Energy and the Environment

Energy and the Environment

At the intersection of physical sciences and policy, our researchers work to find solutions for hunger, environmental degradation, emerging energy markets and more.

Research Spotlight

Landscape aerial view of Haikou City, China.

Governing Policy Experiments in Chinese Cities: Lessons on Effective Climate Mitigation

Case studies on Chinese cities indicates that political leadership is critical in achieving progress on decarbonization and that combining policy coherence with local priorities is key to maintaining climate priorities over the long-term.

A worker stands in the foreground of a brick kiln in Bangladesh under a heavily polluted sky.

Reducing Emissions and Air Pollution from Informal Brick Kilns: Evidence from Bangladesh

Researchers offer data-backed interventions that can improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions in "zigzag” brick kilns in Bangladesh while also decreasing fuel costs and increasing brick quality.

An example of a desalination plant in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.

Thinking Outside the Basin: Evaluating Israel’s Desalinated Climate Resilience Strategy

Israel’s experience demonstrates how inter-basin desalination transfers can strengthen water security and offer a replicable framework for other regions confronting climate-induced scarcity.

Featured Scholars

https://fse.fsi.stanford.edu/people/jennifer_burney

Jennifer Burney

Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Deputy Director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment

Jennifer Burney Full Bio

https://fse.fsi.stanford.edu/people/david_lobell

David Lobell

Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Director, Center on Food Security and the Environment

David Lobell Full Bio

https://fse.fsi.stanford.edu/people/rosamond_l_naylor

Rosamond Naylor

Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

William Wrigley Professor of Earth System Science

Rosamond Naylor Full Bio

https://pesd.fsi.stanford.edu/people/frank_wolak

Frank Wolak

Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Director, Program on Energy and Sustainable Development

Frank Wolak Full Bio

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Publications

Journal Articles

An Ecosystem Service Perspective on Urban Nature, Physical Activity, and Health

PNAS, 2021

Is the Raw Coal Ban a Silver Bullet to Solving Air Pollution in Mongolia?

Princeton University Journal of International and Public Affairs, 2021

Books

Volume 5: A Cultural History of the Sea in the Age of Empire (1800-1920) | Edited by Margaret Cohen

2021

Policy Briefs

Tracking China's Economic Path

2021

Journal Articles

Socio-technical multi-criteria evaluation of long-term spent nuclear fuel management strategies: A framework and method

Science of The Total Environment, 2021

Journal Articles

Coastal Vulnerability to Climate Change in China’s Bohai Economic Rim

Environment International, 2021

Journal Articles

The changing risk and burden of wildfire in the United States

PNAS, 2021

Journal Articles

Valuing Natural Capital amidst Rapid Urbanization: Assessing the Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) of China’s ‘Chang-Zhu-Tan' Megacity

Environmental Research Letters, 2020

Journal Articles

Mapping Crop Types in Southeast India with Smartphone Crowdsourcing and Deep Learning

Remote Sensing, 2020

Reports

SIPR Spring 2020

2020

Journal Articles

Ecosystem Restoration on Hainan Island: Can We Optimize for Enhancing Regulating Services and Poverty Alleviation?

Environmental Research Letters, 2020

Journal Articles

Water-food-energy challenges in India: political economy of the sugar industry

Environmental Research Letters, 2020

Journal Articles

Fight fire with finance: a randomize field experiment to curtail land-clearing fire in Indonesia

American Economic Association Registry, 2020

Working Papers

Market Design in a Zero Marginal Cost Intermittent Renewable Future

Program on Energy and Sustainable Development, 2020

Conference Memos

Leak Detection and Repair in the Russian Federation and the United States: Possibilities for Convergence

The Stanford US-Russia Journal, 2020

Conference Memos

Feasibility Assessment of Microgrid Wind Energy Systems: Implementation of TASED in the Arctic Regions of Yamal and Murmansk

The Stanford US-Russia Journal, 2020

Working Papers

COVID-19 Incidence and the Timing of Quarantine Measures and Travel Restrictions: A Cross-country Analysis

Asia Health Policy Program working paper # 58, 2020

Journal Articles

Using Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) to Value Nature In Decision Making

PNAS, 2020

Significance
To achieve sustainable development, there is a pressing need to move beyond conventional economic measures like gross domestic product (GDP). We develop gross ecosystem product (GEP), a measure that summarizes the value of the contributions of nature to economic activity. We illustrate the calculation of GEP in Qinghai Province, China, to show that the approach is tractable both across China and globally. Known as the water tower of Asia, Qinghai is the source of the Mekong, Yangtze, and Yellow Rivers and nearly two-thirds of GEP derives from water-related values. GEP was greater than GDP in Qinghai in 2000, and was three-fourths as large as GDP in 2015. China is using GEP to guide investments in ecosystem conservation and restoration.

Abstract
Gross domestic product (GDP) summarizes a vast amount of economic information in a single monetary metric that is widely used by decision makers around the world. However, GDP fails to capture fully the contributions of nature to economic activity and human well-being. To address this critical omission, we develop a measure of gross ecosystem product (GEP) that summarizes the value of ecosystem services in a single monetary metric. We illustrate the measurement of GEP through an application to the Chinese province of Qinghai, showing that the approach is tractable using available data. Known as the “water tower of Asia,” Qinghai is the source of the Mekong, Yangtze, and Yellow Rivers, and indeed, we find that water-related ecosystem services make up nearly two-thirds of the value of GEP for Qinghai. Importantly most of these benefits accrue downstream. In Qinghai, GEP was greater than GDP in 2000 and three-fourths as large as GDP in 2015 as its market economy grew. Large-scale investment in restoration resulted in improvements in the flows of ecosystem services measured in GEP (127.5%) over this period. Going forward, China is using GEP in decision making in multiple ways, as part of a transformation to inclusive, green growth. This includes investing in conservation of ecosystem assets to secure provision of ecosystem services through transregional compensation payments.

Working Papers

Energy and the Environment

Research Spotlight

Governing Policy Experiments in Chinese Cities: Lessons on Effective Climate Mitigation

Reducing Emissions and Air Pollution from Informal Brick Kilns: Evidence from Bangladesh