LOS ANGELES – Environmental economists from Harvard, Yale, and other leading research institutions say an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal that would eventually allow more mercury pollution from power plants relies on a cost-benefit analysis that is fatally flawed. In a new report, the economists detail how the EPA’s calculations inappropriately fail to consider how...

CAMBRIDGE MA. – Andrei Marcu, founder and executive director of the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition, provided his insights on the UN Climate Change conference taking place in Madrid this week in the newest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program,” a podcast...

Doug Gavel
As we approach the 50^th anniversary of the passage of the U.S. Clean Air Act, one of the most consequential environmental laws ever passed by Congress, today’s polarized politics in Washington seemingly precludes (?) the possibility of any similar bipartisan legislation anytime soon. In a new essay published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Harvard Kennedy School Professor...

HEEP Pre-Doctoral Fellow Patrick Behrer discusses his research – and his background – in a feature article in the Harvard Gazette here (November 1, 2019). Patrick studies the impact of climate change – specifically, increasing numbers of very hot days – on worker productivity. He focuses...

By Doug Gavel
One of the world’s most prominent climate change economists isn’t backing away from his guarded optimism about the future. Lord Nicholas Stern, the I.G. Patel Professor of Economics and Government and Chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment at the London School of Economics, told hundreds who gathered at the Geological Lecture Hall...

By Doug Gavel:
CAMBRIDGE MA – With negotiators from more than 100 countries preparing to gather in Madrid, Spain for the 25^th annual international climate conference in December, attention is focusing on how to build consensus for the accurate accounting of emission reductions. So-called “double counting,” which occurs when two or more parties claim credit for the same emission reductions, could undermine the integrity of the historic...

CAMBRIDGE MA. – The Harvard Environmental Economics Program is pleased to announce the launch of a new podcast intended to promote public discourse on important issues at the intersection of economics and environmental policy. “Environmental Insights: Conversations on policy and practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program” is hosted by Robert N. Stavins, A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic...

The Harvard Environmental Economics Program (HEEP) hosted a workshop on September 19 – 20, 2019 for current and former Pre-Doctoral Fellows, featuring 25 research presentations and three professional-development panels. Forty-five current fellows and alumni participated.

HEEP’s Pre-Doctoral...

Faculty, scholars, and staff at the Harvard Environmental Economics Program (HEEP) – with economists and other scholars around the world – are deeply saddened by the loss of Martin L. Weitzman, recently retired professor of economics at Harvard University, who died unexpectedly on August 27, 2019. ... Read more about HEEP Remembers Martin Weitzman for his Extraordinary Contributions to Environmental Economics

Seventy leading faculty, doctoral students, and post-doctoral researchers from 22 institutions across the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions shared their research and insights last week at the Northeast Workshop on Energy Policy and Environmental Economics. The workshop was held at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) on June 13-14.... Read more about Faculty, Scholars, and Alumni Share Research and Ideas at 2019 Northeast Workshop

The paper, by Robert Stavins, Todd Schatzki, and Rebecca Scott, is titled “Transitioning to Long-Run Effective and Efficient Climate Policies.” The paper argues that – because climate-change itself is a long-term problem – policies are needed to reduce emissions, incentivize innovation, and address other market failures over time.

Three former Pre-Doctoral Fellows with the Harvard Environmental Economics Program recieved their Ph.D.'s on Thursday, May 30^th, 2019 and have accepted new positions.

The Northeast Workshop on Energy Policy and Environmental Economics will be held at Harvard University on June 13-14. You can find more information on the workshop website found here.

This workshop is supported by the Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, and the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government.