climate research
The 2024 Election Outcome Could Boost the Case for Geoengineering
A Trump victory would increase the odds that we will ultimately need to start blocking solar radiation as a last resort to limit climate change.
A Trump victory would increase the odds that we will eventually need to “break the glass and pull the red lever.” To be prepared for that possibility, we would also need to do more in the short term to research various forms of geoengineering, their feasibility, and their potential side effects. Basically, if you decide you’re going to start smoking a lot more cigarettes, you need to be prepared for the greater likelihood you’ll need chemo.
CONTINUE READINGReflections from a Member of the SCoPEx Advisory Committee
Sharing my lessons
After many years of work, the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiments (SCoPEx) Advisory Committee concluded our work earlier this year after the research team at Harvard made the decision to cancel the experiment. I was a member of the Advisory Committee for much of its time, serving as chair and co-chair of the committee for …
Continue reading “Reflections from a Member of the SCoPEx Advisory Committee”
CONTINUE READINGUniversities Gear Up to Fight Climate Change
Here are some recent developments at leading universities.
Universities across the country are making moves to better address climate change: creating new Schools of Sustainability and Climate, establishing research institutes, and appointing Vice Provosts for Climate Change to oversee their work.
CONTINUE READINGThe Philanthropy Gap
Spending relating to climate change is far too low given the urgency of the situation.
Larry Kramer, who heads the Hewlett Foundation, pointed out in a speech five years ago that climate change accounted for less than 2% of foundation spending. He called upon “anyone who cares about our children’s and grandchildren’s futures to step forward.” The situation has gotten only a bit better since 2017. In 2020, according to a McKinsey …
Continue reading “The Philanthropy Gap”
CONTINUE READINGShould There Be a ‘Non-Use’ Agreement on Solar Geoengineering?
Why I signed the call for a non-use agreement, and what that might mean for research.
Although I’m a newbie at the Emmett Institute, I have been working on geoengineering for a decade now. I have heard countless arguments over whether and how solar geoengineering could be useful in the struggle to manage climate change. I have seen deeply misleading claims by both its supporters and detractors, many trying to coopt …
Continue reading “Should There Be a ‘Non-Use’ Agreement on Solar Geoengineering?”
CONTINUE READINGTrump’s Public Statements Aren’t Relevant in Assessing His Likely Climate Policy
The Media Need to Take Trump’s Advisors, and Their Policy Proposals, More Seriously Than They Take Trump’s Off-the-Cuff Comments
The media need to get their act together when they report and editorialize about President-elect Donald Trump’s public statements. Chief among many failures in reporting on the campaign was the tendency of major newspapers and television outlets to focus on candidates’ rhetoric, symbolism, and character, to the virtual exclusion of governance and policy. This contributed …
Continue reading “Trump’s Public Statements Aren’t Relevant in Assessing His Likely Climate Policy”
CONTINUE READINGMuller Serves Up a Koch Zero, No Ice.
Physicist Richard Muller reports the results of his research, which was funded by Charles Koch Charitable Foundation. The results were probably not what Koch was hoping for: “CALL me a converted skeptic. Three years ago I identified problems in previous climate studies that, in my mind, threw doubt on the very existence of global warming. Last …
Continue reading “Muller Serves Up a Koch Zero, No Ice.”
CONTINUE READINGHot Off the Presses
So to speak. Our friend and colleague Matt Kahn’s new book, Climatolopolis: How Our Cities Will Thrive in the Hotter Future, has just been published. Matt is a real rarity among economists in two ways: 1) He writes in English; and 2) He does not think that economics can explain everything and anything, and has …
Continue reading “Hot Off the Presses”
CONTINUE READINGClimate and Energy Research @ Berkeley
Berkeley, like UCLA, is on the forefront of research on climate change and energy policy. There’s a lot going on here — ranging from breakthroughs in climate modeling to new energy technologies to improved analysis of economic impacts. It’s hard, even for those of us on the campus, to keep track of all of these …
Continue reading “Climate and Energy Research @ Berkeley”
CONTINUE READINGA Glimpse Inside the Stimulus Bill
Although the stimuls bill passed last week, there still doesn’t seem to be a lot of detailed information about its exact provisions. It does appear, however, that the final legislation has considerable benefits for clean energy, as CNN details
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
