Action is the focus of the newest revision of AIChE’s Climate Change Policy Statement, approved by the Board of Directors in October 2024. This short statement on the Institute’s position distills more than a decade of discussion, debate, and membership engagement on a topic that profoundly affects the chemical engineering profession. It calls upon chemical engineers to do what they do best: Apply knowledge of the physical sciences to create practical, economical, and commercial solutions to the world’s most challenging technical problems.
The evolution of AIChE’s climate change policy
The Institute’s first statement in 2014 recognized that climate change was a valid issue and asserted AIChE’s commitment to providing technical information to its members, government policymakers, and the public. Yet, without sufficient consensus among AIChE members, this statement took no position on the cause or extent of climate change. To address this gap, in 2017, the Board assigned the Public Affairs and Information Committee (PAIC) to solicit AIChE members’ input on the validity of climate change assertions. This inquiry was undertaken through six online discussions via AIChE Engage, each framed by ChEnected posts. Critical, in-depth discussion ensued with considerable debate over analytical findings and uncertainties. Members ultimately concurred that science indicates that non-natural climate change is occurring and has been strongly influenced by human-caused releases of greenhouse gases.
These findings formed the basis for the second AIChE Climate Change Policy Statement in 2019, which committed the AIChE community to “playing a leadership role in offering solutions to climate change through systems and other approaches that will create resilient and sustainable processes, products, and facilities.” Further summaries of these past developments can be found in ChE in Context articles from the October 2018 (p. 53) and July 2019 (p. 40) CEP issues.
Subsequently, The Climate Solutions Community (TCSC) was formed as a grassroots membership organization to exchange information and ideas. In coordination with the PAIC, this community conducted a series of townhall discussions focused on the proactive role of AIChE and its members. The October 2024 Climate Change Policy Statement comes from feedback via these forums and other community interactions with critical review and approval by the AIChE Board of Directors.
Foundationally, AIChE must maintain a platform for our diverse membership to engage in constructive exchange. The Climate Change Policy Statement is not intended to quell these exchanges but rather to provide a framework for engagement — namely, anthropogenic climate change is occurring, will affect our livelihood, and requires responsive chemical engineering leadership to mitigate and adapt to these changes.
The six strategic actions driving change
The newest Policy Statement asserts that AIChE and its members will take the following six strategic actions:
- Educate AIChE members, engineers, scientists, policymakers, and the public regarding climate change and pathways to solutions. The provision and exchange of chemical engineering knowledge as it relates to climate change solutions is an essential role for AIChE.
- Mitigate climate change impacts through research, development, and commercialization of the most effective technologies. Chemical engineers have a fundamental understanding of technological solutions and the knowledge to scale them to practical commercial applications.
- Advocate for effective legislation, regulation, policy, and research on climate change solutions. AIChE offers non-partisan, science-based perspectives to policymakers on legislation and government-directed research that address climate change and advance the welfare of the public.
- Support a just transition to a clean energy future. AIChE is committed to promoting a fair, just, and equitable pathway for society in the ongoing energy transition.
- Promote resilience and adaptation to prepare society for an environment impacted by climate change. Climate change is inevitable and occurring. Resilience and adaptation are essential components of our industrial and civil advancements and preparation.
- Collaborate internationally to catalyze change. As a complex, global challenge, climate change will demand interdisciplinary cooperation across many fields of science, engineering, policy, international diplomacy, and public discourse.
Working together to make an impact
Resulting actions will cut across AIChE entities including PAIC, the Career and Education Operating Council (CEOC), the Chemical Engineering Technology Operating Council (CTOC), the Societal Impact Operating Council (SIOC), TCSC, the Institute for Sustainability (IFS), the Sustainable Engineering Forum (SEF), the Center for Energy Initiatives (CEI), the Chemical Engineering & the Law Forum (ChE&L), the Community of Process Engineers (CPE), the Environmental Div., the Fuels and Petrochemicals Div. (F&PD), the Management Div., and others.
To organize and direct this broad effort, an AIChE Climate Policy Steering Committee has been established under PAIC with oversight from the Board of Directors. The new Steering Committee will collaborate across the aforementioned entities to organize and coordinate the strategic program for AIChE’s climate change response. Ultimately, the actions are yours. We invite you to take part.
This article originally appeared in the "ChE in Context" column in the April 2025 issue of CEP. Members have access online to complete issues, including a vast, searchable archive of back-issues found at www.aiche.org/cep.