Private Climate Governance Lab Projects -

State of the Environment

The complex, interrelated nature of climate change makes regional, state, and local reporting and information gathering critical to crafting effective responses. The PCG Lab’s annual State of the Environment report summarizes key climate trends and data in an easily digestible format to inform experts and non-experts alike. The Lab also hosts an annual State of the Environment Conference at Vanderbilt Law School.

The Value of State of the Environment Reports in a Polarized Era

AI Governance

Energy use from AI is expected to triple in the next half-decade, leading to stress on energy generation and transmission as well as environmental goals. One way to reduce the energy and environmental costs of this technology is to focus on the timing and amount of energy demand arising from individual and organizational users. The Lab is studying tools that can induce AI users and developers to reduce energy and environmental effects without delaying progress. These tools include energy use disclosure to users at the time of use, private certification and standards systems, and development of best practices for AI users. This research complements ongoing efforts from law and policy experts, engineers, computer scientists, and data center managers by exploring private governance initiatives that encourage smarter use of AI.

Improving Climate Adaptation Planning with AI

The Lab is working with an interdisciplinary team to construct digital twins of Nashville and Boston to stress test extreme heat events. With heat increasingly straining critical infrastructure, it is crucial for city officials to be able to isolate potential failures and make the necessary investments. This builds on our previous collaboration with the Vanderbilt Data Science Institute. We developed a web application that synthesizes dozens of local adaptation plans. This app can summarize, identify shortcomings in, and highlight strengths of local climate adaptation plans. The app makes research into local adaptation strategies substantially more efficient for city planners, researchers, and the public. Meanwhile, private actors can also use the tool to identify ways to build on public governance strengths and fill gaps in local planning.

Fall 2024 AI Showcase Recap

Medical Sector Standards

The medical sector is responsible for ~10% of U.S. carbon emissions, making it by far the highest-emitting healthcare system in the world. The Lab is working with professionals throughout the industry – from clinicians to group purchasing officers – to identify effective communications strategies and actionable decarbonization initiatives. We are especially focused on modernizing quality assurance indicators to address the threat of climate change.

Private Health Governance

Environmental Justice

Uptake of electric vehicles and renewable power and storage in African nations suggests that many countries may be leapfrogging the fossil fuel grid buildout that western nations experienced. The trend is not unprecedented; in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries, many African nations rapidly bypassed landlines, jumping straight to mobile phones. The Lab is studying the policies and initiatives that enable this leapfrogging effect to take place. Our work will help identify feasible, effective strategies that promote the tripartite goals of electrification, economic development, and public health. Promoting clean energy helps to ensure that nations that have historically suffered excessive burdens from environmental threats are able to protect their air, water, and climates.