Positioning nanotechnology to address climate change

Jacob L. Jones (), David M. Berube, Maude Cuchiara, Khara Grieger, Elaine A. Cohen Hubal, Sarah J. Karikó, Phillip Strader and Yves Theriault
Additional contact information
Jacob L. Jones: North Carolina State University
David M. Berube: North Carolina State University
Maude Cuchiara: North Carolina State University
Khara Grieger: North Carolina State University
Elaine A. Cohen Hubal: US EPA
Sarah J. Karikó: Harvard University
Phillip Strader: North Carolina State University
Yves Theriault: University of California San Diego

Environment Systems and Decisions, 2024, vol. 44, issue 4, 1039-1053

Abstract: Abstract One of society’s most pressing challenges in the twenty-first century is that of climate change. In fact, climate change is seen as the most defining issue of our time as we are witness to an anthropogenic perturbation in geology and earth sciences of global scale. To move forward in this new era, solutions will be sought to both mitigate the effects of climate change (e.g., reduce greenhouse gasses) as well as adapt and build resilience (e.g., improve infrastructure and agriculture to resist damage from extreme weather or floods). The immediacy of the needed solutions dictates that the response must use the full force of society’s current knowledge base, science, technology, and innovation. Nanotechnology, an enabling technology that has matured over the past few decades and now considered for general-purpose and mass use, is ideal for addressing climate change and its impacts. To position nanotechnology to address such complex challenges, this Perspective integrates collective insights from a broad range of viewpoints and presents recommendations for how research can be motivated and scoped, organized, and implemented to achieve beneficial outcomes and innovations in the most efficient ways. While this Perspective was created with a focus on the research landscape within the United States, the findings are also relevant in other international contexts. Research that can effectively advance nanotechnology solutions will be use-inspired basic research, incorporate systems-level thinking, apply a convergence research approach, engage stakeholders, and require advanced nanotechnology infrastructure. By illuminating this compelling and complex research topic, this Perspective aims to direct, inform, and accelerate needed actions in the research community to advance nanotechnology solutions for addressing climate change.

Keywords: Nanotechnology; Convergence research; Climate change; Infrastructure; Basic research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10669-024-09991-w Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:envsyd:v:44:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s10669-024-09991-w

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.springer.com/journal/10669

DOI: 10.1007/s10669-024-09991-w

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Environment Systems and Decisions from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().