The Master of Climate Solutions (MCS) Experience

James Sallee researches and teaches environmental policy and market responses in the transportation and electricity sectors. He has published dozens of articles on environmental economics, advised federal and California environmental agencies and the National Academies of Sciences, and works as an Amazon Scholar to accelerate decarbonization in the private sector. He is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, a Research Associate of the Energy Institute at Haas, and a Research Fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

We work on drivers of greenhouse gas dynamics, climate change mitigation potential, and effects of extreme climate events in ecosystems. Current projects include converting high-emission organic waste streams to low-emitting agricultural amendments for carbon sequestration, enhanced rock weathering to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide, development of novel low-cost environmental sensing, and the biogeochemistry of hot spots and moments of emissions. We use field, laboratory, and modeling approaches and have pioneered field applications of continuous environmental sensing of greenhouse gases and associated drivers.

Dara O’Rourke studies the environmental, labor, and health impacts of global production systems, and strategies for better governance of climate transitions. Dr. O’Rourke is the Faculty Co-Director of Berkeley’s new Master of Climate Solutions. Dr. O’Rourke founded the Sustainability Science and Innovation team within Amazon.com, which led to the launch of The Climate Pledge. Dr. O’Rourke previously applied his research to a social venture startup – GoodGuide.com – which built a suite of tools to provide information on the environmental, social, and health performance of products and companies to consumers.

Meredith Fowlie studies the economics of climate change adaptation and the clean energy transition. Her research interests include wildfire risk management, renewable energy infrastructure deployment, and electricity rate design. Dr. Fowlie is a faculty director at the Energy Institute at Haas and she co-directs the Energy and Environmental Economics group at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She is actively engaged in climate policy. She is currently serving as chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee (IEMAC).

Carl Boettiger is an associate professor in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley. A theoretical ecologist and data scientist, he works on ecological forecasting and decision making under uncertainty. He has degrees in Physics and Population Biology from Princeton and UC Davis. He is a co-founder of the Schmidt Center for Data Science & Environment at UC Berkeley (DSE), and of the open source community projects rOpenSci and Rocker.

Duncan Callaway works on pathways to decarbonize the electricity grid. Nearly all of his work applies an engineering lens to these problems, and he weaves economics, policy, and energy analysis methods into his research. He regularly advises California energy agencies and testifies to lawmakers on topics related to his research. He is a Professor and Chair of Energy and Resources Group, a Research Associate of the Energy Institute at Haas, and Affiliated Faculty in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Matthew Potts, S.J. Hall Chair in Forest Economics, has an interdisciplinary background with training in mathematics, ecology, and economics, and more than two decades of experience in resources management issues. His lab focuses on nature and community based climate solutions as well as multi-use management of working landscapes. He is Associate Director for Sustainable Development at the Blum Center for Developing Economics. Dr. Potts also currently serves as the Chief Science Officer at Carbon Direct where he helps the world’s biggest companies identify, implement, and scale sustainable business practices.

As Director of Program Operations, I lead the Master of Climate Solutions, a professional master’s program focused on climate and sustainability at UC Berkeley. This role builds on my experience as Program Director for the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program, where I’ve been advancing environmental and climate solutions for over 10 years, collaborating with Berkeley faculty and external partners.