Energy and Environmental Policy Research
The future availability of natural resources, energy affordability and security, and the environmental consequences of our resource use are critical challenges for the 21st century. The development of China and India as major contributors to global energy demand, along with continuing instability in the Middle East, brings new concern to rising U.S. dependence on foreign oil and natural gas. Large steps have been taken to improve U.S. air and water quality, yet many people live in nonattainment areas for criteria air pollutants, and roughly half of our surface waters do not meet designated-use standards. Global climate change poses a serious threat to human and ecosystem health. Achieving a sustainable energy future and a clean environment, while balancing social, economic, and political factors, will require technological advances, changes in both consumer and firm behavior, and innovative local, national, and global policies.
Research Agenda
The basic goals of the Energy and Environmental Policy Research Program are to foster analysis of existing and alternative policies for meeting sustainable energy and environmental quality goals, to improve our understanding of how and why energy and environmental policy decisions are made, and to develop better techniques for analyzing policies. This research relies on a wide collection of methods, including statistical modeling, linear and nonlinear programming, simulation methods, economic and political theory, preference surveys, and market and decision-making experiments with financial incentives.
The Program is founded on the belief that energy and environmental policy must be viewed within the nexus of environmental quality, energy security, sustainable development, and economic growth. This requires careful consideration of preferences and behaviors of various entities, including consumers, stock holders, environmental managers, and policymakers. To address a broad array of topics, this Program draws on the faculty and staff of the UT Colleges of Business, Arts and Sciences, and Engineering as well as the research staff at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Since solutions will require industry to transform the way it produces and uses energy, the Program also develops strong ties with leaders from the private sector who want to distinguish themselves as advocates for a sustainable energy future and a clean environment.
Illustrative Projects
- Assessment of the market for “green” electricity, including estimation of household willingness to pay for green power, evaluation of programs that elicit payment for green power from households, and development and analysis of business and government incentive programs aimed at increasing the supply of green power.
- Assessments of current and future energy and GHG-reducing technologies in terms of their impacts on the economy and environment, barriers that may slow their introduction into the market, and the role of current and alternative public policies.
- Estimation of the cost of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power industry.
- Market efficiency and reliability of deregulated wholesale and retail electric power markets.
- Cost-benefit analysis of alternative policies (e.g. gasoline tax) for meeting National Ambient Air Quality Standards in nonattainment areas.
- Firm and consumer responses to public information disclosure programs such as the Toxic Release Inventory, Fuel Economy Information Program, and Energy Guide labeling programs.
