Ken Caldeira | |
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| Born | 1960 (age 64–65) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | New York University (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
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| Institutions | |
| Website | globalecology |
Kenneth Caldeira (born 1960) is an Americanatmospheric scientist. His areas of research includeocean acidification,[2]climate effects of trees,intentional climate modification, interactions in the globalcarbon cycle/climate system, and sustainable energy.[3][4][5][6][7]
As of 2021, Caldeira is Senior Scientist in the energy research companyBreakthrough Energy, Senior Staff Scientist (emeritus) in theCarnegie Institution for Science's Department of Global Ecology, and Professor (by courtesy) in theStanford University Department of Earth System Sciences.[8]
In the 1980s, Caldeira worked as a software developer.[3] He received his Ph.D inAtmospheric Sciences in 1991 from theNew York University Department of Applied Science.[9] From 1991 to 1993, Caldeira worked atPenn State University as a post-doctoral researcher. He then worked as an Environmental Scientist and Physicist atLawrence Livermore National Laboratory until 2005.[10]
In 2005, Caldeira joined theCarnegie Institution for Science Department of Global Ecology as a senior scientist, where his job is "to make important scientific discoveries."[10][11] He also serves as a Professor (by courtesy) in theStanford University Department of Earth System Science.[12]
Caldeira served as a member of the committee producing the 2015 U.S.National Academy of Sciences reportGeoengineering Climate: Technical Evaluation and Discussion of Impacts.[13]
He was a contributing author to theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR5 reportClimate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis.[14] In 2010, he was a co-author of the 2010 US National AcademyAmerica's Climate Choices report[15] He participated in the UK Royal Society geoengineering panel in 2009[16] and ocean acidification panel in 2005.[17] Caldeira was coordinating lead author of the oceans chapter for the 2005 IPCC report onCarbon Capture and Storage.[18]
In 2007, Caldeira began advisingBill Gates on climate change and energy issues.[10][8] In his 2016 end-of-year blog post, Gates referred to Caldeira as "my amazing teacher".[19] In 2021, Caldeira began working for the energy research companyBreakthrough Energy, which was founded by Gates.[8]
Caldeira's work was featured in a 14 May 2012 article inThe New Yorker, entitled "The Climate Fixers"[7] and in a 20 November 2006 article inThe New Yorker, entitled "The Darkening Sea."[3] In 2007, he contributed twoop-ed pieces on the subject ofglobal warming toThe New York Times.[4][5]
In response to the controversy caused by the bookSuperFreakonomics over Caldeira's view onclimate engineering, Caldeira rejected the suggestion that he had said, "Carbon dioxide is not the right villain". He responded by posting on his website, "Carbon dioxide is the right villain...insofar as inanimate objects can be villains."[20] He said that while the other statements attributed to him by authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner are "based in fact", the casual reader could come up with a misimpression of what he [Caldeira] believes.[21]
In 2011, Caldeira resigned as a lead author of anIPCC AR5 chapter, stating "Again, I think the IPCC has been extremely useful in the past, and I believe the IPCC could be extremely useful in the future. [...] My resignation was made possible because I believe that the chapter team that I was part of was on the right track and doing an excellent job without my contribution. Had I had a scientific criticism of my chapter team, you can be assured that I would have stayed involved. So, my resignation was a vote of confidence in my scientific peers, not a critique."[22]
Caldeira has argued for a policy goal of zero carbon dioxide emissions. In 2005, he said, "If you're talking about mugging littleold ladies, you don't say, 'What's our target for the rate of mugging little old ladies?' You say, 'Mugging little old ladies is bad, and we're going to try to eliminate it.' You recognize you might not be a hundred per cent successful, but your goal is to eliminate the mugging of little old ladies. And I think we need to eventually come around to looking at carbon dioxide emissions the same way.".[3] In 2014, he said, "It is time to stop building things with tailpipes and smokestacks. It is time to stop using the sky as a waste dump for our carbon dioxide pollution."[23]
In 2013, with other leading experts, he was co-author of an open letter to policy makers, which stated that "continued opposition to nuclear power threatens humanity's ability to avoid dangerous climate change."[24]
2008 – Hero Scientist of 2008 list,New Scientist magazine[25]
2009 – Number 36 out of 100Agents of Change inRolling Stone magazine[26]
2010 – Fellow of theAmerican Geophysical Union[27]
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