Dr. Daniel Cohan, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University
Abstract: The quest to mitigate climate change is for now gridlocked. Despite a growing number of net-zero pledges and technological breakthroughs, emissions continue to climb globally and are declining only slowly domestically. That puts Paris Agreement targets at risk.
Dr. Cohan will discuss themes from his new book, Confronting Climate Gridlock, to argue that diplomacy, technological innovation, and policy domestically can catalyze decarbonization globally. Combining the author's own expertise along with insights from more than a hundred interviews with diplomats, scholars, and clean-technology pioneers, the book identifies flaws in past efforts and opportunities to more effectively address climate change. This talk will focus on the technologies that will be most crucial for decarbonizing energy and offsetting the emissions that remain.
Speaker Biography: Daniel Cohan is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University. He earned a B.A. in applied mathematics from Harvard University, a Ph.D. in atmospheric science from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and served as a Fulbright Scholar to Australia. Dr. Cohan is a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award and the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. His book, Confronting Climate Gridlock: How Diplomacy, Technology, and Policy Can Unlock a Clean Energy Future, was published by Yale University Press in 2022.