KAIST and Princeton University Join Forces to Tackle the Climate Crisis

KAIST and Princeton University in the United States have joined forces to address the climate crisis.

On August 27, KAIST announced that Professor Jeon Haewon’s research team from the Graduate School of Green Growth and Sustainability and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to conduct joint research on carbon neutrality.

Prospects for the US Energy Infrastructure in 2050 under the Net Zero America Project. Provided by KAIST

Along with the signing of the MOU, the two universities, with funding from Google, KAIST, and Princeton University, will launch the "Net-Zero Korea" (hereafter NZK) project.

According to KAIST, the NZK project will apply the modeling methodology used in Princeton University's "Net-Zero America" project-first announced in 2021 and widely recognized-to KAIST’s integrated assessment model research, creating a customized approach that reflects the specific circumstances of South Korea.

Through this initiative, the goal is to accelerate the transition to carbon neutrality in the domestic energy and industrial sectors in the short term, and to strengthen South Korea’s energy system modeling capabilities for policy development and implementation in the mid- to long-term.

The NZK project features a detailed analysis of various factors, ranging from regional land use changes to job creation, and provides a concrete visualization of changes in the energy and industrial systems.

In particular, the research in South Korea will be conducted based on an international cooperation network while also carrying out modeling that reflects the country’s unique characteristics.

Previously, the Princeton research team conducted national-level decarbonization modeling studies with major research institutions in countries such as Australia, Brazil, China, India, and Poland. The KAIST research team also plans to collaborate with the Princeton team to conduct joint research utilizing this global research network.

KAIST intends to use the NZK project as a foundation to develop an open-source, optimization-based energy and industrial system model that incorporates the impact of international trade, thereby contributing to global academic and policy research.

Professor Jeon Haewon stated, "By conducting joint research with Princeton University, we hope to provide scientific evidence for achieving carbon neutrality and sustainable energy in South Korea."

Lee Kwanghyung, President of KAIST, said, "KAIST plans to jointly establish a policy support system for responding to the climate crisis together with Princeton University," adding, "The cooperation between the two universities will play an important role not only in achieving carbon neutrality in Korean society but also in addressing the global climate crisis."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.