News & Announcements

James Stock, a Faculty Fellow of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program—the Harvard Project's parent program—organized a roundtable discussion that took place on January 4, 2015, at the annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Association, held this year in Boston, entitled "The Economics of the EPA's Proposed Regulation of CO2 Emissions from Power Plants." Professor Stock was a member of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisors in 2013–2014, where he worked on the development of this important regulatory proposal. Harvard Environmental Economics Program (HEEP) and Harvard Project Director Robert Stavins participated in the roundtable panel.

Is EPA's proposal for regulating carbon emissions from existing sources a reasonable interpretation of the Clean Air Act, likely to lead to significant environmental benefits at reasonable economic cost, or is it an overly complex overreach, likely to be overturned by the courts or abandoned by a future president?  In a discussion moderated by Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government Robert Stavins, David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Jeffrey Holmstead of Bracewell & Giuliani discussed their differing views of EPA's proposed rule.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at the direction of President Barack Obama, released a landmark rule on June 2, 2014 that aims to reduce carbon emissions from the electric-power sector by 30 percent, nationwide, below 2005 levels by 2030. Robert Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and Director of the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, was interviewed by HKS about the new rule.

Harvard Project on Climate Agreements Director Robert N. Stavins delivered a presentation, "Be Careful What You Wish for—Lessons from U.S. Cap-and-Trade Experience," in Brussels, Belgium, on February 12–13, 2014, at The European Emissions Trading System—Taking Stock, Looking Forward: Options for Reform workshop.

John P. Holdren, President Obama's chief science and technology advisor, draws a grim picture of our world at the end of this century if we fail to start slashing greenhouse gas emissions that are ravaging the global climate. In a lecture at MIT, Holdren issued a call to action, arguing for a package of integrated measures to protect the environment. Holdren is on leave from Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, where he was director of the Science and Technology Public Policy program.