Environmental Policy

Call for Proposals: The Economics of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS)

Dec. 1, 2021
Long-run climate change mitigation projections made by institutions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to national and sub-national governments suggest that carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) may play a key role in achieving mid- and late-century decarbonization goals. We are issuing this call for proposals on CCUS economics and policy. We invite prospective authors to submit proposals for new, original research papers on any aspect of CCUS economics and policy by Friday, Feb. 11, 2022.

LBJ explores how cities are using the UN climate conference as a chance to fight climate change through food policy

Nov. 8, 2021
LBJ Professor Raj Patel's latest Policy Research Project (PRP) investigates how some cities are using the UN Climate Change Conference as an opportunity to innovate by linking their food and climate policies, leading the way on these critical issues and putting pressure on national governments to step up.

Report: California can do more to protect citizens from extreme heat

Oct. 27, 2021
A comprehensive statewide approach would better protect Californians from the Golden State’s deadliest climate change side effect: extreme heat. That's according to Adapting to Extreme Heat in California: Assessing Gaps in State-level Policies & Funding Opportunities, a new study by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.

Mary F. Evans

Professor of Public Affairs

Mary F. Evans's primary research and teaching interests are in the field of environmental economics. In her research, she explores issues related to the enforcement of and compliance with environmental regulations. Her past research has examined how individual characteristics, in particular age, health status, and family structure, affect the willingness to pay for reductions in mortality risks associated with improved environmental quality.

Previously Dr. Evans was the Jerrine and Thomas Mitchell '66 Professor of Environmental Economics and George R. Roberts Fellow in the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at Claremont McKenna College.

Her research has been published in the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Public Economics, the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists and the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, among other journals. Dr. Evans received the 2016 Ralph C. d'Arge and Allen V. Kneese Award for Outstanding Publication in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists for her paper "The Clean Air Act Watch List: An Enforcement and Compliance Natural Experiment." Her research has been funded by the EPA and the John Randolph and Dora Haynes Foundation.

Dr. Evans is vice president of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) and a features editor for the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy (REEP). She is also on the editorial board for the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (JEEM).

A federal tax credit could incentivize (and accelerate) the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

July 14, 2021
A current federal tax credit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by storing carbon dioxide from industrial sources could be critical to help the U.S. reach end of decade carbon neutrality targets while yielding economic benefits, particularly on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast, according to a study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin published today in Energy Policy .

Sheila Olmstead, Andrew Waxman, Ben Leibowicz lead team awarded $850,000 to study the economics of carbon capture and storage

June 18, 2021
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded a team led by LBJ School Professor of Public Affairs Sheila Olmstead a $850,000 grant to study the economics of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). The three-year project is a unique collaboration between social science scholars at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Wyoming, supported by physical science experts at UT's Bureau of Economic Geology. It will not only develop and complete four projects on the economics of CCUS, but will also create an interdisciplinary research network to engage further study.

Surveying the landscape: LBJ's Bixler develops an interactive map of the Texas Water Policy System

May 25, 2021
RGK Center faculty and staff are collaborating with Texas Water Foundation to develop an interactive map of the Texas water systems landscape. The Texas Water Systems Map is the first comprehensive policy system map of the Texas water sector and will help equip decision-makers and stakeholders with the knowledge to better understand the complex water landscape at the state and local levels.

Protecting local water can help slow climate change and provide trillions of dollars in benefits

May 14, 2021
A new paper in the May issue of Nature Communications demonstrates why reducing nutrient pollution in local lakes and other waterbodies produces economic benefits globally: Reducing water pollution can help slow climate change and provide trillions of dollars in benefits.

Oil and gas boom, industrial growth could mean significant new climate emissions, study finds

Jan. 14, 2020
New research from The University of Texas at Austin finds industrial buildout in oil, gas and petrochemical sectors in the U.S. Gulf Coast and Southwest regions could generate more than half a billion tons of additional greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2030. That figure is equivalent to 8 percent of total current annual U.S. emissions. These emissions are driven by the regions’ oil and gas boom, and a substantial fraction comes from large industrial facilities such as new petrochemical plants, liquefied natural gas export terminals and refineries. The vast majority of these emissions will come from Texas and Louisiana.
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