Ask MIT Climate works to answer questions that people have asked about our changing planet, the impact it will have to life on Earth, and what folks can do about it! Answers to all types of questions are provided by MIT faculty and scientists.

We’ve included list of questions and the start to answers below. The provided links will take you directly to the specific Ask MIT Climate question on MIT’s Climate Portal where you can get the full answer!

We also encourage you to browse Ask MIT Climate directly in the Climate Portal.

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What is the most cost-effective way to buy carbon offsets?

Offset sellers make it easy to compare prices across projects—but you should also make sure you can trust that your purchase is really keeping carbon out of the air.

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/what-most-cost-effective-way-buy-carbon-offsets
When scientists say the Earth has warmed by 1° Celsius, which parts of the planet are being measured?

The parts of the planet being measured are our land and ocean surfaces: what we call global average surface temperatures.

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/when-scientists-say-earth-has-warmed-1deg-celsius-which-parts-planet-are-being-measured
How are gases in the atmosphere analyzed and measured?

By shining different kinds of light and radiation through air samples, scientists can tell which gases are absorbing or reacting to that light, and in what amounts

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-are-gases-atmosphere-analyzed-and-measured
Why aren’t biofuels more prevalent?

Without new breakthroughs, producing much more biofuel than we do today might be a net-negative for the climate—and would definitely raise our fuel prices.

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/why-arent-biofuels-more-prevalent
How can carbon emissions from freight be reduced?

Although most of the world’s cargo moves by ship, focusing on land may be the best way to reduce the carbon footprint of freight.

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-can-carbon-emissions-freight-be-reduced
Which parts of the planet are warming the fastest, and why?

The earth’s largest land masses and its north and south poles are warming the fastest, mainly because of differences in how these areas reflect energy from the sun

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/which-parts-planet-are-warming-fastest-and-why
Which parts of the planet are warming the fastest, and why?

The earth’s largest land masses and its north and south poles are warming the fastest, mainly because of differences in how these areas reflect energy from the sun.

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/which-parts-planet-are-warming-fastest-and-why
Why do some people call climate change an “existential threat”?

The phrase can refer to a literal threat to humanity’s existence, but also to the danger that unchecked climate change can pose to our ways of life and place in the natural world.

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/why-do-some-people-call-climate-change-existential-threat
Why do we compare methane to carbon dioxide over a 100-year timeframe? Are we underrating the importance of methane emissions?

This greenhouse gas is short-lived but has far greater heat-trapping potential than CO2. The more concerned we are about global warming over the next 10 or 20 years, the more emphasis we have to put on cutting methane emissions

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/why-do-we-compare-methane-carbon-dioxide-over-100-year-timeframe-are-we-underrating
Why did the IPCC choose 2° C as the goal for limiting global warming?

Scientists and policymakers have long agreed that global warming beyond 2° C above the pre-industrial average would pose large and escalating risks to human life as we know it on Earth, and governments have used that number as an organizing principle.

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/why-did-ipcc-choose-2deg-c-goal-limiting-global-warming

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Nuclear energy is low-carbon energy made by breaking the bonds that hold particles together inside an atom

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