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
May / June 2008
"Climate Policy Architectures for the Post-Kyoto World"
Journal Article, Environment, issue 3, volume 50
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 global climate has changed and will continue to change as a result of greenhouse gas emissions from a broad variety of human activities. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change determined that 'most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations.' If greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow unabated, the global average temperature will likely increase between 1.1°C and 6.4°C. This warming will unleash a myriad of impacts, the vast majority of which will adversely affect water availability, agricultural and forestry productivity, the spread of infectious diseases, extreme weather events, unique ecosystems and rare species, and the built environment in coastal areas. The risks of global climate change clearly necessitate an international effort."
July 29, 2006
The Effects of Economic and Policy Incentives on Carbon Mitigation Technologies
Journal Article, Energy Economics, volume 28
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
The ability to estimate the likely effects of potential climate change policies on energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions requires an improved understanding of the relationship between different policy alternatives and energy-saving and GHG-reducing changes in technology.
May 2006
"An International Policy Architecture for the Post-Kyoto Era"
Journal Article, American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, issue 2, volume 96
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
We describe the basic features of a post-Kyoto international global climate agreement, which addresses three crucial questions: who, when, and how. The respective elements are: first, a means to ensure that key nations-- industrialized and developing-- are involved; second, an emphasis on an extended time path of action (employing a cost-effective pattern over time); and third, inclusion of market-based policy instruments.
2006
"Land-Use Change and Carbon Sinks: Econometric Estimation of the Carbon Sequestration Supply Function"
Journal Article, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, volume 51
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Investigates the cost of forest-based carbon sequestration by analyzing econometrically micro-data on revealed landowner preferences, modeling six major private land uses in a comprehensive analysis of the contiguous United States.
2005
"Using Revealed Preferences to Infer Environmental Benefits: Evidence from Recreational Fishing Licenses"
Journal Article, Journal of Regulatory Economics, issue 2, volume 28
By Alexander Wagner, Former Research Fellow, Environment and Natural Resources Program, 2002-2003 and Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Econometric results lead to estimates of the benefits of a fishing license, and subsequently to the expected benefits of a recreational fishing day.Our findings show substantial variation in the value of a recreational fishing day across geographic areas in the United States.
December 2004
"Forging a More Effective Global Climate Treaty"
Journal Article, Environment, issue 46
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Written shortly before the Kytoto Protocol went into force, the article looks ahead to a more effective approach.
September 9, 2003
Thirteen Plus One: A Comparison of Global Climate Policy Architectures
Journal Article, Climate Policy, issue 4, volume 3
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, Joseph E. Aldy, Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements and Scott Barrett
A critical review of the Kyoto Protocol and thirteen alternative policy architectures for addressing the threat of global climate change.
2003
"Increasing Participation and Compliance in International Climate Change Agreements"
Journal Article, International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, volume 3
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Assesses from an economics perspective policy approaches to increasing participation and compliance in international climate agreements.
2000
"Climate Change and Forest Sinks: Factors Affecting the Costs of Carbon Sequestration"
Journal Article, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Examines the sensitivity of carbon sequestration costs to changes in critical factors, including the nature of management and deforestation regimes, silvicultural species, relative prices, and discount rates.
September 1999
"The Costs of Carbon Sequestration: A Revealed-Preference Approach"
Journal Article, American Economic Review, issue 4, volume 89
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Increased attention by policy makers to the threat of global climate change has brought with it considerable attention to the possibility of encouraging the growth of forests as a means of sequestering carbon dioxide. This paper demonstrates a methodology whereby reliable estimates of the costs of carbon sequestration can be developed on the basis of revealed-preference evidence from observations of landowners' behavior when confronted with the opportunity costs of alternative land uses.
