Climate Solutions Lab

The Climate Solutions Lab's mission is to create, learn and distribute solution-oriented climate knowledge at Brown and across the world.

Climate Solutions Lab

The Climate Solutions Lab's mission is to create, learn and distribute solution-oriented climate knowledge at Brown and across the world.

Iran War Energy Cost Tracker

How much is the Iran war costing American consumers? The Iran War Energy Cost Tracker, developed by the Climate Solutions Lab, tracks the extra cost paid for gasoline and diesel since the conflict began on February 28, 2026.

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Recent Publications

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News from the Climate Solutions Lab

Driving decarbonization? Corporate responses to the Paris climate agreement in the global automotive sector

February 1, 2026

Did firms accelerate decarbonization as a result of the 2015 Paris Agreement, particularly in industries where low-carbon options were technologically feasible? This paper challenges optimistic accounts of the Paris Agreement's influence and call for continued efforts to understand the limits of international agreements in driving firm behavior to address climate change.

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News from the Climate Solutions Lab

Anarchy, Nature, and Innovation

December 4, 2025

The variety of topics studied in the field of International Relations contrasts sharply with the relatively anemic theoretical framework that IR scholars use to study those topics. This essay proposes three ordering principles as a framework for teaching and guide for intellectual inquiry: Anarchy, Nature, and Innovation.

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News from the Climate Solutions Lab

Global Climate Politics after the Return of President Trump

November 20, 2025

The second Trump administration has disrupted global climate politics, turning the United States away from the clean energy and environmental policies of the Biden administration. Consequently, analytical attention is turning to a family of concepts referred to as “Climate Realism” (CR), which favors long-run investments in technology and adaptation over near-term climate mitigation efforts.

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In the News

August 6, 2026 Huffpost

Iran War Cost Tracker Reveals War's Hit To American Pocketbooks

The Trump administration’s invasion of Iran has cost the typical U.S. household several hundred dollars in added fuel costs. The tab grows every day.

August 4, 2026 Financial Times

US diesel prices overtake Biden-era average in blow to Trump

Cost for fuel that powers industrial America set to remain elevated even as crude falls.

August 2, 2026 elPeriódico

The worst years of the climate fight? Trump is a problem, but the wars in Ukraine and Iran are driving renewables.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has given an unintended boost to the ecological transition, argues Jeff Colgan. Trump has dealt a severe blow to the fight against climate change, but at the same time there are cheaper renewables and widespread social support for electrification, says Federica Genovese.

News from The Climate Solutions Lab

News from Brown

Study reveals effectiveness of environment-focused litigation in the U.S., but also large inequalities

November 25, 2024

A team of researchers analyzed more than 25,000 civil lawsuits, gleaning insights on regional disparities in environmental law and opportunities to broaden impact.

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News from Watson

Climate Solutions Lab researchers awarded NSF grant to support planning for a new center

August 27, 2024

Researchers at the Watson Institute's Climate Solutions Lab were awarded a $100,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to support planning for a new Center on Clean Energy and Society (CES).

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News from Watson

New fiscal year brings changes to the Watson Institute leadership team

September 1, 2023

The start of Brown's new fiscal year on July 1, 2023, brought a number of leadership changes to the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and its centers.

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Syllabus Bank

The Lab has developed a syllabus bank to make it easy for potential instructors of climate change courses to learn from what other instructors have done.

The syllabus bank holds syllabi from post-secondary courses about climate change, taught in the social sciences

Climate Opportunity Map

This Map Will Make You Optimistic About Fighting Climate Change

Bloomberg article features searchable map created by the Climate Solutions Lab, which shows estimated job and public health opportunities that come with transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Climate Solutions Lab on Trending Globally

Trending Globally is a regular podcast featuring insight on today's critical global challenges. With Brown University scholars, practitioners, and students, the discussions bridge research, politics, and policy.