About the Carbon Mitigation Initiative

Finding Safe, Effective and Affordable Solutions to Climate Change

The Carbon Mitigation Initiative (CMI) is a 15-year partnership among Princeton University, BP and Ford Motor Company with the goal of finding solutions to the carbon and climate problem.

Our unique approach brings together scientists, engineers, and policy experts to design carbon mitigation strategies that are safe and effective as well as affordable.

Working Together in Four Research Groups

Experts from the Princeton Geosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Civil and Mechanical Engineering Departments, the Princeton Energy Group, and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, along with their international collaborators, work together in four main research groups:

The Capture Group assesses technologies for capturing CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels and also studies alternative fuels and electricity sources.
The Storage Group uses computer models, laboratory experiments and field studies to investigate potential risks of injecting CO₂ underground for permanent storage.
The Science Group collects data from the oceans, the atmosphere, ice cores, and the land biosphere to study natural sources and sinks of carbon and impacts of emissions on future climate.
The Integration Group synthesizes research discoveries and explores the policy implications of carbon mitigation strategies.

Led by CMI Co-Directors Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow since its formation in 2000, the group has grown to include over 60 researchers actively engaged in national and international discussions of emissions reduction options.

Together we are building a comprehensive view of the challenges of carbon mitigation - and how they can be overcome.

CMI Logo: 2000 to 2009

The original CMI logo (top right) was conceived by Douglas Jakobsen in 2000 and was intended to represent the partnership among BP, Ford, and Princeton. The design incorporated elements and colors of the respective collaborators logos. From inception, the logo, with its colorful rendering of intersecting earth and atmospheric systems, has provided a positive vision for solving the carbon and climate challenge.

As part of CMI's website redesign in 2009, the logo has been updated by Amy Hepler. The new logo (bottom right) retains the colors and symbolism of the original, but adds an emphasis on the four research groups. The four dots, like directional points on a compass, divide the logo into quadrants and represent the four research thrusts in the Initiative.

CMI in 2000

Pictured from left to right, front row: Ellen B. Stechel, Robert Socolow, Gardiner Hill. Second row: Helen Ming, Neil Jones, Robert Williams, Michael Celia, Terry Wood. Third row: Stephen Pacala, David F. Bradford, Miriam Levon, Chris Mottershead, Jorge Sarmiento, David Chock. Fourth row: Francois Morel, Emmanuel Haton, Klaus Keller, Andrew Bocarsly, Marty Friedman, Dave Thomas, Paul Rutter, Bernie Bulkin, Tim Wallington.

CMI in 2009

Photo credit: Brian Wilson

Pictured from left to right, front row: Michael Celia, Kate Baker, Pascale Poussart, Sapna Sarupria, Yang Lui, Jean-Herve Prevost, Catherine Peters, Kenyn Brysse. Second row: Roberta Hotinski, Gardiner Hill, Robert Socolow, Steve Pacala, Axel Haenssen, Matthias Preisig. Third row: George Scherer, Ed Matteo, Juan Nogues, Valentina Bosetti, Shoibal Chakravarty. Fourth row: Bob Williams, Zhong Zheng, Massimo Tavoni, Adam Janzen, Nicolas Lefevre-Marton.