The sustainability community is fixated on carbon, but non-CO2 emissions, such as methane and nitrous oxide, account for a quarter of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, water, biodiversity and many other factors contribute to the environmental damage caused by our economy. A more comprehensive view of our impacts is needed to consider solutions to the complex systemic changes needed to avert the catastrophe of global warming. Meet Steve Davischief climatologist at Watershed, a carbon tracking platform for large organizations and professor of Earth Systems Science at UC Irvine. Steve’s wide-ranging research has looked at CO2, methane and other emissions generated by wildfires; the impact of flood and heat risks in major cities; how airlines can achieve net zero emissions; and the various natural and technological approaches to removing carbon from the atmosphere.
Steve was a corporate lawyer in Silicon Valley before becoming a leading climate scientist. He contributed to the energy systems section of the recent United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change AR6 Summary Report. He is also a co-author of the climate mitigation chapter of the forthcoming publication. Fifth National Climate Assessment Report of the US Global Change Research Program. To learn more about Steve’s research, visit ess.uci.edu/~sjdavis. Information on the Watershed Carbon Tracking Tool is available at basin versant.com.
