Media Contact: Bryan Galcik (617) 384-8415; bryan_galcik@harvard.edu

CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Harvard Environmental Economics Program has awarded three prizes to Harvard University students for the best research papers addressing a topic in environmental, energy, or resource economics—one prize each for a senior thesis, master's student paper, and doctoral student paper. Each prize was accompanied by a monetary award. The Harvard Environmental Economics Program is a University-wide initiative based in the ...

[Bloomberg ]...The European Union should consider moving away from costly subsidies for renewable energy and carbon-efficient projects, which compete with the market in meeting nations’ emission- reduction targets, said Robert Stavins, the director of Harvard University’s Environmental Economics Program. Carbon permits for December fell to an all-time low after lawmakers yesterday rejected a rescue plan to tackle a record surplus of allowances.

[The Atlantic ]...The oil-filled shale formations in states like North Dakota and Texas that have powered the U.S. energy boom are notoriously expensive to drill. But if predictions like the EIA's come even close to true, then they should remain profitable plays for the industry for years to come. One might argue that without subsidies, they won't be quite profitable enough -- that by nixing the tax breaks that support domestic drilling and refining, we might encourage companies to put their money to do something else with their money. But as Harvard's ...

[PBS NewsHour ] Rob Stavins:...In his 2013 inaugural address, President Obama surprised many people, including me, by the intensity and the length of his comments on global climate change. Since then, there has been a great deal of discussion about what climate policy initiatives will be forthcoming from the administration in its second term.