John P. Holdren
Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
Member of the Board (on leave), Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy (on leave), Kennedy School of Government
Co-Principal Investigator, Managing the Atom Project (on leave)
Co-Principal Investigator, Energy Technology Innovation Policy (on leave)
Experience
John P. Holdren is on leave from the Harvard Kennedy School to serve as the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy.
May 2009
"Policy for Energy Technology Innovation"
Book Chapter
By Laura Diaz Anadon, Project Manager, Energy Research, Development, Demonstration & Deployment Policy, Energy Technology Innovation Policy and John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
"The United States ought to be the leader of the world in the energy technology innovation that is needed. It has the largest economy, uses the most energy (and within that total the most oil), has made the largest cumulative contribution to the atmospheric buildup of fossil carbon dioxide that is the dominant driver of global climate change, has a large balance of payments stake in competitiveness in the global energy technology market as well as a large stake in the worldwide economic and security benefits of meeting global energy needs in affordable and sustainable ways, and possesses by many measures the most capable scientific and engineering workforce in the world. The actual performance of this country in energy-technology innovation, however, has been falling short by almost every measure...."
Tom FitzSimmons
December 20, 2008
Harvard Kennedy School's John P. Holdren Named Obama's Science Advisor
Press Release
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications, Sasha Talcott, Director of Communications and Outreach and John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
President-elect Barack Obama announced in his radio address Saturday that he has selected Harvard's John P. Holdren to serve as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology in the new administration. The post, popularly known as "the President's science advisor," also includes directorship of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President and requires Senate confirmation.
August 5, 2008
"Climate-Change Skeptics Revisited"
Paper
By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
STPP Director John P. Holdren's August 4, 2008, op-ed, "Convincing Climate Change Skeptics", which appeared in both the Boston Globe and International Herald Tribune, has generated much criticism. Professor Holdren has written this essay in response.
August 4, 2008
"Convincing the Climate-Change Skeptics"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
"THE FEW climate-change "skeptics" with any sort of scientific credentials continue to receive attention in the media out of all proportion to their numbers, their qualifications, or the merit of their arguments. And this muddying of the waters of public discourse is being magnified by the parroting of these arguments by a larger population of amateur skeptics with no scientific credentials at all....The extent of unfounded skepticism about the disruption of global climate by human-produced greenhouse gases is not just regrettable, it is dangerous. It has delayed — and continues to delay — the development of the political consensus that will be needed if society is to embrace remedies commensurate with the challenge."
July 9, 2008
Report of the Harvard University Task Force on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Report
By William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development; Co-director, Sustainability Science Program; Faculty Chair, ENRP; and John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
Harvard University released the report of its Greenhouse Gas Task Force. The task force, appointed by President Drew Faust in February, proposes elements of a framework for much-intensified efforts to reduce the University's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as part of a broader effort to promote environmental sustainability.
March 31, 2008
"Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Discuss Energy and Environment–Related Challenges for China and the World"
Event Report
By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program and Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy
Harvard Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood and HKS faculty John P. Holdren and Kelly Gallagher participated in a panel discussion on "The Challenge of Energy and Environment in China" in Shanghai, China.
March 14, 2008
"Ending the Energy Stalemate: A Bipartisan Strategy To Meet America’s Energy Challenges"
Presentation
By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
John P. Holdren provides the context for and an overview of the recommendations made by the National Commission on Energy Policy its 2004 and 2007 reports to the President and Congress of the United States.
February 14, 2008
Global Climatic Disruption: Risks and Opportunities
Presentation
By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
Holdren presents a detailed summary of the science behind global climate disruption, and offers a look at the technologies that can help mitigate future risk. He then surveys current thinking on the economics of climate disruption and proposes practical steps forward.
Winter 2008
"Global Warning"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, John F. Kennedy School of Government Bulletin
By Robert O'Neill and John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
Someone usually asks Holdren why we should be worried about it. Holdren, who has been thinking about climate change since the late 1960s, has a prepared list: “Heat waves, drought, wildfires, rising sea level, reduced agricultural productivity, damage to ocean fisheries, loss of coral reefs,” he says. “I mean, I have a much longer litany,” he reminds his audience. This isn’t just about beach erosion on Cape Cod or warmer summers in Europe, it’s about trying to preserve the conditions for our economic, social, and political well-being.
January 25, 2008
"Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being"
Journal Article, Science, issue 5862, volume 319
By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair (on leave), Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
"I would urge every scientist and engineer with an interest in the intersection of S&T with sustainable well-being...to 'tithe' 10% of your professional time and effort to working in these and other ways to increase the benefits of S&T for the human condition and to decrease the liabilities. If so much as a substantial fraction of the world's scientists and engineers resolved to do this much, the acceleration of progress toward sustainable well-being for all of Earth's inhabitants would surprise us all."
