Navigating Climate Information for Effective Policy-Making

Ready to make a difference in climate policy, but not sure where to start? We have you covered. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to view our start-of-the-new-Congress briefing series, Climate Camp. We review climate science, cutting-edge innovations, and the role of the legislative process in climate mitigation and adaptation.

EESI’s first Climate Camp briefing served as an interactive refresher on the drivers of climate change and the latest deployable solutions to address the challenge. This Congress, topics such as agriculture, infrastructure, and national security will be front and center. The briefing covered climate concepts and terminology—from types of greenhouse gases to renewable energy technologies—to help you identify policy solutions at the intersection of these issue areas.

At this briefing, panelists showcased tools—like the EN-ROADS simulator, co-developed by MIT Sloan and Climate Interactive—that staff can use to easily digest climate data and generate policy ideas. They also highlighted federal agency resources essential to understanding the climate challenge and innovative solutions to address it.

Highlights

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In 2024, global average temperature spiked 1.5°C (2.7°F) above the preindustrial average. When global average temperature rises by even one degree, it impacts agriculture, infrastructure, and human health. This temperature increase is costly, increasing cooling demand, power outages, and emergency response needs. Every sector is affected by the climate, from sports and recreation to national security. The “emissions gap” is the difference between country pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and what it would take to keep global average temperature rise below 2°C (3.6°F) of warming—the Paris Agreement goal. At present, the emissions gap indicates a 2.5°C (4.5°F) to 2.7°C (4.8°F) increase in global temperatures. En-ROADS, a global policy simulator, allows users to test environmental and policy factors ranging from coal usage to building electrification. By sliding individual scales, users can observe dozens of graphs that cast projections about the effect of various policy decisions on the climate.

 

Bernadette Woods Placky, Chief Meteorologist, Climate Matters Director, and Vice President of Engagement, Climate Central

• Recent Climate Change in the American Mind polling by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication finds that a majority of U.S. adults are “alarmed” (28%) or “concerned” (29%) about global warming. Seventy to eighty percent of Americans support regulations that limit carbon emissions and promote renewable energy. While the majority of people express concern about climate change, many do not engage in productive conversations about the climate and environment as they believe that other people do not care about climate issues.
• By studying tree rings, air bubbles trapped in polar ice, and sediment samples from the bottom of the ocean, scientists can look back over thousands of years and find that carbon dioxide levels have skyrocketed. In 1960, there was an average of 316 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. By 2023, the average was 419 parts per million (a 33% increase).
• The transportation sector is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions nationally, while energy supply is the leading source globally.
• In 2024, global average temperature spiked 1.5°C (2.7°F) above the preindustrial average. When global average temperatures rise by even one degree, it impacts agriculture, infrastructure, and human health.
• An increase in temperatures leads to both droughts and floods. It forces water evaporation that leaves behind dry, hot, and windy land, making for ideal wildfire conditions. A warmer atmosphere also stores more water that, when triggered by a storm or cold front, results in massive downpours.
• Over 90% of Earth's accumulated heat is stored in the ocean, and a warmer ocean fuels storms like hurricanes, tropical systems, and nor’easters. As these storms cross over warmer water, they accelerate and increase in energy, with the potential to turn a Category Two hurricane into a Category Five. When these intensified storms come ashore, they pour down heavier rain and cause higher storm surge from rising sea levels.
• Climate Central is working on attribution science to improve understanding of what impacts are a direct result of rising global temperatures. The warm ocean temperatures that fueled Hurricane Helene, which hit northwest Florida in September 2024 and caused at least $75 billion in damages and 250 fatalities, were 200 to 500 times more likely to occur because of climate change.
• Climate Central’s Surging Seas resource allows users to view sea level rise in their own state and district.
• Human health is impacted directly by longer and stronger allergy seasons, intensified wildfire smoke, and wider mosquito ranges that spread disease to unprepared populations.
• This temperature increase is costly, increasing cooling demand, power outages, and emergency response needs. Every sector is affected by the climate, from sports and recreation to national security.

 

Anand Patwardhan, Professor, University of Maryland School of Public Policy; Senior Fellow, Center for Global Sustainability, University of Maryland

• According to the Global Carbon Project, global fossil fuel and land use emissions have not yet peaked, but rather are increasing at a steady yet slower rate.
• China’s rapid economic growth has led to it becoming the highest-emitting country (32% of global emissions), followed by the United States (13%), India (8%), the European Union (7%), Russia (5%), and Japan (3%). The Group of 20 accounts for 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Paris Agreement, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), set a goal to limit global temperature rise to “well below” 2°C (3.6°F) and aim for below 1.5°C (2.7°F). To accomplish this goal, countries set nationally determined contributions to commit to greenhouse gas emission reductions.
• The UNFCCC has undertaken the global stocktake, a process under the Paris Agreement to measure the progress towards reaching these goals. The first global stocktake was completed in 2023 and showed that current emission reductions are not on track to meet the goals. It determined that a transformation of transportation, energy, forestry, agriculture, and industry systems is necessary.
• The “emissions gap” is the difference between country pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and what it would take to keep global average temperature rise below 2°C (3.6°F) of warming—the Paris Agreement goal. According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s 2024 report, the insufficient implementation of climate policy (also referred to as an ambition gap) will contribute to between a 2.5°C (4.5°F) to 2.7°C (4.8°F) increase in global temperatures. However, an immediate implementation of current policies—such as adopting wind and solar, electrification, and stopping deforestation—would still create an opportunity to achieve the Paris Agreement goals.
• It will take scaled up investment around the globe to meet the Paris Agreement goals. An at least six-fold increase in investment in clean energy and decarbonization solutions is needed.
• Currently, the majority of money invested in climate finance is privately funded in the form of loans and equity for climate mitigation that both start and end in developed countries.
• The United Nations Environment Program estimates that $387 billion per year is necessary for climate adaptation in developing countries, yet they only raised $28 billion in 2022.
• Eighty-seven percent of countries have at least one national adaptation planning instrument, and 50% have two or more.
• According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s 2024 Adaptation Gap Report, the adaptation of systems should be prioritized to avert, minimize, and address loss and damage, especially since the cost of inaction weighs so heavy.

 

Krystal Noiseux, Senior Associate Director, MIT Climate Pathways Project, MIT Climate Policy Center

• En-ROADS, a global policy simulator, allows users to test environmental and policy factors ranging from coal usage to building electrification. By sliding individual scales, users can observe graphical projections of the effect of various policy decisions on the climate. Each policy action made by the user is implemented globally.
• The simulation makes several assumptions to reach the baseline projected 3.3°C (6°F) global temperature increase by the end of the century. In particular, it assumes that no further action is being taken beyond the present and excludes pledges made by countries or private corporations. It also assumes the median projection for population growth.
• Regardless of the levers moved by the user, the model assumes that renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, will increase because the cost of wind and solar have fallen worldwide since 1990.
• En-ROADS uses historical data to track its accuracy and projections. You can use the tool to see that the modeling of wind and solar deployment over the past 10 years was very close to what actually happened.
• Non-tax or subsidy policies within each focus area are available in En-ROADS. For example, users can experiment with expediting capital stock turnover by buying back internal combustion vehicles to speed up the introduction of electric vehicles.
• Using the tool to limit the use of coal results in a large decrease in emissions per energy unit because coal is much more carbon intensive than other types of energy.
• By showcasing the significant effects of putting a carbon price or tax on emissions rather than on a specific energy source, En-ROADS demonstrates how a financial incentive can encourage innovations in clean energy technology.
• In the “Impacts” section of En-ROADS, users can find information about the public health impacts of the current scenario they have generated, including deaths caused by extreme heat and illness caused by air pollution. The simulation also displays impacts on economic activity like crop yields and gross domestic product (GDP).
• En-ROADS collaborates with Climate Interactive to provide interactive maps that show the local effects of policies implemented on the global scale by overlaying the projected economic impact, sea level rise, land development over time, and severity of climate related deaths in a given area.

 

Q&A

 

Q: Do you have advice for Congressional staff on how to talk about climate change in a way that will resonate with their constituents or with their colleagues?

Woods Placky

• Know your audience—most people want to engage on this topic. Try to meet them where they are. Everyone has something they care about that has a climate connection. Find that and let it bring you together.
• Personalize and localize, especially when talking to local constituents. This means trying to connect with them on a local level, from flooding to farming. Finally, do not be afraid: you have public opinion and science on your side.
• Only by engaging more with the climate issue can we build understanding and move towards solutions.

Patwardhan

• People understand prices and cost of living. When you make the conversation real and tangible, there is a lot of support for the actions displayed during the En-ROADS simulation.
• The key is translating what these “policy levers” mean into real differences in people’s day-to-day lives. Once that connection is made, support for action will rise.

Noiseux

• Research shows that showing people research does not work. Instead, give people hands-on experiences such as the EN-ROADS simulator to learn about climate topics for themselves.

 

Q: What are you tracking at the science and policy nexus in the coming months?

Patwardhan

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is starting its next assessment cycle and governments will be meeting in China to approve report outlines. Once those are approved, the writing can start, which will play a big role in the next global stocktake.
• The annual United Nations climate change summit, known as COP30, is also coming up in Brazil and will mark a key moment for many topics.

Noiseux

• The EN-ROADS simulator can be expanded to educate more people on topics such as nuclear energy, nuclear fusion, carbon capture and storage, and afforestation.
• EN-ROADS can be used to work with policymakers on what they are interested in.

Woods Placky

• There will be more extreme weather events, so we must be realistic. There is a lot of work to do. People know what they need to do, and a lot of that is already happening, but it must be accelerated.
• One thing missing in climate solutions is communication. By building communication about climate into conversations and education at the right times in the right way, we drive climate awareness and solutions.

 

Q: What message do you want to leave Congressional staff with today?

Noiseux

• MIT’s Climate Policy Center will work with anyone who wants to have a serious conversation about climate and will help answer all kinds of questions that you have.

Woods Placky

• Climate Central will be updating its coastal flooding information tool and working more with attribution science.
• A World Weather Attribution report was just released quantifying the role of climate change in the California wildfires. A lot of work is being done and there is a lot of information for anyone who wants to dig.

Patwardhan

• The world must not only reduce emissions, but also anticipate and prepare for a different future. It is already a warmer world. This is about now.
• Early action is critical in that it saves money and saves lives. The more that we can prevent and prepare for today, the better it will be for tomorrow.

 

Compiled by Whitney Orloff and Hadley Brown and edited for clarity and length. This is not a transcript.

Photos