Following US President-elect Joe Biden's victory and recent carbon-neutrality pledges from China, Japan, the European Union, and others, now is the time to meet words with action.
New research finds most consumers want to make sustainable choices to help mitigate the climate crisis, but lack the knowledge to reliably do so
On climate and especially environmental policy, the return of Donald Trump to the White House is clearly bad news. But the outlook is uncertain, because Trump has sent mixed signals about the kinds of policy changes he might pursue, and it remains to be seen what effect he can have on broader technological and market trends.
It’s clear that Kamala Harris takes the climate crisis much more seriously than Donald Trump. But even Trump cannot derail the ongoing global shift toward a low-carbon, high-efficiency economy, which continues to gain momentum, according to Professor Gernot Wagner.
This paper aims to unpack the pro-social motivations of green innovators. In a field experiment inviting SBIR grantees to learn more about and apply to MIT Solve, we provide scientifically valid scenarios varying the time-frame and scale of human cost of climate change. Innovators' response in clicks and applications increases with both scale and immediacy treatments. Our structural model estimates a welfare discount rate of 0.76%, providing a measure of innovators' value of future generations, and an elasticity to lives lost of 0.23, implying diminishing marginal concern to human loss.
Pricing greenhouse gas emissions involves making trade-offs between consumption today and unknown damages in the (distant) future. This setup calls for an optimal control model to determine the carbon dioxide (CO2) price. It also relies on society's willingness to substitute consumption across time and across uncertain states of nature, the forte of Epstein-Zin preference specifications.
We investigate whether progress towards an international treaty on greenhouse gas emissions could benefit from insights about tipping a non-cooperative game from an inefficient to an efficient equilibrium. Games with increasing differences have multiple equilibria and have a “tipping set,” a subset of agents who by changing from the inefficient to the efficient equilibrium can induce all others to do the same. We argue that international climate negotiations form such a game and so have a tipping set. This can provide a novel perspective on finding a way forward in climate negotiations.
A novel economic model for reducing deforestation is being proposed by the Coalition for Rainforest Nations at the current United Nations climate change conference in Montreal. A new player in the climate change game, the coalition is proposing economic incentives for conserving tropical forests while contributing to climate stability. The coalition's proposal seeks to create new markets while reforming outmoded market and regulatory mechanisms. From the perspective of tropical countries, this change would make conservation a financially viable policy, with real economic returns.
Bruce Usher is a Professor of Professional Practice and the Elizabeth B. Strickler '86 and Mark T. Gallogly '86 Faculty Director of the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change at Columbia Business School. The Tamer Institute educates on the use business knowledge, entrepreneurial skills, and management tools to address social and environmental challenges. Professor Usher teaches courses on climate change, finance and business, and is a recipient of the Singhvi Prize for Scholarship in the Classroom, the Lear Award, and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
* It's pronounced like "juggernaut" without the "jug."
Gernot Wagner is a climate economist at Columbia Business School. His research, writing, and teaching focus on climate risks and climate policy.
In a significant shift within the U.S.
Bruce Usher is a Professor of Professional Practice and the Elizabeth B. Strickler '86 and Mark T. Gallogly '86 Faculty Director of the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change at Columbia Business School. The Tamer Institute educates on the use business knowledge, entrepreneurial skills, and management tools to address social and environmental challenges. Professor Usher teaches courses on climate change, finance and business, and is a recipient of the Singhvi Prize for Scholarship in the Classroom, the Lear Award, and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
* It's pronounced like "juggernaut" without the "jug."
Gernot Wagner is a climate economist at Columbia Business School. His research, writing, and teaching focus on climate risks and climate policy.
* It's pronounced like "juggernaut" without the "jug."
Gernot Wagner is a climate economist at Columbia Business School. His research, writing, and teaching focus on climate risks and climate policy.
