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Lecture 7: Land Use, the Energy Transition, and Biofuels

2026-06-24 · 19:59 UTC ·Belfer Center ·1 min read

Brief

Professor Daniel Schrag’s Lecture 7 (lecture format) outlines the core land‑use tradeoffs of the energy transition: afforestation for carbon removal, large‑scale wind/solar deployment, and biofuel cultivation all vie for limited land. Schrag frames these choices within policy and planning challenges for the United States and China and the broader course context.

Why it matters

Professor Daniel Schrag (Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology and Environmental Science and Engineering) in Lecture 7 (published 2026-06-24) argues land‑use tradeoffs are central to the energy transition: expanding forests for carbon sequestration directly competes with land needed for renewable energy infrastructure and biofuel crops.

Key details

  • The lecture is part of Harvard Kennedy School’s course 'The Energy‑Climate Challenge' (five professors) focused on the United States and China; the Belfer Center produced the video with support from Energy Foundation China and a Chinese‑language version is available.
Source evidence

In "The Energy-Climate Challenge," five Harvard Kennedy School professors explain the fundamentals of climate change, the role of our energy systems in causing it, and the policy and technology options for addressing it. This course focuses on the United States and China, the world's two largest carbon-emitting countries.

In Lecture 7 of the series, Professor Daniel Schrag, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology and Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, explains the challenges of land use for the energy transition - in particular, the challenge of balancing the need to expand forests for carbon sequestration with the need to expand land use for renewable energy and cultivating biofuel crops.

Chinese-Language Version (中文版): https://youtu.be/WjpTBWQJ2CE

Video Production: Alex Griswold.

The Belfer Center gratefully acknowledges the support of Energy Foundation China for this course.

Channel: Belfer Center
Published: 2026-06-24
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu4yeCF8zBo