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A Key Moment for California Climate Policy

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[Robert Stavins' blog] The past year has been a crucial time in international climate negotiations. In December, 2015, in Paris, negotiators established an agreement on the next round of targets and actions to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which was signed...

Paris Can Be a Key Step

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[Robert Stavins' blog] I returned from a brief trip to Paris two days before the horrific events of November 13 th, which have shocked and saddened civilized people everywhere. I was in Paris for discussions regarding climate change policy at OECD...

A Challenge for the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement

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[Robert Stavins' blog] At the recent climate negotiations at the 20 th Conference of the Parties (COP-20) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Lima, Peru, a very important issue was left on the table, unresolved: Will...

Crude Oil Prices, Climate Change, and Global Welfare

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[Robert Stavins' blog] A few weeks ago, I participated in a panel session titled, "The Remarkable Transformation of the Energy Sector: Does it Also Transform Our World." The motivating question was: "Is the dramatic decline in oil prices a complete gift...

Robert Stavins

Person

Robert N. Stavins is the A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy & Economic Development, Director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, and Chairman of the Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Group at the John F. Kennedy School of Government...

Misleading Talk about Decoupling CO2 Emissions and Economic Growth

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[Robert Stavins' blog] You can call it my pet peeve or even my obsession, but whenever I read about the claimed “decoupling” of CO 2 emissions and economic growth, I get annoyed. Webster’s Dictionary defines decoupling as “ eliminating the...

A Key Element for the Forthcoming Paris Climate Agreement

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[Robert Stavins' blog] The upcoming Paris climate negotiations will constitute a critical step in the ongoing international process to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The question of whether the Paris outcome will be sufficiently ambitious...

What are the Benefits and Costs of EPA’s Proposed CO2 Regulation?

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­[Robert Stavins' blog] On June 2 nd, the Obama Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its long-awaited proposed regulation to reduce carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions from existing sources in the electricity-generating sector. The...

Environmental Economics – A Personal Perspective

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[Robert Stavins' blog ] Today, I wish to take a brief hiatus from reflecting on the current status of climate change policy, whether in the often traumatic context of policy pronouncements – or rather, Twitter messages – from U.S. President Trump and his...

Trying to Remain Positive

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[Robert Stavins' blog] With inauguration day in the United States just two weeks away, it is difficult to harbor optimism about what the Trump presidency will mean for this country and for the world in realms ranging from economic progress to national...

Market Mechanisms in the Paris Climate Agreement: International Linkage under Article 6.2

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[Robert Stavins' blog] The Harvard Project on Climate Agreements hosted a research workshop in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 14–15, 2016, the purpose of which was to identify options for elaborating and implementing the Paris Climate Agreement, and to...

Scholars Gather to Celebrate Martin Weitzman’s Contributions to Environmental Economics

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Scholars Gather to Celebrate and Honor Eminent Economist Martin L. Weitzman as He Retires From Harvard University Written by Doug Gavel for the Harvard Environmental Economics Program A recording of the symposium can be found by clicking here. Many of the...