About the Author
Robert N. Stavins is the Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government, Director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, and Chairman of the Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Group.
Tag Archives: green jobs
Low Prices a Problem? Making Sense of Misleading Talk about Cap-and-Trade in Europe and the USA
Some press accounts and various advocates have labeled the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as near “the brink of failure” because of the recent trend of very low auction prices. Likewise, commentators have recently characterized the European Union Emission Trading … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Economic Policy, Economic Stimulus Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Politics, Positive Political Economy
Tagged cap-and-trade, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, environmental politics, EU ETS, European Union, global climate policy, green jobs, RGGI
14 Comments
What’s Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander: Rahm’s Doctrine and Mercutio’s Complaint
In a January 2009 article – “The Big Fix” – in the New York Times Magazine, David Leonhardt introduced a frequently-employed political strategy into popular political culture by identifying it with the new President’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel: Two … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Economic Policy, Economic Stimulus Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Politics, Positive Political Economy
Tagged cap-and-trade, cost-effectiveness, David Leonhardt, distributional equity, efficiency, Elizabeth Kolbert, environmental politics, global climate policy, green jobs, Lawrence Summers, market-based environmental policies, Obama Administration, Rahm Emanuel, Rahm's Doctrine, regulation
2 Comments
Misguided Objection to Progressive Policy: The EJ Lawsuit Against Implementation of California’s AB 32 Climate Policy
On May 20th, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith ruled that the California Air Resources Board had not adequately explained its choice of a market-based mechanism – a cap-and-trade system — to achieve approximately 20 percent of targeted emissions … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Natural Resource Policy, Positive Political Economy
Tagged AB 32, California, California Air Resources Board, cap-and-trade, cost-effectiveness, distributional equity, environmental justice, environmental politics, global climate policy, Governor Jerry Bronw, green jobs, market-based environmental policies, Mary Nichols, Obama Administration, regulation, sulfur dioxide
1 Comment
Good News from the Regulatory Front
As each day passes, the upcoming November 2012 general elections produce new stories about potential Republican candidates for President, as well as stories about President Obama’s anticipated re-election campaign. At the same time, the 2012 elections are already affecting Congressional … Continue reading
Posted in Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy
Tagged benefit-cost analysis, cap-and-trade, cost-effectiveness, distributional analysis, distributional equity, economic valuation, efficiency, environmental politics, EPA, Exelon Corporation, green jobs, linkage of cap-and-trade systems, market failure, market-based environmental policies, Obama Administration, Office of Management and Budget, public goods, recession, regulation, Richard Schmalensee, Tea Party, Transport Rule
2 Comments
Pursuing Real Environmental Justice in California
California Governor Jerry Brown plans to move forward with the implementation of Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, under which California seeks to take dramatic steps to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Questions have been raised about the … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Positive Political Economy
Tagged AB 32, California, cap-and-trade, carbon monoxide, cost-effectiveness, distributional analysis, distributional equity, environmental justice, environmental politics, global climate policy, Governor Jerry Brown, green jobs, Lawrence Goulder, market-based environmental policies, nitrogen oxides, Obama Administration, particulates, regulation, Sacramento Bee, Stanford University, sulfur dioxide, U.S. Congress
2 Comments
Both Are Necessary, But Neither is Sufficient: Carbon-Pricing and Technology R&D Initiatives in a Meaningful National Climate Policy
For many years, there has been a great deal of discussion about carbon-pricing – whether carbon taxes or cap-and-trade – as an essential part of a meaningful national climate policy. It has long been recognized that although carbon-pricing will be … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Economic Stimulus Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resource Policy, Positive Political Economy
Tagged ARPA-E, cap-and-trade, carbon pricing, carbon tax, Copenhagen Accord, cost-effectiveness, David Leonhardt, efficiency, environmental politics, externalities, free rider problem, global climate policy, green jobs, information problems, market failure, market-based environmental policies, New York Times, Obama Administration, patents, public goods, R&D, regulation, revenue-neutral taxes, Robert Hahn, technological change, technology innovation, technology R&D policies, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Wall Street Journal, Waxman-Markey legislation
12 Comments
Policies Can Work in Strange Ways
Whether the policy domain is global climate change or local hazardous waste, it’s exceptionally important to understand the interaction between public policies and technological change in order to assess the effects of laws and regulations on environmental performance. Several years … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy
Tagged chlorine, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Cluster Rule, Compensation, Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, econometric analysis, environmental politics, externalities, global climate policy, green jobs, hazardous waste, Minamata, Montreal Protocol, pulp and paper, regulation, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, technological change, Toxics Release Inventory
2 Comments
The New Auto Fuel-Efficiency Standards — Going Beyond the Headlines
On My 19th, 2009, President Obama announced new Federal fuel-efficiency standards for motor-vehicles that would make the current standards — known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy — or CAFE — standards significantly more stringent. These CAFE standards measure compliance as … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Energy Policy, Environmental Policy
Tagged CAFE standards, cost-effectiveness, environmental politics, fuel-efficiency standards, gasoline taxes, global climate policy, green jobs, market-based environmental policies, Obama Administration, rebound effect, regulation, revenue-neutral taxes, vintage differentiated regulation
16 Comments
Straight Talk about Corporate Social Responsibility
Critical thinking about “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) is needed, because there are few topics where discussions feature greater ratios of heat to light. With this in mind, two of my Harvard colleagues – law professor Bruce Hay and business school … Continue reading
A Tale of Two Taxes
Whether they are called “revenue enhancements” or “user charges,” fear of the political consequences of taxes restricts debate on energy and environmental policy options in Washington. In a March 7th post on “Green Jobs,” in which I argued that it … Continue reading
Posted in Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy
Tagged cost-effectiveness, distributional equity, efficiency, environmental politics, externalities, gasoline taxes, global climate policy, green jobs, market failure, market-based environmental policies, revenue-neutral taxes
9 Comments
Green Jobs
The January 12, 2009 issue of The New Yorker includes a well-written and in some ways inspiring article by Elizabeth Kolbert, profiling Van Jones, founder and president of Green for All. In the article, “Greening the Ghetto: Can a Remedy … Continue reading