MIDDLEBURY — Alex Barron, associate professor of Environmental Science and Policy from Smith College, will speak at Middlebury College on Tuesday about what colleges and universities can do, and are doing, about climate change.

The talk titled, “Beyond Buzz Words: Higher Ed Climate Action Lessons,” will take place Tuesday, March 17, 7 p.m., at Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest, Room 103. Barron will talk about his research, which focuses on the design of climate policies to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and avoid catastrophic climate change.

In addition to research on federal-level climate policy, the use and limits of modeling for climate policy design, and the public health benefits of climate action, he is one of the few scholars studying climate action in higher education. His higher education research has covered carbon neutrality and decarbonization, carbon offsets and contributions, internal carbon pricing, and reform of tenure to promote engaged scholarship.

Barron has also been a key faculty member in Smith College’s climate action planning, including the scoping and development of a geothermal heating network, which aims to reduce emissions by roughly 80%.

Tuesday’s talk is free and open to the public.