Penn Environmental Innovations Initiative

Penn's Environmental Innovations Initiative has exciting news to share! EII has merged with Penn Climate, blending resources and team members to drive climate and sustainability scholarship and action, leveraging Penn's formidable leadership and strength across its 12 schools, health system, centers, and institutions. The existing EII LinkedIn account will remain in an archive state, for those interested in past content. From this point forward, please visit Penn Climate on LinkedIn to see news from the Office of the Vice Provost for Climate Science, Policy, and Action. Thank you for your continued interest in climate and environment at Penn! https://lnkd.in/eEMnmZyF

Regulation or Litigation? The Cost of Losing the Endangerment Finding The Endangerment Finding determined that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions endangered public health and welfare, and formed the foundation of GHG regulation in the U.S. for the past 15 years. As the current EPA seeks to overturn the Endangerment Finding, the communities harmed by climate change may lose federal protections but gain new legal pathways to pursue damages from polluters. Elea Castiglione, a Penn undergraduate student studying philosophy, politics, and economics, explores how Penn experts view the legal and policy implications, and why opening courts to climate lawsuits isn’t an adequate substitute. University of Pennsylvania faculty in The Wharton School Sarah E. Light and Arthur van Benthem are quoted on the consequences of the potential repeal of the Endangerment Finding. Read the full article: https://bit.ly/48wiVL9

At University of Pennsylvania, One Health is at the heart of collaborative work between veterinarians, public health experts, and environmental scientists. Penn graduate student Stuti Mankodi (Master of Environmental Studies program) spoke with Andrew Hoffman, Gilbert S. Kahn Dean University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Jennifer Punt, Associate Dean for One Health and Professor of Immunology, and Brianna Parsons, One Health Program Manager and researcher with the Center for Public Health. Although they come from different corners of the One Health landscape — veterinary medicine, immunology, and sustainable agriculture — all three experts underscored how inseparable the health of people, animals, and the environment truly is. Read the full Explainer at https://bit.ly/43YSLPS

US business schools led by University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School produce the most influential academic research for decision makers in business and government, according to a Financial Times ranking and analysis. “Business schools have to be in the service of business. Research has to have academic integrity and be relevant to the real world issues that industry is looking to solve.” -- Erika James, dean of the Wharton School. Read the full article: https://on.ft.com/3KyVn0a Source: Financial Times, Nov. 2, 2025

Attention University of Pennsylvania Faculty! Interested in integrating principles of environmental sustainability into your coursework? The Call for Faculty Proposals is open! https://bit.ly/3Ri2rOc Penn Climate with support from Penn Sustainability and Penn Engineering invites proposals from faculty and lecturers to participate in the 2026 Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum (ISAC) program. ISAC offers support for course instructors to incorporate sustainability material into new or existing courses to be offered during the 2026-27 academic year by fully funding a paid undergraduate or graduate research assistant for the academic summer term (May 27 to August 7). Proposals are due Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

What do we need to know about Climate Change? Join us for the final installment of our Climate 101 series: Climate Change and Education, presented by Zachary Herrmann, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and adjunct associate professor in University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education 📆 Thurs., Dec. 4 ⏰ 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 📍 Hybrid: Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania Room 300 or online ✔️ Register https://lnkd.in/eJ-NfVEN This session will explore how project-based learning can bring climate education to life — empowering students not just to understand climate change, but to engage with it in local contexts and create meaningful change in their communities. Drawing on our Penn GSE initiative “Project-Based Learning for Global Climate Justice," we’ll explore how educators can design authentic learning experiences that deepen students’ knowledge, agency, and commitment. We’ll explore several real-world examples of educators from across the globe designing and leading innovative climate education efforts.

Join Penn Climate tomorrow 12/3 for this in-person event where two The Wharton School experts will lead a discussion on the many ways in which environmental law and policy intersects with the First Amendment. They'll cover the topics ranging from claims that laws compelling firms to disclose their emissions or climate-related risks constitute compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment, to concerns that recent terminations of federal Department of Energy grants in some states but not others are improperly retaliatory in violation of the First Amendment. 📆 Wed., Dec. 3 ⏰ 12:00-1:00 PM 📍 Steinberg-Dietrich Room 350 (in-person only) ✔️ Register here: https://bit.ly/49RWUZC Sarah E. Light is the Mitchell J. Blutt and Margo Krody Blutt Presidential Professor, and Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where her research lies at the intersection of environmental law and corporate sustainability. Light serves as co-Faculty Director of the Wharton Climate Center. Professor Light has taught courses related to Environmental Management, Law, and Policy as well as Negotiation during her time at Wharton. Professor Light has received numerous teaching awards for MBA and undergraduate teaching. Amanda Shanor is an Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches and writes about constitutional law, particularly freedom of speech. Her research explores the evolving meaning of the First Amendment, democratic theory, illiberalism, equality, and the relationship between constitutional law and economic life. Her scholarship has appeared in leading law reviews, and she contributes regularly to SCOTUSBlog. At Penn, she teaches Constitutional Law and continues to engage in active legal practice through litigation, amicus briefs, and advising on key constitutional cases such as 303 Creative v. Elenis and Bostock v. Clayton County.

In this week’s Climate Concepts Simplified, we’re breaking down the difference between carbon offsets and carbon removal — two tools that play very different roles in climate action. Offsets compensate for emissions by funding actions elsewhere, like planting trees or investing in clean energy. Removals, on the other hand, pull CO₂ out of the atmosphere, through natural or technological means, and store it long-term. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon dioxide removal is a necessary component of achieving global net-zero emissions. (IPCC AR6, Synthesis Report, 2023) As the world works toward net zero, understanding how these two approaches complement each other is essential for meaningful climate progress. #ClimateConceptsSimplified #PennEII #CarbonOffsets #CarbonRemoval #NetZero #ClimateEducation #Sustainability

Join us for our final Climate 101 of the semester, this time with Zachary Herrmann of The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education 📆 Thurs., Dec. 4 ⏰ 11am-12pm 📍 Annenberg School for Communication Room 300 or online ✔️ Register: https://lnkd.in/eExwDedG This session will explore how project-based learning can bring climate education to life — empowering students not just to understand climate change, but to engage with it in local contexts and create meaningful change in their communities. Drawing on our Penn GSE initiative “Project-Based Learning for Global Climate Justice," we’ll explore how educators can design authentic learning experiences that deepen students’ knowledge, agency, and commitment. We’ll explore several real-world examples of educators from across the globe designing and leading innovative climate education efforts.

In this week’s Climate Week Reflections, we’re highlighting how collaboration shaped Climate Week 2025, from Transform Penn’s Green Fund Pitch Competition to the inspiring student and faculty lectures that filled the Climate Week tent. Across campus, ideas turned into action as researchers, students, and community members came together to share solutions for a changing world. “When people from different fields share one space, that’s when change starts to feel possible.” #ClimateWeekReflections #PennEII #PennSustainability #ClimateAction #ClimateWeek2025 #InterdisciplinaryResearch