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.