Research

Pulling the levers of change

 

We focus on energy responses to the climate crisis, across policy-making scales. We draw on quantitative and qualitative methods, combining large datasets, community knowledge, and systems modeling. Our comprehensive approach lets us assess and track the multi-dimensional impacts of human energy use and identify strategies to reduce these impacts.

 

Major themes in our work:

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Fossil fuel phaseout

We use systems modeling and detailed datasets on energy infrastructure to explore pathways to phasing down the use of coal, gas, and oil.

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Equity & Justice

We use systems modeling and geospatial analysis to understand the distributional impacts of current and future energy infrastructure.

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novel technologies

We develop modeling tools to explore the potential emissions reductions and other societal effects of new climate-mitigating technologies.

Our approach


Systems modeling

We use integrated assessment and systems modeling approaches to explore the effects of energy and climate policies on emissions reductions and other societal outcomes, with a focus on using new datasets to increase the technological realism in these models.

Spatial data analysis

We use novel energy and environmental datasets to quantify and map the impacts of energy use and explore the distribution of system costs (i.e., emissions and human health impacts) and benefits (i.e., investments in low-carbon energy technologies).

Technology evaluation

We develop methods that bridge technology evaluation with local, regional, and global environmental targets, with an emphasis on translating the results of systems modelings into metrics and other tools that are relevant for technology investment and policy.

Community engagement

We collaborate with communities, nonprofits, and policymakers to develop decision-relevant tools to support emissions reductions and energy transitions; we draw on methods from policy analysis, conduct interviews, and engage in action research.

Why this work matters

Science and policy for energy and climate transitions

All of us have something to contribute to addressing the climate crisis. Here at the Climate Action Lab, we work on answering hard questions at the intersection of science and policy. Along the way, we build and apply systems models, analyze messy datasets, and develop community partnerships.