Climate
It is impossible to discuss energy without acknowledging the climate impact of the way we power our buildings, cities, vehicles, and industries. As we imagine our energy future, we must do so with the recognition that climate change will transform how we move and power our lives.
Recent Work
Climate Change and Migration in Central America: Evidence from New Environmental Event Data
Using new AI-driven data from 25 million news articles, this study maps climate adaptation and disaster impacts across Central America, revealing how drought, storms, and rising food prices shape when, and whether, people migrate toward the U.S.
Policy Design Issues for Border Carbon Adjustments
Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) are an increasingly popular climate policy tool, with the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism set to take full effect in 2026. This brief explores the complex policy design issues entailed in BCAs, and how to make them work.
Emissions
Cooling People, Not Spaces: Surmounting the Risks of Air-Conditioning Over-Reliance
The growing global demand for air conditioning is exacerbating carbon emissions. This trend will intensify unless alternative solutions are sought and massively adopted. Solutions already exist and new ones are emerging, but face barriers including technology, building design, education, finance, and policy.
The Net-Zero Governance Conveyor Belt
While the proliferation of net-zero targets represents progress toward reaching our global climate goals, targets vary enormously in quality. This report proposes four governance tools to steer net-zero targets toward higher integrity.
Featured Researcher
Oscar Serpell
Deputy DirectorOscar Serpell oversees all student programming, alumni engagement, faculty and student grants, and visiting scholars. He is also a researcher, writer, and policy analyst working on research initiatives with students and Center partners.
Featured Researcher
Michael E. Mann
Presidential Distinguished ProfessorMichael E. Mann is the Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science. He is a faculty fellow with the Kleinman Center and the director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media (PCSSM).
Featured Researcher
Heather Boushey
Professor of PracticeHeather Boushey is a professor of practice at the Kleinman Center. Boushey served in the Biden administration as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist to the President’s Investing in America cabinet.
Featured Researcher
Danny Cullenward
Senior FellowDanny Cullenward is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center. He is an economist and lawyer focused on the scientific integrity of climate policy with additional appointments at the Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal at American University and Google.
Featured Researcher
Carolyn Kousky
Senior FellowCarolyn Kousky is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center and the founder of Insurance for Good. She is also Associate Vice President for Economics and Policy at Environmental Defense Fund.
Featured Researcher
Scott Moore
Managing Director, Penn GlobalScott Moore is a faculty fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and Managing Director of Global Initiatives, Research, and Strategy. He is also a practice professor of political science.
Featured Researcher
John Quigley
Senior FellowJohn Quigley is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center and previously served on the Center's Advisory Board. He served as Secretary of the PA Department of Environmental Protection and of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Featured Researcher
R. Jisung Park
Assistant ProfessorR. Jisung Park is an environmental and labor economist. He is a faculty fellow at the Kleinman Center and an assistant professor, with a primary appointment at the School of Policy and Practice and a secondary appointment at the Wharton School.
Featured Researcher
Arthur van Benthem
Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public PolicyArthur van Benthem is an expert in environmental and energy economics, exploring the economic efficiency of energy policy. He is a faculty fellow at the Kleinman Center and an associate professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at Wharton.
Featured Researcher
Jennifer Wilcox
Presidential Distinguished ProfessorJen Wilcox is Presidential Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Energy Policy. She previously served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the Department of Energy.
Featured Researcher
Andy Stone
Energy Policy Now Host and ProducerAndy Stone is producer and host of Energy Policy Now, the Kleinman Center’s podcast series. He previously worked in business planning with PJM Interconnection and was a senior energy reporter at Forbes Magazine.
Featured Researcher
Kristina Lyons
Assistant Professor of AnthropologyKristina Lyons is an assistant professor of anthropology in the School of Arts and Sciences and the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities (PPEH) at the University of Pennsylvania.
Featured Researcher
Cornelia Colijn
Executive DirectorCornelia Colijn is the executive director of the Kleinman Center. She envisions, plans, and manages all center programming, while building connections with students, faculty, and leaders in the energy industry.
People
- Parrish Bergquist
- Eugenie Birch
- Heather Boushey
- William Braham
- Stephanie Carlisle
- Cornelia Colijn
- Danny Cullenward
- Jesús Fernández-Villaverde
- Mark Alan Hughes
- Carolyn Kousky
- Sarah Light
- Kristina Lyons
- Michael E. Mann
- Ioana Marinescu
- Irina Marinov
- Scott Moore
- R. Jisung Park
- John Quigley
- Megan Ryerson
- Oscar Serpell
- Andy Stone
- Arthur van Benthem
- Erik Wibbels
- Bethany Wiggin
- Jennifer Wilcox