Environment & Sustainability

Plastic pollution is a defining problem of the Anthropocene. It is, after all, a global scourge that is entirely of our making – and entirely within our power to solve as well.

The food that we eat plays a big role in the search for solutions to climate change. Agriculture is one of the major contributors of greenhouse gases. But the way we farm our land can also be a big part of the solution.  

March 23rd was the last in a series of 14 day-long sessions billed as "stage one" of the year long Galilee Climate Fellows Program envisioned and implemented by the Town Association (TAEQ) and HBS partner The Heschel Center for Sustainability; in and of itself, a Jewish-Arab cooperation. Launched just a few short months ago, when nobody yet knew what fruits this enigmatic name of a program would bring.  

Emission trading systems aim to put a price on carbon, to save emissions where it is cheapest and benefit the global climate. But the approach has failed so far. In the EU, the price for carbon has dropped to a low, so producers can easily continue polluting. And they are actually making huge profits from the permits they receive.

Can governments and industry be put on trial in climate cases, to ensure the rights of the most vulnerable and future generations? The livelihoods of hundreds of millions could be threatened by unprecedented storms, droughts, floods, and sea-level rise.  

Can and should the global climate be regulated by technological means, the so called geoengineering? In our first episode of our podcast "Tipping point" our host took off to hear from experts what these approaches mean for the planet’s environment and society.

At the UN’s COP 22 climate conference in Marrakech, the international community closed ranks despite (or perhaps because of?) the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president. 

The UN summit in Marrakech is the next step for operationalizing the Paris Agreement. Controversial issues e.g. damages caused by climate change and financing for the poor countries are on the table