May 07, 2019
When governments need to raise public revenues, they should tax non-renewable resources more than regular commodities according to a dynamic rule. For carbon resources, that means augmenting the...
May 06, 2019
In this article on The Conversation, CEEPR faculty Professors David Keith and Christopher Knittel point out the difficulties facing the transition away from internal combustion engine vehicles.
May 01, 2019
In an article on Press&Journal, John Parsons discusses a vital decision about the place nuclear power will have in Pennsylvania's future.
Apr 25, 2019
In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), MIT economics professor Christopher Knittel joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to break down the complexities of carbon pricing.
Apr 16, 2019
Power-to-Gas could become a central enabler of the transition towards a sustainable economy by reversibly converting electricity to hydrogen. A new paper shows that it will be competitive with...
Apr 01, 2019
Professor Christopher Knittel and CEEPR graduate Elizabeth Murphy delve into the data to determine if conventional thinking regarding Millennials pans out. Their findings indicate there is little...
Mar 29, 2019
Christopher Knittel and Elizabeth Murphy's recent work on millennial vehicle ownership trends are highlighted in this Economics Opinion piece on Bloomberg.
Mar 29, 2019
In an article on Global.ca, a panel of experts, including Prof. Knittel, highlight choices one can make to reduce your carbon footprint.
Mar 27, 2019
In this article on CityLab, reporter Laura Bliss discusses findings from a new working paper by CEEPR Director Christopher Knittel and recently graduated CEEPR Research Assistant Elizabeth Murphy.
Mar 15, 2019
Fuel-switching is inevitable to achieve deep decarbonization. This has, inter alia, prompted an increasing number of countries to announce coal phase-out mandates in the power sector. This working...
Mar 11, 2019
In this SF Chronicle article, a group of experts, including CEEPR Director Christopher Knittel, weigh in on some of the potential reforms and changes that PG&E may consider.
Mar 07, 2019
CEEPR Deputy Director Michael Mehling serves as conference co-chair.
Mar 01, 2019
Professor Paul L. Joskow discusses the provisions of Order 1000, its application by ISOs, and examines the evidence to date regarding the development and application of the competitive transmission...
Feb 19, 2019
This working paper studies the effectiveness of energy efficiency upgrades in K-12 schools, and demonstrate that the machine learning method outperforms standard panel fixed effects approaches....
Feb 01, 2019
In this paper, researchers find that low-income customers would face bill increases on average in a transition to more economically efficient electricity tariffs. However, they demonstrate that...
Jan 11, 2019
A paper written by Professor Paul L. Joskow examines the current and likely future effects on wholesale electricity markets and the challenges these markets face due to the rapid expansion of...
Dec 20, 2018
Blockchain has its roots in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which was the first successful attempt to validate transactions via a decentralized data protocol. Participation in its validation process...
Dec 17, 2018
CEEPR Deputy Director Michael Mehling presented research on the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement at a COP24 side event.
Dec 14, 2018
CEEPR graduate students Sruthi Davuluri and Anthony Fratto recently attended the COP24 held in Katowice, Poland. Read about their reflections here.
Dec 06, 2018
A recent paper written by a team of researchers from leading universities, including CEEPR Director Christopher Knittel, has been published in Science today. Read about the conclusions here.
Dec 03, 2018
As Parties to the Paris Agreement convene in Poland for COP24, they will be negotiating guidance on the implementation of cooperative approaches, which allow countries to use internationally...
Nov 20, 2018
Nuclear power provides more than 20% of Spain's electricity. As each of the 7 plants approaches its 40 year design life, a decision must be made whether to invest in a life extension, considering...
Oct 29, 2018
Who would pay for a company to sequester carbon underground? MIT economist Christopher Knittel discusses a potential solution in a Wired article here.
Oct 12, 2018
Market power is typically an important concern in restructured electricity markets. This paper shows that financial traders, who trade alongside physical buyers and sellers, can increase...
Oct 09, 2018
In an article in Grist, Professor Christopher Knittel comments on the carbon tax debate. Read the full article here.
Sep 14, 2018
In this paper, the authors explore role of imperfect information and attentional biases in the context of energy efficiency investments by quantifying how alternative informational interventions...
Sep 06, 2018
In "The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World," released by the MIT Energy Initiative on Sept. 3, the authors analyze the reasons for the current global stall of nuclear energy...
Sep 04, 2018
Christopher Knittel, Konstantinos Metaxoglou, Anson Soderbery and Andre Trindade examine the effect of the US Shale Gas Boom on global trade, consumption of coal, and CO2 emissions and the results...
Aug 15, 2018
In a new CEEPR Working Paper, the authors delineate various aspects of equity and fairness that regulators must grapple with when designing electricity tariffs and show that more economically...
Jul 26, 2018
In a new CEEPR Working Paper, the authors show that inefficiencies from having separate markets to correct an environmental externality are significantly mitigated when firms participate in an...
Jul 17, 2018
Climate and energy policies lead to a declining market for the incumbent technologies in electricity markets. Facing the challenge of closures, incumbent firms have incentives to coordinate...
Jun 04, 2018
Data analytics will play a major role in advancing global energy efficiency and high performance building goals nationally and globally. As the fault detection and diagnostics industry emerges and...
May 09, 2018
Professor Robert S. Pindyck of MIT and Professor James H. Stock of Harvard University discuss the importance of the social cost of carbon in a new piece on TheHill.
May 01, 2018
A new paper compares EU and US electricity market designs, arguing for a focus on correct price formation in the short-term to incentivize investments and reliability. Increased demand-side...
Mar 20, 2018
In light of the decentralization of the power sector, a new CEEPR Working Paper carefully considers how industry structure regulations impacts competition, market development, and the efficiency of...
Mar 07, 2018
In this paper, the authors conduct an econometric analysis of the performance of reforms in terms of efficiency, welfare, and economic development in 47 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2002...
Feb 21, 2018
Jacopo Buongiorno and John Parsons, co-directors of the MITEI LCEC for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems, discuss how to overcome the challenges and realize the benefits of expanding nuclear power.
Feb 07, 2018
In 2013, the UK introduced radical market reform to meet the new challenges - a change which some critics denounced as a return to central planning, whilst others feared the costs. The results to...
Feb 02, 2018
Christopher Knittel and Francis O'Sullivan, co-directors of the MITEI LCEC for Electric Power Systems Research, are exploring cleaner, more reliable, and more cost-effective solutions.
Jan 30, 2018
On Jan. 25, a panel at MIT explored the benefits, costs, and political challenges involved in translating carbon pricing from concept into law in Massachusetts and beyond.
Jan 30, 2018
Soon-to-be assistant professor of applied economics focuses on development and deployment solutions that can help the world move to a low-carbon future.
Jan 29, 2018
In a new CEEPR Working Paper, the authors examine the response of vehicle purchase behavior to China’s largest national subsidy program for fuel efficient vehicles during 2010 and 2011.
Jan 24, 2018
Corrective taxes can completely solve a variety of market failures, but actual policies are commonly forced to deviate from the theoretical ideal due to administrative or political constraints. A...
Jan 10, 2018
MIT CEEPR, together with the Baker Institute, will host experts for a discussion focusing on the future of transportation. Registration is now open, please find details within.
Jan 04, 2018
Prices in U.S. electricity markets fell precipitously in recent years, driving several nuclear power plants to announce plans to close well before the end of their licensed operation. A new working...
Dec 18, 2017
At this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23), delegates from around the world worked on strategies to accelerate progress toward the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. In Bonn,...
Dec 04, 2017
In a new CEEPR working paper, the authors find that climate-related actions outside of Russia decrease Russia’s energy exports and lower Russia’s GDP growth rate. The paper offers suggestions for...
Nov 17, 2017
MIT researchers are working with the Mexican government on carbon pricing options to meet the country’s climate goals under the Paris Agreement.
Nov 03, 2017
International linkage of climate policies can play an important role in ensuring adequate climate ambition under the Paris Agreement. A new Working Paper looks at the opportunities for – and...
Sep 27, 2017
Innovative study finds energy efficiency investments made at California public schools may not provide as much benefit as officials expected.
Sep 26, 2017
A study released Tuesday by economists at UC Davis, Yale, and MIT shows that families who own fuel-efficient cars tend to buy big, powerful gas guzzlers as their second vehicle, largely defeating...
Sep 15, 2017
Now more than ever, natural gas is hoped to effectively help shale gas producing regions reduce their CO2 emissions, by largely replacing their coal energy input. At the same time, the domestic...
Aug 17, 2017
Black carbon particulates in “soot” emissions have significant detrimental impacts on public health, climate change and food production; and diesel engines in the transportation sector are a major...
Jul 17, 2017
Market-based regulation, and in particular Pigovian taxes/subsidies, have the potential to make consumers internalize socially harmful external effects associated with their choices. Recent...
May 09, 2017
Electricity sector restructuring processes can undergo long, protracted transition periods that are not well-captured in typical power systems operation models. We create a tractable dispatch...
Apr 13, 2017
U.S. nuclear reactors have been retiring at an unprecedented pace for the last few years. Tens of gigawatts of zero-emission nuclear capacity are now at risk of retiring prematurely, before the end...
Mar 21, 2017
The impact of environmental regulation on firm productivity has been long been debated, however, mainly for western economies and with limited firm-level evidence. We study the impact of a...
Mar 17, 2017
When do states drive green industrial change? We show that in mature industries with powerful incumbents the ability of the state to organize private interests in support of technological change is...
Mar 17, 2017
The existence of a forest-savanna tipping point implies that changes in forest resilience affect the marginal economic value of a standing forest. We propose a new framework for calculating the...
Feb 10, 2017
Environmental standards can affect new-equipment sales and used-equipment retirements. We identify two additional effects, of anticipation, on the flow and stock of regulated equipment, and discuss...
Jan 30, 2017
Like in other deregulated markets, financial players were introduced to the Midwest electricity market to arbitrage price differences that distort planning decisions. Unlike other markets, this did...
Jan 23, 2017
In a new CEEPR Working Paper, Ian Schneider and Mardavij Roozbehani explain how existing production-based subsidies for wind energy bias marginal investments to underweight the market value of...
Jan 19, 2017
How much shale oil do we have left? And how much of that can be recovered economically? A new estimation technique suggests that, in the Bakken play, roughly 8 billion barrels of the remaining...
Dec 29, 2016
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program was introduced in 1975 with the objective of reducing gasoline consumption. Under CAFE, automakers are required to meet a minimum sales-weighted...
Dec 22, 2016
As hydraulic fracturing, or fracing, is poised to play an even more important role in the nation’s energy system in coming years, how can benefits at the national scale—such as lower energy prices,...
Nov 16, 2016
A new working paper by Fiona Burlig, Christopher Knittel, David Rapson, Mar Reguant and Catherine Wolfram1 studies the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency investments in over 2,000 K-12...
Oct 23, 2016
Energy storage will play a critical role in enabling the transition to low-carbon electricity systems, providing capacity, energy, and ancillary benefits to help secure a stable and reliable power...
Oct 08, 2016
Between June 2014 and March 2016, the inflation-adjusted price of oil dropped by 66%, yet average U.S. economic growth accelerated only slightly from 1.8% at annual rates before the oil price...
Sep 30, 2016
The economics rationale for environmental regulation is simple and strong: private decisions about how much to pollute lead to socially undesirable levels of pollution. We need policy to correct...
Sep 12, 2016
Together with partners from German utility and CEEPR Associate Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW), the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Stiftung Energie & Klimaschutz, MIT CEEPR organized a...
Sep 01, 2016
According to the latest energy outlook from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, tight oil production was 4.28 Mb/d for 2014 and 4.89 Mb/d for 2015. It is projected to fall to 4.27 Mb/d for...
Jul 12, 2016
In a recent MIT CEEPR working paper, we start with the observation that, since the mid-twentieth century, public regulators have lost public trust. Recent catastrophes, such as the global financial...
Jul 10, 2016
On July 7th and 8th, 2016, CEEPR cooperated with EPRG and Electricité de France to convene the 2016 European Energy Policy Conference in Paris, France. Over 70 participants from research, industry,...
May 30, 2016
In the development of energy and environmental policy, cooperation between research, industry and policy making is critical. This message was central to the work presented and discussed at the MIT...
May 20, 2016
MIT has formally joined the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, a global partnership of governments, businesses, and civil society organizations working together with the goal of applying a price...
May 10, 2016
Against the backdrop of a recent U.S.-Canada Joint Statement on Climate, Energy, and Arctic Leadership that emphasized the role of carbon trading in North American climate cooperation, MIT CEEPR...
May 01, 2016
On April 29, 2016, CEEPR and the Alfred P. Sloan foundation convened a symposium for the leadership and management of major energy economics and policy research initiatives across the United States.
Apr 24, 2016
The E2e Project is in the process of launching the largest demonstration and evaluation of an innovative energy monitoring system for industrial facilities.
Apr 15, 2016
Energy scenarios are a useful tool for industry experts, government officials, academic researchers and the general public to assist in policy-making, planning and investment decisions. Such...
Apr 08, 2016
In 2014, global oil supply overtook demand and the oil price started to decline. In its November 2014 meeting, OPEC decided not to reduce supply and prices fell further. In its December 2015...
Mar 12, 2016
Intermittent energy resources increase the volatility of energy supply as well as the associated market clearing prices, creating uncertainty around when the system will experience “scarcity”— the...
Feb 05, 2016
On the heels of a historic climate agreement in Paris, a new study published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives sheds light on the world’s ability to stop using fossil fuels. Its conclusion:...
Jan 17, 2016
Electricity systems are currently facing significant changes as a result of the deployment of information and communication technologies (ICTs), power electronics, and distributed energy resources...
Dec 05, 2015
Held in Cambridge, Massachusetts on November 19 and 20, the 2015 Fall Research Workshop brought together over 80 participants for a lively discussion of relevant issues in the broader energy and...
Nov 07, 2015
On November 5, the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR) joined the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change and the Program on Science, Technology,...
Oct 22, 2015
On October 21, Richard Schmalensee, Professor and Dean Emeritus at the MIT Sloan School of Management and former CEEPR Director, spoke at a seminar hosted by Resources for the Future in Washington,...
Oct 21, 2015
In October, a group of experts gathered at the Brookings Institute to discuss the Renewable Fuel Standard, a policy to promote biofuels that was enacted ten years ago. Participants in the event...
Oct 15, 2015
A recent CEEPR working paper uses data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Energy Information Administration (EIA) along with market models to provide an in depth look at the...
Sep 11, 2015
A newly published study co-authored by Christopher R. Knittel shows how the asymmetric distribution of costs and benefits of the 2005 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has implications for voting...
Sep 10, 2015
With great sadness, MIT CEEPR faculty and staff learned of the passing of a long-time friend and supporter, Tom Therkildsen of Statoil ASA. “Tom was one of our most thoughtful and engaged partners...
Sep 07, 2015
On September 7, 2015, MIT CEEPR Senior Research Scientist Sergey Paltsev visited Istanbul, Turkey, for an invited lecture on the economics and geopolitics of natural gas at Sabanci University.
Jul 15, 2015
On July 9 and 10, CEEPR and EPRG joined forces with Royal Dutch Shell plc to host the 15th installment of the European Energy Policy Conference in London,United Kingdom. Reflecting the disruptive...
May 23, 2015
On May 21 and 22, the 2015 Spring Research Workshop brought together around 70 participants for a timely discussion of trends and developments in the energy space.
May 12, 2015
MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research is delighted to welcome a new faculty affiliate: Georgia Perakis, the William F. Pounds Professor of Management and a Professor of...
May 12, 2015
Two recent working papers co-authored by Georgia Perakis, the William F. Pounds Professor of Operations Research at the MIT Sloan School of Management and an affiliate of CEEPR examine such factors...
May 05, 2015
On May 5, 2015, the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) released a comprehensive new study titled The Future of Solar Energy. As with earlier installments of the highly regarded MIT “Future of … “ report...
May 04, 2015
For the third year in a row, CEEPR has placed among the top 10 "Energy and Resource Policy Think Tanks in the annual Global Go To Think Tank Index Report
Apr 24, 2015
Sound climate policy makes for good politics. In a nutshell, that was the message conveyed by a high-ranking delegation of government, civil society and business representatives from British...
Apr 22, 2015
On April 22, 2015, CEEPR and the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) convened a symposium to address the latest developments in unconventional hydrocarbon exploration, its effects on oil and natural gas...
Apr 08, 2015
Implemented in the midst of the 2009 recession, the U.S. Cash for Clunkers program aimed to boost sales in the struggling automobile industry. A recent CEEPR working paper by Hoekstra, Puller, and...
Apr 01, 2015
In a recent CEEPR working paper, Saraly Andrade de Sá and Julien Daubanes combine empirical estimates to establish that the demand for OPEC’s oil exhibits a less-than-one demand elasticity, in...
Feb 18, 2015
Working with four colleagues in DAS, Dr. John E. Parsons completed a study of a unique type of financial trading known as Virtual Bidding. The research helps understand certain situations in which...
Feb 10, 2015
In climate diplomacy, negotiators frequently reject “technical” initiatives that only require simple coordination, despite the affordable reputational gains they may gain from cooperation....
Nov 22, 2014
A balanced mix of current themes in the energy and environmental policy debate featured at CEEPR’s 2014 Fall Research Workshop, held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on November 20 and 21, 2014.
Nov 12, 2014
CEEPR Director Christopher Knittel gives an interview on WGBH radio on energy prices...
Nov 01, 2014
Last June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule to limit carbon dioxide emissions from existing U.S. power plants. A new article published in Science magazine on 14 November...
Jul 01, 2014
National media outlets turned to CEEPR experts for early reactions on the EPA's proposed rulemaking on carbon emissions from existing power plants, issued in early June.
Jun 03, 2014
CEEPR faculty affiliate Michael Greenstone was cited in a New York Times article on the potential impacts of abundant natural gas on the environment.
May 01, 2014
Morris Albert Adelman, a giant in the field of energy economics and a faculty member in the MIT Department of Economics for 40 years, died on May 8 at the age of 96.
Apr 24, 2014
In a column in the Los Angeles Times, CEEPR faculty Michael Greenstone, with Francesca Dominici and Cass Sunstein of Harvard University commented on the recent decision by a US Court of Appeals...
Feb 05, 2014
CEEPR’s Executive Director, Dr. John Parsons, was recently appointed to the Global Markets Advisory Committee of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC is the US government...
Dec 10, 2013
If you have stopped at a gas station recently, there is a good chance your auto has consumed fuel with ethanol blended into it. Yet the price of gasoline is not substantially affected by the volume...
Oct 19, 2013
The structure of the auditing business appears problematic: Typically, major companies pay auditors to examine their books under the so-called
Sep 15, 2013
Professor Robert Pindyck has a new working paper (CEEPR-WP-2013-007) that has attracted a good share of attention since it steps into the highly charged debate on the reliability of research...
Jul 08, 2013
A high level of air pollution, in the form of particulates produced by burning coal, significantly shortens the lives of people exposed to it, according to a unique new study of China co-authored...
Jun 18, 2013
The E2e Project aims to give decision-makers real-world evidence on the most cost-effective ways to reduce energy and emissions.
Apr 10, 2013
In this Faculty Forum Online broadcast, Chris Knittel discussed his studies of consumer and company reactions to energy price fluctuations and the implications of this work for effective...
Mar 21, 2013
Would the approval and construction of the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta, Canada to the US Gulf Coast lead to increased emissions?
Feb 28, 2013
In a column in USA Today, CEEPR co-Director Christopher Knittel writes that more research into energy efficiency is needed if Americans are to meet the energy efficiency goal set by President Obama...
Dec 01, 2012
MIT Economics doctoral students are researching a wide range of energy and environmental policy issues. Pictured above, from left to right, are Joseph Shapiro, Manasi Abhay Deshpande and Jennifer...
Jun 18, 2012
For more than 60 years the BP Statistical Review of World Energy has published some of the most comprehensive analysis on global energy markets.
May 10, 2012
Michael Greenstone writes in the Washington Post that President Obama
Mar 05, 2012
Knittel is the William Barton Rogers Professor of Energy Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management, having joined MIT earlier this year.
Dec 05, 2011
On Monday, December 5th, members of the MIT study team presented the results of The Future of the Electric Grid: An MIT Interdisciplinary Study at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW,...
Oct 15, 2011
Anna Agarwal is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and is also pursuing a M.S. in the Technology and Policy Program. Her research focus is on risk...
Sep 04, 2011
MIT has completed a multi-year study on the Future of Natural Gas. This report updates an interim report released in June 2010.
Apr 08, 2011
MIT has completed a 3-year study on the Future of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle. The study addresses two overarching questions: (1) What are the long-term desirable fuel cycle options and (2) What are the...
Jan 15, 2011
Dr. Jean-Pierre Hansen will teach the IAP course
Oct 05, 2010
CEEPR and MIT’s Joint Program, together with Japan’s Institute of Energy Economics (IEEJ) co-hosted a Workshop on energy and climate change policy in Tokyo on September 30-October 1, 2010. The...
Aug 03, 2010
On August 3, 2010, Dr. Zhaoguang Hu, Vice President and Chief Energy Specialist at the State Grid Energy Research Institute and head of the Power Supply and Demand Research Laboratory, presented a...
Apr 19, 2010
Please join MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change on JUNE 24 at an Afternoon Symposium to honor and pay tribute to Program Co-Founder and Co-Director, Professor Henry D....
Apr 01, 2010
The first attempt by any group of nations to establish a hard limit on greenhouse gas emissions
Jan 03, 2010
January is Independent Activities Period (IAP) at MIT. Students at MIT
Oct 10, 2009
MIT Economics Ph.D. students are researching a wide range of energy and environmental policy issues. Pictured above, from left to right, are Mar Reguant, Tatyana Deryugina, Nicholas Ryan and Joseph...
Jun 10, 2009
Student participation in CEEPR research is integral to MIT educational mission.
Apr 19, 2009
On Thursday, April 16, MITEI celebrated the 70th birthday of Institute Professor John Deutch by holding a symposium in recognition of his significant contributions over the last 40 years in the...
Jan 01, 2009
CEEPR will host 2 Visiting Professors at MIT to collaborate and work on energy research.
Sep 01, 2008
Richard Schmalensee takes over as CEEPR Director as of September 2008. Most recently, Professor Schmalensee served as the John C Head III Dean of MIT
Feb 03, 2008
In January 2008, CEEPR hosted a workshop in Washington DC on the European CO2 Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) as part of a project funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Dec 02, 2007
Long time CEEPR Director, Professor Paul Joskow, has resigned his position in order to become President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Sep 01, 2007
CEEPR is collaborating with professors in a number of engineering disciplines on a research program that will explore the conversion of low-value carbon feedstocks such as petcoke and coal to...