Climate & Energy

Climate change could exacerbate existing inequities, but the need for urgent climate action provides an opportunity to implement climate policies with built-in equity objectives that reverse existing disparities in pollution exposure, energy costs, and employment opportunities along economic, racial, gender, and other dimensions. Our projects aim to understand the distributional consequences of climate change impacts and policies, with the ultimate objective of designing equity-enhancing climate policies. 

Inducing a major transition to clean energy is a prerequisite for any effective climate policy. But such transitions require large-scale shifts in innovation, how and where energy is produced, and where labor market opportunities reside. Effective climate policies must not only reduce carbon emissions, but must also minimize accompanying economic and social disruptions. Our work in this area focuses on the equity and labor market consequences of clean energy transitions.  

Climate change disrupts the natural, economic, and social systems we depend on. From food security to job stability and public health, the effects of climate change are far-reaching and often unequal, hitting some countries harder than others. Our research delves into this inequality, aiming to accurately measure environmental damages crucial for shaping effective climate mitigation and adaptation policies. We combine economics, remote sensing, data science, and climate science to quantify climate change impacts across the globe, with particular focus on identifying the populations that are most at risk.

California’s carbon cap-and-trade program is one of the largest multi-sectoral emissions trading systems in the world, providing a cost-effective way for the State to reduce emissions. With the program's reauthorization on the horizon in 2025, our research focuses on market design and how revenue from the program can be used to benefit Californians.