A new study – led by Stephen Ansolabehere, the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government – has launched as part of Harvard Climate Action Week (June 10-14), hosted by the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability.
The conference invites climate experts, leaders, and stakeholders to come together and explore solutions to the climate crisis’s most complex and challenging dimensions. The series of 50 events, in-person and online, will dive deep into the policies, private actions, and leadership needed to drive further reductions in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
The climate action study was created by researchers at Harvard’s Salata Institute and MIT’s Roosevelt Project, and tackles electricity transport projects and why they take so long to build.
In four detailed case studies drawn from across the country, the researchers unpack how proposed projects are beset by multiple setbacks and, in many cases, local opposition. They describe how grid developers routinely overlook the communities that will host the new infrastructure, fueling opposition and delays: Many projects were conceived and initiated without local community input. All this adds to the cost and slows the energy transition.
To celebrate its forthcoming publication, the Salata Institute held a Q&A with Ansolabehere – available to read here – and hosted a dedicated event in conversation with Secretary Moniz about the grid transformation required to meet the Net Zero goals envisioned in the IRA.
The event was also featured in POLITICO’s EnergyWire – read the full article here.