Our Engagement in Climate & Sustainability
Research and innovation to ensure the resilience of the world’s water and food systems in the face of the global climate crisis
There is little doubt that the Earth’s rapidly changing climate is significantly challenging water, food, and agriculture systems around the world. In addition to changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and pest populations, weather extremes are expected to increase in frequency and intensity as a result of the climate crisis. Taken together, these factors present extraordinary threats to water and food security for all of humankind. Therefore, it is a J-WAFS priority to fuel research and innovation that will help ensure the resilience of the world’s water and food systems even as they are increasingly pressured by the effects of climate change. Through research as varied as the development of low-carbon desalination technologies and the application of remote sensing and data analytics to assess agriculture vulnerability to climate change, J-WAFS marshals MIT resources to meet these grave, complex, and varied challenges with actionable knowledge and solutions. The resilience of each of these intersecting systems is at stake, as is the sustainability of the Earth’s ecosystems on which they depend.
Examples of our work in this area
Research Highlights
Project
High-resolution plant water stress monitoring
Project
Converging trends in climate change, mining, and agriculture: Analysis of hydrosocial relations over desalination and glaciers in Chile
People
J-WAFS PI featured in The Washington Post for International Women's Day
Project
Research collaboration puts climate-resilient crops in sight
People
J-WAFS announces 2021 Solutions program grants for commercialization of water and food technologies
Commentary