort.
March 02, 2022
In April 2021, the Office of Investments set a goal of reducing the net anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions associated with the endowment’s investments to zero by 2050. Since then, we have collaborated with Penn’s Investment Board to develop a framework for achieving net zero.
April 07, 2021
Combating climate change is one of the paramount challenges of our time. We write today to update the University community on a significant new initiative that Penn is undertaking.