Mini-Symposium: January 31st (Tuesday), 1:00 – 4:00

Stata Center: Room 32-141

Decarbonization in electricity generation is advancing at a rapid pace. However, there is a growing recognition that this rapid transition has wider consequences, motivating the need to consider existing and emerging challenges such as environmental justice, mining impacts, "Not In My Backyard" oppositions to siting of carbon-free energy facilities, and others. Clearly, a broader global perspective as well as social dimensions are essential to tackling climate change as well as to improving the equity of energy generation. Our goal is to increase the awareness about environmental justice issues among the MIT students/community and to seed research/development for tackling these issues.

This symposium is supported by the MIT Climate Nucleus’ new Independent Activities Program (IAP) 2023 funding opportunity, ‘The Imperative of Justice,’ which aims to support climate justice and just transition work across the Institute.

Organizers:

Haruko Wainwright, Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering

Michael Howland, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Sili Deng, Department of Mechanical Engineering

David Hsu, Department of Urban Studies and Planning

Anne White, Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering

Session 1: Local perspective on building equity and fairness into climate solutions

1:00 - 1:05: Introduction

1:05 - 1:35: "Localizing and Scaling Co-designed Wind Energy Infrastructure" (abstract)

​Janelle Knox-Hayes, Associate Professor of Economic Geography and Planning, MIT

1:35 - 2:05: "Teaching Through Technologies at the Frontline Communities of Energy Sustainability in Alaska" (abstract)

Adam Low, Director of the Teaching Through Technology (T3) Alaska Program, University of Alaska

2:05 - 2:15: Overall Q&A and Discussion

----- intermission with coffee and snacks (15 mins) ----

2:30 -2:40: "MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative: Climate Justice Program"

Briana Meier, Postdoctoral Associate, MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative​

Session 2: Global perspective on environmental justice and energy sustainability

2:40 - 2:45: Introduction

2:45 - 3:15: "The Mid-Transition: Planning Just and Sustainable Decarbonization" (abstract)

Emily Grubert, Associate Professor of Sustainable Energy Policy, University of Notre Dame; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the US Department of Energy

3:15 - 3:45: "​​The Energy Transition Institute at UMass Amherst: Convergent Scholarship for a Just and Equitable Energy Transition" (abstract)

​Michael Ash, Professor of Economics and Public Policy, UMass-Amherst; Deputy Director of the Energy Transition Institute

3:45 - 4:00: Overall Q&A and discussion