Technology & Policy Innovation to Mitigate Climate Change

This lecture addresses promising developments in renewable energy technology and its implementation in the United States and abroad. It will discuss the potential of new zero-carbon power sources and other technologies for replacing fossil fuels, including green hydrogen, small modular nuclear reactors and geothermal energy. Progress towards global carbon pricing and innovations in green technology investment to drive the energy transition will also be discussed. Finally, it will ask what is owed to future generations, the implications of, and moral hazards associated with the advancement of geoengineering.

Dr. John Perona is a professor of Environmental Biochemistry and Law at PSU, and a member of PSU's Institute for Sustainable Solution. His scholarship is directed to how advances in science and technology can be incorporated into policymaking, with a focus on climate change and the transition to a renewable energy economy. He serves on the Steering Committee for the MCAT (Mobilizing Climate Action Together) citizen advocacy group, and leads seminars on climate science and policy for public and university audiences. He is author of From Knowledge to Power: The Comprehensive Handbook for Climate Science and Advocacy (Ooligan Press, 2021), a detailed guide to climate science, policy and politics in the contemporary US.