Areas of Focus / Research Topic

Climate Law & Policy

The U.S. Supreme Court, where climate law and policies are debated and enacted.The global community took a historic step toward confronting climate change with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. But now, it is up to each country to fulfill its pledges through a mix of climate policies and technologies. As countries, states, and cities pursue different approaches to reducing their emissions, they are also creating a rich body of information for researchers to explore to determine which climate laws and policies are most effective.

EPIC scholars are working to produce the world’s most robust valuation of the social cost of carbon, taking into account the latest available science. Policymakers can use the social cost of carbon (a measure of the costs to society from each additional ton of carbon dioxide emitted) to get a more informed picture of the true costs and benefits of a given climate policy. They are doing so while working with the UChicago Law School’s Abrams Environmental Clinic to provide important justification for the use of the social cost of carbon in rulemaking across the U.S. government, as well as when creating or extending new or existing federal fossil fuel leases. As they assess the costs and benefits of these climate policies using the social cost of carbon as a guide, such as cap-and-trade and carbon taxes lead in efficiency. EPIC researchers are also studying whether border adjustment taxes will be necessary to increase political support for carbon taxes, and how to implement them with minimal economic cost.

Associated Scholars

Visiting & Non-Resident Scholars

Steve Cicala

Associate Professor of Economics, Tufts University; Non-Resident Scholar, EPIC
Scholar

Michael Greenstone

Founding Director, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth; Director, EPIC
EPIC Scholar

Amir Jina

Assistant Professor, Harris School of Public Policy
EPIC Scholar

Hajin Kim

Assistant Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School

Joshua C. Macey

Assistant Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
EPIC Scholar

Robert Rosner

William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor in the departments of Astronomy & Astrophysics and Physics; Founding Co-Director, EPIC
Visiting & Non-Resident Scholars

Anant Sudarshan

Faculty Member, Department of Economics at the University of Warwick; Non-Resident Scholar, EPIC
EPIC Scholar

Mark Templeton

Clinical Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School; Director, Abrams Environmental Law Clinic
EPIC Scholar

Robert H. Topel

Founding Co-Director, EPIC; Isadore Brown and Gladys J. Brown Distinguished Service Professor, Booth School of Business
EPIC Scholar

David Weisbach

Director, Chicago Curriculum on Climate and Sustainable Growth; Walter J. Blum Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School

Associated Research

Working Paper·Nov 8, 2024

Industrial Policies and Innovation: Evidence from the Global Automobile Industry

Topics: Climate Change, Climate Law & Policy
Journal Article·May 5, 2024

The Economics of the Global Energy Challenge

Topics: Climate Change, Climate Law & Policy, Electric Power, Energy Efficiency, Energy Markets, Renewable Energy
Working Paper·Dec 11, 2023

Impacts of the Jones Act on U.S. Petroleum Markets

Topics: Climate Change, Climate Economics, Climate Law & Policy, Energy Markets, Fossil Fuels, Transportation