Robert N. Stavins
Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Director, Harvard Environmental Economics Program
Chair, Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Group
Chairman, Ph.D. Programs in Public Policy and Political Economy & Government
Co-Chair, Kennedy School-Harvard Business School Joint Degree Programs
Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Contact:
Telephone: (617) 495-1820
Fax: (617) 496-3783
Email: robert_stavins@harvard.edu
Website: http://www.stavins.com
Publications: http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~rstavins/cvweb.html
October 2007
"A U.S. Cap-and-Trade System to Address Global Climate Change"
Working Paper
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
In a paper commissioned by the Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project, Stavins, the co-director of the Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements (HPICA) proposes "a specific cap-and-trade system with several key features including: an upstream cap on CO2 emissions with gradual inclusion of other greenhouse gases; a gradual downward trajectory of emissions ceilings over time to minimize disruption and allow firms and households time to adapt; and mechanisms to reduce cost uncertainty."
Courtesy of E&ETV
October 4, 2007
"Resources for the Future (RFF) Panel Analyzes Alternative Proposals for Post-Kyoto Strategy"
Media Feature
By Joseph E. Aldy, Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, Todd Stern and David W. Conover
How should a post-2012 international climate policy be structured? During E&ETV Event Coverage of a recent Resources for the Future discussion, panelists analyze alternative strategies to a post-Kyoto policy.
September 27, 2007
"Linking Tradable Permit Systems: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications"
Presentation
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Professor Stavins' presentation at the 7th IETA Forum on the State and Development of the Greenhouse Gas Market described tradable permit systems and linkage among them that allows emission reduction efforts to be redistributed across systems. He notes that linkage may become the de jure or de facto post-2012 international policy architecture.
September 24, 2007
"Designing the Next International Climate Agreement"
Op-Ed, RFF Weekly Policy Commentary
By Joseph E. Aldy, Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements and Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
The world's first step to address global climate change, in the Kyoto Protocol, was not perfect. The next step does not need to be perfect either, but it ought to be an improvement. To contribute to the effort in designing the next step, we have just launched the Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements. This initiative will draw upon leading thinkers from academia, private industry, government, and non-governmental organizations from around the world to identify key design elements and construct a small set of promising policy frameworks, and then disseminate and discuss the design elements and frameworks with decisionmakers in the United States, Europe, and around the world.
September 2007
Architectures for Agreement: Addressing Global Climate Change in the Post-Kyoto World
Book
By Joseph E. Aldy, Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements and Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
The Kyoto Protocol serves as an initial step to mitigate the threats posed by global climate change but policy-makers, scholars, businessmen, and environmentalists have begun debating the structure of the successor to the Kyoto agreement. Written by a team of leading scholars in economics, law and international relations, this book contributes to this debate by examining the merits of six alternative international architectures for climate policy.
September 17, 2007
NBER New Program on Environmental and Energy Economics
Press Release
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has launched a new "Program on Environmental and Energy Economics." Martin Feldstein, NBER President, has announced the election of six new NBER Research Associates as part of the program, including two Faculty Fellows of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program (HEEP): Robert Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government at the Kennedy School, and Martin Weitzman, Professor of Economics.
September 5, 2007
Powerpoint: Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements
Presentation
By Joseph E. Aldy, Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements and Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
This powerpoint presentation provides an easy-to-understand overview of the project, the six potential frameworks that are its starting point, the Kyoto Protocol, and the current state of international climate negotiations.
July/August 2007
"What is the Future of U.S. Coal?"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, The Environmental Forum, issue 4, volume 24
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
"The competitiveness of coal-fired generation diminishes as the stringency of an emissions cap increases."
June 2007
"A Meaningful Second Commitment Period for the Kyoto Protocol"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, The Economist's Voice, issue 3, volume 4
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Robert Stavins and Sheila Olmstead propose ways to modify the Kyoto Protocol for its second commitment period (2012–2016) so that it will provide a way forward that is scientifically sound, economically rational, and politically pragmatic.
2007
"Environmental Law and Policy"
Book Chapter
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
From The Handbook of Law and Economics, this chapter provides an economic perspective of environmental law and policy with regard to both normative and positive dimensions. The chapter examines in detail the means of environmental policy, that is, the choice of specific policy instruments, beginning with an examination of potential criteria for assessing alternative instruments, with particular focus on cost-effectiveness. Finally, the chapter turns to the question of how environmental responsibility is and should be allocated among the various levels of government.
