Harvard Kennedy School Professor of the Practice Joseph Aldy Reflects on his White House Experience and Climate Change Policy in “Environmental Insights”

CAMBRIDGE MA. – Harvard Kennedy School Professor of the Practice Joseph Aldy reflected on his service in the Obama Administration and on current challenges facing lawmakers as they work on climate change policy in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program,” a podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program. Listen to the interview here. 

A full transcript of the interview with Professor Aldy can be found here. 

Hosted by Robert N. Stavins, A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development at Harvard Kennedy School and director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, Environmental Insights is intended to promote public discourse on important issues at the intersection of economics and environmental policy.

Aldy worked in the White House during the first two years of the Obama Administration, helping direct the administration’s climate change policy while serving as Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Environment. In the podcast he remarked that, “the most challenging aspect of that job is recognizing that your to-do list at 7:30 or 8 in the morning may get wiped out by something unexpected that happens that day.” As an example, he mentioned the devastating Deep Water Horizon oil spill in April 2010, which resulted in new government regulations designed to prevent such catastrophes in future years.

In regard to domestic efforts to address climate change, Aldy commented that he is rather skeptical, considering the current political context. “Until there are members of Congress or Senators who fear that by being silent on the issue or actively opposing taking action to combat climate change, until they see real political cost at the polls, I think it's hard to imagine there being a bipartisan future,” he said.

But Aldy also remarked that the Paris Climate Agreement of 2016 provides the framework for significant international cooperation on climate change.

“It says something that we have every country in the world or virtually every country in the world pledging to do something to reduce their emissions,” he said. “I think that is a great first step.”

Aldy’s interview is the seventh episode in the Environmental Insights series, with future episodes scheduled to drop each month.

“Environmental Insights is intended to inform and educate listeners about important issues relating to an economic perspective on developments in environmental policy, including the design and implementation of market-based approaches to environmental protection,” said Stavins. “We will speak with very accomplished Harvard colleagues, other academics, and practitioners who are working on solving some of the most challenging public problems we face.”

Environmental Insights is hosted on SoundCloud, and is also available on iTunes, Pocket Casts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

A full transcript of the interview with Joe Aldy can be found here.