Description:

Title: The Challenges in Getting to Net-Zero Global Greenhouse Emissions

Abstract: Throughout human history, multiple industrial and agricultural revolutions have profoundly transformed the world. The unintended consequence of these revolutions is that greenhouse gas emissions are changing the Earth’s climate. Most of our energy and many of the materials we use are sourced from fossil fuels. The challenges of how to provide clean energy, water, air, and food in a world of over 8 billion people—likely to grow to 11 billion by 2100—are formidable.

Join us for an enlightening lecture by Nobel laureate and former U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu on the challenging path to net-zero emissions. Hosted by the Institute for Policy Research and Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy, this in-person event will happen on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 3:30 p.m. CT at Northwestern University.

After a brief summary of our current trajectory, Chu will discuss the current progress, opportunities, and challenges we must face to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions, including food production and carbon (CO₂) capture.
This event is jointly sponsored by Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research and the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy, with support from the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Steven Chu, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Professor of Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University; Nobel Laureate; and Former U.S. Secretary of Energy.