Located within one of the world’s greatest research universities, the Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solution (CICSS) harnesses interdisciplinary teams of faculty, students, staff, extension specialists and stakeholders to address one of the most difficult challenges of our time – climate change. In 2008, the United Nations Development Program characterized climate change as “the defining human development challenge of the 21st century.”
Cornell’s Institute was established in 2013 within the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. We are an interdisciplinary team of researchers and Extension Specialists working to help build climate literacy, and build climate smart solutions for agricultural, environmental and community systems.
Mission
The mission of the Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions (CICSS) is to:
- Facilitate Research related to climate science and policy, environmental and agricultural systems, food security, and environmental and social resiliency.
- Conduct Education & Outreach to stakeholders, decision makers and the public using trusted, science-based information to increase sustainability and resiliency to climate change.
- Build Partnerships and engage stakeholders to share information and develop climate change solutions.
Vision
The Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions (CICSS) builds stakeholder capacity and works toward a future where agricultural, environmental, and social systems are resilient in the face of a rapidly changing climate and have reduced their impacts on the climate system.