Examples of Our Progress

Yale’s commitment to planetary solutions is evident in its teaching and learning, research, and operational commitments, which include ambitious emissions goals, as well as educational offerings . More than 70 courses offered in spring 2024 alone—ranging from art to engineering to law—addressed climate change in some way.

And while the work takes root in New Haven, YPS has advanced its outward-facing presence. Beginning with COP28 in Dubai in 2023, we have coordinated the efforts of Yale-affiliated participants at major climate-focused events. Our competitive seed grant program supports research projects and convenings that tackle the impact of climate change and biodiversity loss, among other planetary challenges, around the globe, from testing the cooling performance of construction materials in Mexico and Argentina to determining the viability and scalability of low-cost alternative farming methods in the American Midwest.

Meanwhile, the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture is studying the fundamental and applied science of natural carbon capture, with research projects set in locations ranging from Sri Lanka to South America that will provide insights to decision-makers and practitioners. Startup incubators like ClimateHaven, which aims to support climate tech startups and benefits from close partnership with Yale, reward innovation, with an emphasis on go-to-market solutions.

Here’s a look at just some of our progress so far:

In 2020, Yale reduced net emissions by 43% below 2005 levels, meeting our original emissions reduction goal. Now Yale plans to achieve zero actual carbon emissions by 2050, with an interim goal to realize net zero carbon emissions by 2035.
In partnership with YPS, the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture was launched in 2021 to develop nature-based solutions to climate change. In addition to the major research initiatives that the center has undertaken, in 2023, Yale also hired five new faculty members to expand expertise in natural carbon capture in the planet’s oceans, coastal ecosystems, tropical forests, and soils.
To date, YPS has awarded $5.5 million dollars to support 66 seed grants through its signature seed grant program, including projects originating from both faculty and staff across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and nine professional schools. Although this figure represents just a fraction of the millions of dollars of investment that Yale has put toward YPS, the breadth of grantee projects offers a sense of the scale and range of the solutions which YPS supports.
In the fall of 2024, YPS—in partnership with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools—will establish its own fellowship to support the most ambitious applicants to Yale Ph.D. programs that are relevant to the YPS mission.
In fall of 2023, Yale Divinity School broke ground on the zero-waste, regenerative Living Village, which will be the largest living-building residential complex on a university campus.