In his words, “Thank you for the invitation to speak at the Wilson Forum. I appreciate the opportunity. I want to discuss a challenge that underlies a good number of the current conversations around climate policy. Perhaps the highest-profile issue of the moment is expanding the infrastructure for transmitting and distributing electric power around Massachusetts so that the system can take in power from new solar and wind projects and distribute it to EV chargers and heat pumps. But what’s not talked about is a corresponding need on the other side of the ledger -- to contract the infrastructure for transmitting and distributing natural gas. As a matter of simple affordability, not to mention of greenhouse gas reduction, the dual imperatives to expand the distribution of clean electricity and contract the distribution of polluting natural gas are a matched set and need to move forward in tandem. I look forward to discussing with you how this might be done.”
Mike Barrett is the State Senator for Bedford, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Lincoln, Waltham, Weston, and large parts of Lexington. He serves as Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy. He also serves as Assistant Majority Leader of the Democrats in the State Senate. Mike was the chief architect of An Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy and An Act Driving Climate Policy and Offshore Wind. The bills became law in 2021 and 2022, respectively. By common agreement, they position Massachusetts among the leading states in the nation on steps taken to deal with global warming. Mike is a graduate of Harvard College and the Northeastern University School of Law, and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar. He’s married, lives in Lexington, and is the father of twin daughters.
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
On November 10th, Professor Chris Knittel of MIT’s Sloan School will speak on Climate Policy and The Electric Grid.
He will describe how markets work, generally, and the economics of climate change. He will address how different types of policies affect those market outcomes and discuss what the Inflation Reduction Act and the BiPartisan Infrastructure Law does and what we might expect from it in terms of impact of CO2 emissions. The economics of climate change and its impact on the electric grid and consumer costs will be considered. The following link would be useful preparation for this discussion: http://knittel.world
Christopher Knittel is the George P. Shultz Professor of Applied Economics in the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also the Director of MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research which has served as the hub for social science research on energy and the environmental since the late 1970s. Professor Knittel also co-directs of The E2e Project, a research initiative between MIT and UC Berkeley to undertake rigorous evaluation of energy efficiency investments. He joined the faculty at MIT in 2011, having taught previously at UC Davis and Boston University. Professor Knittel received his B.A. in economics and political science from the California State University, Stanislaus in 1994 (summa cum laude), an M.A. in economics from UC Davis in 1996, and a Ph.D. in economics from UC Berkeley in 1999. His research focuses on environmental economics, studying how firms and consumers respond to policies. He is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in the Productivity, Industrial Organization, and Energy and Environmental Economics groups. He is the co-editor of the Journal of Public Economics, and an associate editor of the Journal of Transportation Economics and Policy, and Journal of Energy Markets, having previously served as an associate editor of The American Economic Journal -- Economic Policy and The Journal of Industrial Economics. His research has appeared in The American Economic Review, The American Economic Journal, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The Journal of Industrial Economics, The Energy Journal and other academic journals.
Christopher Knittel is the George P. Shultz Professor of Applied Economics in the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also the Director of MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research which has served as the hub for social science research on energy and the environmental since the late 1970s. Professor Knittel also co-directs of The E2e Project, a research initiative between MIT and UC Berkeley to undertake rigorous evaluation of energy efficiency investments. He joined the faculty at MIT in 2011, having taught previously at UC Davis and Boston University. Professor Knittel received his B.A. in economics and political science from the California State University, Stanislaus in 1994 (summa cum laude), an M.A. in economics from UC Davis in 1996, and a Ph.D. in economics from UC Berkeley in 1999. His research focuses on environmental economics, studying how firms and consumers respond to policies. He is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in the Productivity, Industrial Organization, and Energy and Environmental Economics groups. He is the co-editor of the Journal of Public Economics, and an associate editor of the Journal of Transportation Economics and Policy, and Journal of Energy Markets, having previously served as an associate editor of The American Economic Journal -- Economic Policy and The Journal of Industrial Economics. His research has appeared in The American Economic Review, The American Economic Journal, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The Journal of Industrial Economics, The Energy Journal and other academic journals.
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