Welcome

Sunset over a Yale building

Our Path Forward

A Mission for Planetary Solutions

Yale Planetary Solutions seeks to drive planetary solutions through all that Yale is, from our students, faculty, staff, and alumni, to our buildings, collections, and campus, and all that Yale does—teaching, learning, researching, building, operating, convening, investing, and leading.


Yale is committed to generating innovative ideas in support of a thriving planet, and Yale Planetary Solutions is the north star for our efforts. With clean air and water and resilient ecosystems, we can realize a future that benefits people and the planet.

—Maurie McInnis, Yale University President

Person working at the Yale Farm

Impact

What We’ve Accomplished So Far

YPS aims to engage the entire Yale community and the world at large, through support for diverse course offerings, signature programming and fellowships, the development of new academic centers, and a presence at major climate-focused events, conferences, and convenings.


As a research institution with a liberal arts approach, Yale has the ability not only to discover, test, and deliver on new strategies and technologies to accelerate progress on global climate problems, but also to convene leadership, promote implementation, and persuade governments and the public to support these innovative solutions.

—Scott A. Strobel, Yale University Provost

News & Updates

View all

Geospatial SolutionsWith Climate Targets in Mind, Yale Gets ‘Zero Carbon Ready’

 

Yale is preparing for a future where every building on campus will be highly energy efficient and capable of meeting its needs for heating, cooling, and electricity without the use of fossil fuels.
Read more

Complex Challenges Require an Integrated Response

No single discipline can solve the complex environmental challenges we face—climate change and biodiversity loss, health and economic disruption—at the pace required. By identifying productive connections across disciplines, the Planetary Solutions Project can accelerate the development of approaches that work.

About

About

Solutions to Match the Scale of the Problems

At Yale, we are developing ways to improve life now, and for the next 10, 20, and 100 years. We must reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, save species from extinction, create and deploy affordable clean energy, and enact political, economic, health, and legal changes that establish just, equitable systems across the globe.

Work

Work

Insights from One Field Drive Breakthroughs in Another

By bringing Yale’s exceptional capabilities together, we can make progress on the most daunting challenges human civilization has ever faced. We are exploring artificial photosynthesis to turn sunlight into liquid fuel. We are using genetic techniques to help threatened species adapt to rapid environmental changes. We are identifying nature-based methods of capturing carbon. And we are integrating diverse data streams to build policy tools supporting global climate action.

News & Updates

View all

Yale sets New Carbon Reduction Targets, Takes Divestment Steps

Yale sets New Carbon Reduction Targets, Takes Divestment Steps

Yale plans to reach zero carbon emissions by 2050, and net zero emissions by 2035 after offsets and other campus reductions in emissions are factored in.

Read more

Moving toward an inclusive architecture with Deborah Berke

Moving Toward an Inclusive Architecture

“Given the global climate crisis, an architecture of the greater good is concerned about our shared environmental future.” In this interview, Deborah Berke, dean of the School of Architecture, describes new sustainability and diversity work at the school.

Read more

View all