The UMass Amherst Energy Transition Institute (ETI) ELEVATE fellowship program was well represented at Climate Week NYC, as a trio of affiliated researchers participated in the citywide, week-long event Sept. 20-27.

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Hosted by Climate Group, Climate Week NYC is the world’s largest climate event and a global platform for advancing climate and economic progress at scale. Each year, it brings together more than 100,000 people across more than 1,000 events in New York City. From global leaders shaping markets and policy to communities driving change on the ground, it connects the people and ideas building a low-carbon economy and a more secure future. This year’s Climate Week NYC focused on the energy, impact and action that we drive together.

Erin Baker, ETI faculty director and Distinguished Professor of Industrial Engineering, participated in the Grids in Transition conference as a delegate. Baker was also joined at the GCSE Climate Solutions Exchange by alumna Natalie Baillargeon, M.P.P. ’26, who is currently an energy policy researcher in energy markets and planning at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Baillargeon was an ETI ELEVATE fellow who studied the role that nonprofits play in the just energy transition and the sociopolitical barriers to renewable energy development.

Ximena Aristizabal Clavijo, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Economics and current ETI ELEVATE fellow, represented the NGO Climate Analytics in a number of events, including the launch of Bhutan’s first Gross Ecosystem Product account and the Scientific Assessment of Geoengineering Proposals for Polar Regions. Clavijo’s research focuses on investigating the macroeconomic impact of carbon trading on host countries in the Global South.

ELEVATE is a graduate training and research program focusing on the technical, social and climate challenges of energy transition. With 18 active fellows from six colleges across campus, the program has received funding from the NSF, Massachusetts Clean Energy Extension, and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.

More information about ELEVATE can be found on the ETI website.