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Henry Lee

Mailing address

Belfer 302B
Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs
79 JFK St.
Cambridge, MA, 02138

Henry Lee

Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program

Co-Principal Investigator, Energy Technology Innovation Policy

Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Lecturer in Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government

Contact:
Telephone: (617) 495-1350
Fax: (617)-495-1635
Email: henry_lee@harvard.edu

 

Experience

Henry Lee is the Jassim M. Jaidah Family Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Program within the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Faculty Co-Chair of the School’s International Infrastructure Program, and a Lecturer in Public Policy. Before joining the School in 1979, Mr. Lee spent nine years in Massachusetts state government as Director of the State's Energy Office and Special Assistant to the Governor for environmental policy. He has served on numerous state, federal, and private boards and advisory committees on both energy and environmental issues, and has worked with private and public organizations, including the InterAmerican Development Bank, the State of Sao Paulo, the U.S. Departments of Energy and Interior, the Intercontinental Energy Corporation, General Electric, and the EPA. His recent research interests focus on environmental management, geopolitics of energy, China’s energy policy, global climate change, regulation of electric and water utilities, and public infrastructure projects in developing countries. Mr. Lee is the author of recent papers on the security and economic implications of expanding LNG trade, and China’s oil initiatives in the Middle East.

 

 

By Date

 

2009

June 2009

"Biofuels and Certification"

Discussion Paper

By Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program and Charan Devereaux

Liquid biofuels can provide a substitute for fossil fuels in the transportation sector. Many countries have mandated the use of biofuels, by creating targets for their use. If not implemented with care, however, actions that increase biofuel production can put upward pressure on food prices, increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and exacerbate degradation of land, forest, and water sources. A strong global biofuels industry will not emerge unless these environmental and social concerns are addressed.

 

 

May 2009

"Oil Security and the Transportation Sector"

Book Chapter

By Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program

"This chapter proposes to answer five fundamental questions: What exactly is the oil security problem, and how serious is it going forward? Why has it emerged at this point in time, and why has it been so difficult for the U.S. government to take the actions needed to mitigate it? Finally, what alternative policies are likely to be effective as the United States attempts to improve its oil security in the future?"

 

 

AP Photo

October 2008

Searching for Oil: China's Oil Strategies in Africa

Book Chapter

By Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program

Pressured by skyrocketing demand, Chinese oil companies have branched out across the globe seeking new oil supplies to feed the country’s economic growth. By 2006, China had made oil investments in almost every part of the world, including Africa.

 

2008

July 29, 2008

New Report from Harvard Kennedy School Researchers Calls for Changes to Biofuels Incentives

News

By Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program, William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development; Co-director, Sustainability Science Program; Faculty Chair, ENRP; and Charan Devereaux

Despite pressure from biofuel critics, governments should avoid simplistic and precipitous changes in course such as rollback or moratoria on existing biofuels mandates or incentives, according to a new report from three Harvard Kennedy School researchers. Instead, the researchers urge governments to initiate an orderly, innovation-enhancing transition towards incentives targeted on multi-dimensional goals for biofuels development.

 

 

July 16, 2008

"Running on Empty and Spreading the Blame"

Op-Ed, Boston Globe

By Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program

Who is to blame for $4.00 gasoline?

 

 

July 3, 2008

Biofuels and Sustainable Development

Report

By Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program and William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development; Co-director, Sustainability Science Program; Faculty Chair, ENRP;

The goals and concerns surrounding the debate over government policies related to the greater use and production of biofuels were addressed in an executive session convened by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Venice International University on May 19th and 20th, 2008.

 

 

Winter 2008

"Fuel for Thought"

Magazine or Newspaper Article, John F. Kennedy School of Government Bulletin

By Madeline Drexler, Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program and William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development; Co-director, Sustainability Science Program; Faculty Chair, ENRP;

As the Biofuel industry surges with investments and new entrepreneurial players, Kennedy School scholars are analyzing it working to develop new ways to create carbon-neutral fuels. Madeline Drexler writes on the Kennedy School's input on this emerging new way to lower greenhouse gas emissions and become less dependent on non-renewable energy resources.

 

2007

Summer 2007

"Policy Options for Reducing Oil Consumption and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from the U.S. Transportation Sector"

Discussion Paper

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, Gustavo Collantes, Former Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy Research Group/Enviroment and Natural Resources Program, 2007-2008, John P. Holdren, Former Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program, Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program and Robert Frosch, Senior Associate, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program

The goal of this paper is to contribute to the current policy debate about how to effectively limit or reduce oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. transportation sector.

 

 

June 5, 2007

Implications of a Future Global Biofuels Market for Economic Development and International Trade

Report

By Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program, William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development; Co-director, Sustainability Science Program; Faculty Chair, ENRP;, Robert Lawrence, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Gloria Visconti, Affiliate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy; Fellow, Center for International Development

Summary report from a joint ENRP/Sustainablity Science Program workshop convening experts from academia, international institutions, government, and the private sector to explore possible implications of emerging global biofuels markets for economic development and international trade.

 

 

January 2007

"Searching for Oil: China's Oil Initiatives in the Middle East"

Discussion Paper

By Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program and Dan Shalmon

Explores China’s relationships with oil-producing countries in the Middle East and the possible geopolitical implications of its widening market reach.

 

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