With record warming temperatures, rising risks of wildfires and other extreme weather, the threat posed by climate change is clear and growing. In the face of such threats, one of the most important questions now, as we mark Earth Day 2024, is: how will America and the world address climate change and simultaneously build a more reliable and cleaner energy future? The answer lies in embracing innovation and climate solutions based on science and engineering.

Engineering, given the challenge of climate change, is a profession that will help lead and craft climate resilient solutions. The good news, according to recent polling, is that American public trust engineers to find these critical solutions more than other professions, organizations, and agencies. In fact, 86 percent of respondents recognized that engineers play an important role in developing sustainable energy solutions, encouraging energy efficiency, constructing green buildings, monitoring environmental conditions and building a more climate resilient energy grid. 

For IEEE PES, the world’s leading association of 42,800 members across more than 850 global chapters, our professional engineers are proud to be driving the innovative and sound solutions America and the world needs – and have been as an organization for 140 years. With founding members like Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison and Elihu Thomson, it’s no wonder that from one country to the next, PES engineers are developing new standards and empowering the development of bold technology, software and best practices in all areas of electric power and energy. To help build the energy grid of the future, one that empowers the growth of renewable energy, engineers are also designing the next generation, transmission, distribution systems – systems that will help cut emissions without sacrificing the reliable energy we all need.

In an article published today on Politico, IEEE PES President Shay Bahramirad said it best about the critical role engineers will play over the coming decades in the fight against climate change: “…our world needs transformational change…[we must] invest in the bold, creative and innovative solution[s], and the experts, engineers and people who will help fight climate change. The human seeds we plant today will achieve what we all want — an Earth and global population safe and prepared to adapt to the new normal and proactively mitigate the effects of climate change.”

For Earth Day 2024, there is real hope that by embracing the power of science and engineering we can and will save the plant from the threat of climate change. To learn more about our climate solutions, please visit  ieee-pes.org/climate-change.