Energy Efficiency and Climate Change
Provided by: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative|Published on: April 27, 2021|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Science
Authors: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Location: Earth, North America, North America > United States
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This lesson from MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative lets students explore information about energy efficiency, perform an energy audit of their classroom, and make recommendations about how to help reduce climate emissions through energy conservation and reducing energy waste.
- The educator guide provides discussion questions, class activities, and student readings.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The podcast presents the challenges and benefits of implementing more energy efficiency measures for homes and commercial buildings in a simple format.
- The classroom energy audit will get students thinking about their everyday actions and help them understand how big of an impact they can make each day.
Prerequisites
- This resource uses terms related to economic principles, such as incentives, upfront and downstream costs, and the grid.
Differentiation & Implementation
- To see the impact of various climate solutions, look at this table of solutions provided by Project Drawdown and click on Scenario 1 twice to rank them.
- Ethics and social studies classes could discuss why property owners might choose to implement or avoid energy-efficient technology in their (or their tenants') homes. Students could consider the following questions:
- How would a property owner benefit (financially or otherwise) from a building that is energy efficient?
- Would an energy-efficient building attract more long-term tenants? Why or why not?
- Is it better to force property owners to adopt energy-efficient building methods or provide incentives? Why?
- Other resources on this topic include this Khan Academy video on energy conservation, and this video on sustainable housing.
This resource includes a podcast in which an MIT expert is interviewed and presents an overview of challenges associated with energy efficiency. Along with renewable energy, increasing energy efficiency is a critical tool for reducing our emissions and slowing climate change. This is a complex topic that spans economics, policy, and consumer behavior, and this resource presents these topics clearly and concisely. A transcript and educator guide, along with additional resource links, are provided. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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