Stanford explainer: Social cost of carbon
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In a Q&A, Stanford economists discuss the importance of this number and its role in creating environmental policies.
Thurber: Phasing out coal-fired power in the US by 2030 is an achievable goal
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The Biden administration has pledged to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2030. A large share of these reductions would have to come from the power sector, with high-emitting coal-fired power plants being obvious targets for closure. Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (PESD) Associate Director Mark Thurber spoke on NPR's Here & Now about why phasing out coal-fired generation in the US by 2030 is an achievable goal -- and how we need to take care of affected workers along the way. Listen to the interview.
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China and U.S. Collaboration on Climate Change with Professor Steven Chu
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The Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions (SCCEI) and the Stanford King Center on Global Development held a special event on the potential for China and U.S. collaboration on climate change.
China and the U.S. are critical for global action on climate change. Together, the two countries created up to 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, and both countries have significant global influence. This event highlights several important challenges for climate action at the start of the Biden Administration. How can China-U.S. cooperation on climate be revived in light of the current bilateral relationship, in particular for fostering innovations in both technologies and policies for mitigating climate change?
The special event featured Steven Chu, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology in the Medical School at Stanford University, and was moderated by Gretchen C. Daily, Bing Professor of Environmental Science and co-founder and faculty director of the Natural Capital Project at Stanford University.
Watch the recording:
Following the lecture, SCCEI and the King Center hosted a virtual reception for audience members to continue the conversation in small breakout rooms. The Zoom meeting link was distributed at the end of the lecture.
About the Speakers:
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He served as U.S. Secretary of Energy from January 2009 through April 2013. Prior to that, he was director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, professor of Physics and of Molecular and Cell Biology (2004 to 2009) at UC Berkeley, the Francis and Theodore Geballe professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University (1987 to 2009), a member of the technical staff and head of the Quantum Electronics Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories (1978 – 1987).
Dr. Chu is the co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to laser cooling and atom trapping. He received numerous other awards and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and 8 foreign Academies. He received an A.B. degree in mathematics and a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, and 32 honorary degrees.
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Stanford King Center on Global Development
Stanford Center on China's Economy & Institutions
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Bruno Lopez
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Bruno is a Research Data Analyst at the Center on Food Security and The Environment where he supports David Lobell in tackling issues related to food security using satellite imagery along with applied data analytics. He is a past intern at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute where he used satellite imagery to analyze phytoplankton blooms in the Gulf of Alaska. Bruno graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz in June 2020, with a B.S In Earth Science. Here he examined regions heavily affected by rising Sea Surface Temperature Extremes throughout the globe.
Research Data Analyst, Center on Food Security and the Environment
PESD/CPUC Impact Lab tackles resource adequacy in a high-renewables California
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Stanford's Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (PESD) is collaborating with the California Public Utilities Commissions (CPUC) on an Impact Lab that tackles an urgent policy question: How do we make sure the lights stay on as the electricity mix climbs towards state targets of 50% renewable energy in 2026 and 60% in 2030? Wind and solar are essential zero-carbon energy sources, but they are only available when the wind blows and the sun shines. Blackouts in Northern California last August were a warning that system reliability is at risk if the state doesn't act quickly to implement policies that ensure backup generation is available when needed.
The existing regulatory instrument for ensuring long-term resource adequacy, capacity payments, is not well-adapted to a high-renewables future. Capacity payments aim to ensure enough "firm capacity" is always available to keep the lights on, but the firm capacity construct is not applicable to wind and solar, which cannot be turned on and increased at the system operator’s discretion.
The PESD/CPUC Impact Lab has proposed an alternative resource adequacy mechanism that is robust to a world of high and solar generation: auctions of Standardized Fixed-Price Forward Contracts (SFPFCs) that ensure every megawatt-hour of energy consumed in the state is hedged through long-term financial contracts. Unlike capacity payments, the SFPFCs provide a strong financial incentive for generators to meet their commitments to supply reliable energy wherever and whenever it is needed. PESD research suggests this novel policy mechanism can provide enhanced reliability and major cost savings relative to the capacity payment approach.
The CPUC has initiated a stakeholder process to consider possible implementation of this proposal, and PESD is assisting with research, policy outreach, and development of market simulation games that will allow stakeholders to gain hands-on experience with how the SFPFC mechanism would work in a realistic electricity market.
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California Public Utilities Commission meeting.
Courtesy of CPUC
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Contribution of historical precipitation change to US flood damages
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Precipitation extremes have increased in many regions of the United States, suggesting that climate change may be exacerbating the cost of flooding. However, the impact of historical precipitation change on the cost of US flood damages remains poorly quantified. Applying empirical analysis to historical precipitation and flood damages, we estimate that approximately one-third (36%) of the cost of flood damages over 1988 to 2017 is a result of historical precipitation changes. Climate models show that anthropogenic climate change has increased the probability of heavy precipitation associated with these costs. Our results provide information quantifying the costs of climate change, and suggest that lower levels of future warming would very likely reduce flooding losses relative to the current global warming trajectory.
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PNAS
Changes in the drought sensitivity of US maize yields
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As climate change leads to increased frequency and severity of drought in many agricultural regions, a prominent adaptation goal is to reduce the drought sensitivity of crop yields. Yet many of the sources of average yield gains are more effective in good weather, leading to heightened drought sensitivity. Here we consider two empirical strategies for detecting changes in drought sensitivity and apply them to maize in the United States, a crop that has experienced myriad management changes including recent adoption of drought-tolerant varieties. We show that a strategy that utilizes weather-driven temporal variations in drought exposure is inconclusive because of the infrequent occurrence of substantial drought. In contrast, a strategy that exploits within-county spatial variability in drought exposure, driven primarily by differences in soil water storage capacity, reveals robust trends over time. Yield sensitivity to soil water storage increased by 55% on average across the US Corn Belt since 1999, with larger increases in drier states. Although yields have been increasing under all conditions, the cost of drought relative to good weather has also risen. These results highlight the difficulty of simultaneously raising average yields and lowering drought sensitivity.
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Nature Food
Curtailing Land-Clearing Fires in Indonesia
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Working Papers
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