On April 18th, 2024, SSC hosted a briefing on the new MIT Climate Project between more than a dozen student sustainability leaders, staff members of the Climate Nucleus, and Vice Provost Richard Lester. The meeting included mainly in-person attendees, with a few students attending online. After a round of introductions, Vice Provost Richard Lester shared remarks and highlights about the new Climate Project with all of the attendees.
Then, MIT Divest and several signatory groups presented an open letter on the Climate Project. Some of their remarks are below:
MIT Divest would like to invite you to sign our open letter. We are all very excited to see MIT embark on a new Climate Project, and we wrote the letter with the mission of ensuring that this initiative truly achieves its goal of finding real climate solutions.
With that goal, our letter asks the MIT administration and Climate Project leaders to make one commitment: preventing fossil fuel influence in the project. We view this commitment as essential because we are deeply concerned about the fossil fuel industry’s misuse of academic institutions to greenwash and promote ineffective climate solutions. MIT, as has been documented in empirical research and congressional records, has historically aided the fossil fuel industry in these delaying tactics. In order for the Climate Project to not repeat these failures, we must commit to preventing fossil fuel influence over the research.
MIT Divest
The floor was opened to general questions, with students asking about student engagement and involvement in setting both research and educational priorities in the Climate Project, the timeline, and external partners and influence in the new structure.
After breaking for dinner and casual conversation, the second hour of the meeting shifted to the SSC’s semesterly convening of student sustainability leaders. SSC co-leads shared important updates about changes to SSC’s structure and our new partnerships with the Climate Nucleus, UA, and GSC. Students shared updates about each student group’s activities and potential for collaboration, including some planning for potential Earth Week events.
As the meeting drew to a close, there was a sense of excitement and determination among the attendees. The Climate Project represents a significant step forward in MIT’s commitment to addressing climate change, and the engagement of student sustainability leaders in this process is crucial. The open dialogue between students, staff, and administration demonstrated a shared commitment to transparency and collaboration. Moving forward, the SSC and other student groups will continue to play an important role in shaping the direction of the Climate Project, ensuring that it remains true to its mission of finding real, impactful climate solutions.