Decarbonizing the Industrial Sector: Policy Oversight

This event is a part of Energy Week at Penn, a week of energy-focused events across Penn’s campus. Browse and register for other Energy Week events: energyweek.upenn.edu

Please join us for a reception at the Kleinman Center following the talk!

The Biden administration is presiding over a fundamental shift in climate policy strategy, having embraced a series of incentive-based industrial policy measures as the primary means by which to accelerate the clean energy transition. The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are mobilizing massive public and private capital flows, but the mechanisms by which these laws are transforming the investment landscape involve distinct legal authorities and institutional capacities that are distributed across state and federal agencies. The resulting system of governance is fragmented and under-theorized in the research community. As the initial implementation of tax credits and investment programs rolls out, this talk aims to categorize the different mechanisms of policy interventions and identify key research needs to inform an evidence-based strategy for implementing green industrial policy.

Speaker

Danny Cullenward is a climate economist and lawyer focused on the design and implementation of scientifically grounded climate policy. His book, Making Climate Policy Work (with David G. Victor), shows how political forces make green industrial policy more effective than carbon pricing.

Cullenward is a Senior Fellow with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, a Research Fellow with the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at American University, and the Vice Chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee. He previously held research and teaching appointments at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Carnegie Institution for Science, and Stanford University.

His academic research has been published in Science and Nature as well as top field journals in ecology, energy economics, and climate policy. He has been involved in dozens of legal and public policy processes with state, federal, international, and private sector regulators, and has given invited expert testimony at nine legislative hearings in California. His research, public policy analysis, and commentary is often featured in leading media outlets, including nationally televised segments on HBO and CBS News.

Cullenward holds a JD from Stanford Law School and a PhD in Environment and Resources from Stanford University, where he also earned an MS in Management Science and Engineering and a BS with interdisciplinary honors in Earth Systems.

Find full bios and event details at the Energy Week at Penn website.

Please note this is an in-person event. We look forward to welcoming guests to the Kleinman Center’s Energy Forum.

Please join us for a reception following the event!