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Climate & Carbon Sciences Program
The research mission of the Climate & Carbon Sciences Program is to advance the understanding and prediction of multiscale climate dynamics, abrupt and extreme climate events, terrestrial feedbacks to climate change, and their impacts on energy and water resources.
Faculty by Primary Interest
Areas of Interest Climate ChangeEcologyEnergyGovernanceWaterInternational Climate Change ERG CORE David Anthoff David Anthoff is an environmental economist who studies climate change and environmental policy. He co-develops the integrated assessment model ... Continue Reading »
Affiliated Faculty
ERG has a small core faculty but a much larger group of affiliated faculty. Affiliated faculty are based in other departments on campus or at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, ... Continue Reading »
Courses
All Course Offerings Please note: This is a full list of ERG course offerings; not all courses are offered each term. For current course offerings, please refer to the online ... Continue Reading »
Publications
“Biodiversity Scales from Plots to Biomes With a Universal Species-Area Curve” John Harte, Adam B. Smith, and David Storch“Carbon Cycle Uncertainty Increases Climate Change Risks and Mitigation Challenges” Paul A. ... Continue Reading »
Renewable & Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL)
RAEL is engaged in projects to develop the science, technology, policy needs and to foster engagements that explore the future of energy, specifically the transition to a low-cabon, environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable energy system.
Summer Instructors
The Energy and Resources Group summer instructors understand the complex and interdisciplinary nature of sustainability. All have significant experience teaching and/or professional experience in the subject areas of their courses. ... Continue Reading »
Undergraduate Minor in Energy and Resources
The Minor in Energy and Resources offers undergraduates basic knowledge and skills to address issues arising from the interaction of social, economic, political, technical, and environmental factors shaping our world. ... Continue Reading »
Minor/Certificate in Sustainability — Courses
Summer 2022 Curriculum ERG’s minor and certificate require a minimum of five courses and 15 total units of coursework, completed over one or two summers (or for a UC Berkeley ... Continue Reading »
Faculty (2 results)
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Meg Mills-Novoa
Assistant Professor
Meg Mills-Novoa is a human-environment geographer who researches the enduring impacts of climate change adaptation projects. She is jointly appointed to the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management.
- climate change adaptation
- critical development studies
- Deforestation
- Latin America
- participatory mixed methods
- political ecology of global change
- water justice
Margaret Torn
Adjunct Professor
The focus of my work is carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and trace-gas flux between soil and atmosphere. I conduct research on soil carbon, global change, and the impacts of human activities on ecosystem processes.
Students (13 results)
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Ryan Jones
PhD
Ryan has spent the last decade developing modeling tools to explore technology pathways for deep decarbonization with special focus on electricity systems. His current research works to incorporate additional dimensions ... Continue Reading »
Cora Kingdon
MS, PhD
Cora Kingdon is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG) at UC Berkeley. Cora is interested in studying the distributional impacts of decision making under deep uncertainty ... Continue Reading »
Lynn Shiyayo
MS
Lynn is a MS student and researcher in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research lies at the intersection of transportation, climate, and equity ... Continue Reading »
- Air Pollution Modelling
- climate
- development
- ecology / environmental science
- economics
- energy
- Environmental / Climate Equity
- transportation
- transportation and land use planning
- urban planning
Kate Cullen
PhD
Kate’s PhD research examines the role of climate change in exacerbating water stress and food insecurity in urbanized and highly irrigated basins in the Andes mountains. Her research builds upon ... Continue Reading »
Jessica Katz
MS
Siting Renewable Energy in a Changing Climate: A Reimagining of BLM’s Solar Energy Zones (MS ’20) At ERG, Jessica is focusing on learning advanced methods to comprehensively evaluate the ecological, ... Continue Reading »
Nancy Freitas
MS, PhD
Arctic Lake Emissions in a Warming World (MS ’20) At ERG, Nancy research focuses on identifying existing gaps in climate science and decision-making. In her master’s research, she used a ... Continue Reading »
Gauthami Penakalapati
MS, PhD
Evaluation of Social Networks and Measures of Empowerment Among Adolescent Girls in Uttar Pradesh, India (MS ’19) Gauthami’s interdisciplinary research intersects global health, feminist theory, science technology studies, social network ... Continue Reading »
- community-based and participatory methods
- development
- GIS
- qualitative methods
- sanitation
- social network analysis
- spatial analysis
- urban planning
- water
- Water Group
Jesse Strecker
MA, MPP
Evaluating the Role of Labor Unions in the Politics of Decarbonization: Insights from Political Economy and Socio-Technical Transition Studies (MA ’19) Jesse is a student in the concurrent Master’s degree ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- democracy
- development
- ecological economics
- ecology
- economics
- energy
- environmental justice
- governance
- Heterodox Economics
Nicholas Depsky
MS, PhD
Drought in Central America: Past Patterns and Future Projections (MS ’19) Nick’s primary research focus is on the impacts of climate change on human migration and displacement. Specific focus areas ... Continue Reading »
Lisa Rennels
MS, PhD
Sobol Sensitivity Analysis for Integrated Assessment Models: Supporting Result Characterization (MS ’19) Lisa is interested in using computer science to explore issues related to the economic impacts of climate change, ... Continue Reading »
Hilary Yu
MS
Mining Data on Reclaimed Coal Mines: a Machine Learning Approach to Assessing Habitat Suitability (MS ’18) Hilary received her B.A. in Government and Biological Sciences, with a concentration in Ecology ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- development
- ecology
- economics
- energy
- environmental justice
- Science and Law
- sustainable development
- water
Dennis Best
MS, PhD
Dennis has focused his career on technology and sustainability policy in emerging and developing economies. His research interests include technology and innovation policy and impacts to resource and rural development, ... Continue Reading »
- Agriculture
- China
- climate
- economics
- energy
- energy policy
- environmental markets and design
- geospatial analysis
- industrial ecology
- Innovation systems
- rural development
- South East Asia and Latin America
- technology policy
Váleri Vásquez
MS, PhD
Váleri Vásquez is a PhD candidate in the Energy and Resources Group with a Designated Emphasis in Computational Data Science and Engineering. Váleri conducts most of her work in the ... Continue Reading »
Alumni (21 results)
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Karina French
MA
Karina is focused on urban climate resilience, specifically studying how climate impacts will affect social infrastructure systems that protect vulnerable populations in cities. At ERG, she is interested in the ... Continue Reading »
Zeke Hausfather
PhD
Understanding and Reconciling Global Temperature Records (PhD ’19) Zeke is an energy systems analyst and data scientist with a strong interest in climate science and policy. He is currently the ... Continue Reading »
Emma Shepherdson
MS
Understanding feed’s climate impacts on beef production through the lens of three different beef production systems in the United States (MS, ’12)
- climate change
- food distribution
- social and corporate change via non-profit or government organizations
- sustainability
Nate Aden
MS, PhD
Taking the Man Out of Manufacturing: Drivers and Components of Industrial Sector Low-Carbon Transformation (PhD ’17) Nate Aden completed his PhD at the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley and is ... Continue Reading »
Michelle Levinson
MA, MPP
Harnessing Financial Motivation to Drive Transportation Electrification: a Resource for Electric Utility Regulators (MA ’19) Michelle is a concurrent degree student at the Goldman School of Public Policy and the ... Continue Reading »
- climate change
- economics
- energy
- Policy analysis
- project development and project finance
- transportation
- utility regulation and finance
Catherine Ledna
MS, PhD
Modeling Adaption to Sea Level Rise Under Uncertainty (MS ’19) Catherine received a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College, with a minor in Environmental Studies. Prior to coming to ERG, ... Continue Reading »
Joseph Rand
MS
Environmental, Economic, and Social Trade-Offs of Hydropower Relicensing (MS ’16) Joseph is interested in the social, environmental, and economic trade-offs in energy development, and in particular the social conflicts arising ... Continue Reading »
Felipe Castro
PhD
On Rate Regulation in Modern Electricity Sectors (PhD ’17) Felipe was a Ph.D. Candidate with ERG. His research seeks to improve the understanding and organization of energy systems, leveraging methods, ... Continue Reading »
- computational optimization
- EMAC
- energy policy
- industrial organizations
- mathematical programming
- microeconomics
- operations research
- Power Systems
Daniel Aas
MA, MPP
Greater than the Sum of Their Parts? Political Impacts of State Climate Policies in the Face of Partisan Polarization (MA/MPP ’17) Dan completed concurrent degrees at the Goldman School of ... Continue Reading »
- "Utility Regulation Distributed Energy Resources Electricity Markets Climate Policy "
- economics
- energy
Ian Bolliger
MS, PhD
Monitoring and Projecting the Impacts of Climate Change with Emerging Environmental Datasets and Machine Learning (PhD ’20) Ian works to provide decision-makers with quantitative, high-resolution projections of the socioeconomic impacts ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- economics
- energy
- Global Policy Laboratory
- health impacts of climate change
- machine learning
- remote sensing
- spatial statistics
- tropical cyclones
- water
Adrienne Marshall
MS
Adrienne works on climate change adaptation and mitigation in the public and private forests and wild lands of California. She is interested in understanding how the natural resources in these ... Continue Reading »
- California ecosystems
- climate change
- climate change adaptation
- ecology
- Harte Lab
- land use politics
- riparian and aquatic ecosystems
- water
Monkgogi Otlhogile
MA
Monkgogi (who goes by MK) was born and raised in Botswana and recently graduated cum laude with her BA from Scripps College in Environment, Economics, and Politics. Personally, MK has ... Continue Reading »
Amber Kerr
PhD
Drought resilience of maize-legume agroforestry systems in Malawi (PhD ’12) Amber Kerr is an agricultural ecologist focusing on climate change impacts and adaptation. She has studied nutrient cycling in California ... Continue Reading »
Jennifer Dunne
PhD
Climate Change Impacts on Community and Ecosystem Properties: Integrating Manipulations and Gradient Studies in Montane Meadows (’00 Ph.D.)
Laura Schewel
MA, PhD
Shop ‘Till We Drop: A Historical and Policy Analysis of Goods Movement in the U.S. (MS ’11) Transportation Behavioral Data and Climate Change (PhD ’20) Laura studies the environmental impacts ... Continue Reading »
Jessica Reilly
MS, PhD
Jess studies the impact of and adaptation to climate change on Latin America’s coasts. Currently, she travels on her 39-foot sailboat, Oleada, down the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central ... Continue Reading »
- climate adaptation
- coastal resilience
- GIS
- international development
- narratives as science
- renewable energy mapping
- rural resources
- Science communication
- visual media
Lara Cushing
MA, MPH, PhD
Lara is interested in the relationship between social inequalities and the environment, including how environmental and social stressors interact to impact health. Her work seeks to better understand the disproportionate ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- Community-based participatory research
- Environmental health
- environmental justice
- GIS
- Social Epidemiology
Danielle Svehla Christianson
MS, PhD
At times the problem of understanding phenomena is one of seeing. That is why Danielle explores new ways of demystifying complexity through visual representation. She seeks new techniques to illustrate often-forgotten, yet fundamental dependencies between human society and the natural world. One such technique is terrestrial laser scanning (also known as LIDAR), which she used to create a 3-D model of her ecological study site in the Sierra Nevada. This along with her seedling research seeks to inform the uncertain future of resource management.
Zoë Chafe
MPH, MS, PhD
Dr. Chafe works at the intersections of public health, air pollution, climate change, and energy use. She holds a PhD from the Energy and Resources Group (ERG), as well as ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- climate change and public health
- co-benefits (ancillary benefits) of climate change mitigation
- development
- energy
- energy transitions and impacts on air pollution
- heating and cooking with solid fuels
- household energy policy options
- Household energy use trends
- short-lived greenhouse pollutants
Anne-Perrine Avrin
MS, PhD
Designing and Adapting Appropriate Socio-technical Systems for the Renewable Energy Transition (PhD ’18) Anne-Perrine is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group and a research fellow within the ... Continue Reading »
- Energy economics
- Energy modeling
- Nuclear desalination
- Nuclear energy
- Planning electric power systems in developing and emerging countries
- RAEL
- water-energy nexus
Nkiruka Avila
MS, PhD
Designing and Adapting Appropriate Socio-Technical Systems for the Renewable Energy Transition (PhD ’18) Nkiruka has expertise in solar grid integration and climate policy in California, and in electricity access in ... Continue Reading »
News (26 results)
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Adaptation for Climate Change Impacts Researched by ERG Student Szinai and Professor Jones
February 16, 2021
ERG PhD student Julia Szinai and assistant adjunct professor Andrew Jones were recently featured in AGU news for their research on evaluating cross-sectoral impacts of climate change and adaptations on the energy-water nexus. “How we adapt to climate change in the water sector can exacerbate or offset impacts on the grid,” Szinai states. “And so those interactions shouldn’t be ignored in planning.”
Alumni ERG Students
January 21, 2021
Current ERG PhD student Julia Szinai, alumnus Ranjit Deshmukh, ERG professor Dan Kammen, and assistant adjunct professor Andrew Jones were recently featured by UCSB for their leading research in "Power, Water and Climate". Working with researchers from UC Santa Barbara and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, they developed "a framework evaluating the impacts of climate change on California’s water and energy systems".
ERG Professor Kueppers’ Research on Climate-Threatened Forests Published in Science
June 5, 2020
ERG Professor Lara Kueppers recently co-authored a research paper titled "Pervasive shifts in forest dynamics in a changing world". The research focuses on how global warming negatively impacts forests around the world, "resulting in shorter and younger trees with broad impacts on global ecosystems." Furthermore, the paper was picked up on various media sources, including Forbes, Science, Berkeley Lab, and others.
ERG Almnus Daniel Sanchez Interviewed in “Breakthroughs” on Climate Change Solutions
May 29, 2020
ERG Alumnus Daniel Sanchez was recently featured in Breakthroughs, the magazine of the Rausser College of Natural Resources, for his work as a Cooperative Extension specialist. Along with other featured specialists, the article focuses on their work on "tackling climate change's impacts on Californians."
Scientific American Cites ERG Alumnus Jones on How Coronavirus Impacts CO2 Emissions
March 17, 2020
ERG alumnus Christopher Jones was recently cited in both Scientific American and Global News articles. In both articles, he discusses how Coronavirus is effecting global carbon emissions and the general environment.
ERG Zeke Hausfather Warns Normalizing “Worst Case” Climate Change
February 10, 2020
In a recent article published by Nature, ERG Alumnus Zeke Hausfather suggests that using a more-realistic baselines for emissions would make for better policy in fighting global warming.
ERG Alumnus Patrick Gonzalez Speaks to Congress on Climate Change
June 27, 2019
ERG alum, Dr. Patrick Gonzalez presents scientific findings to Representative Mike Quigley and other members of the U.S. House of Representatives Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Members in the U.S. Capitol
Dan Kammen and Tom Steyer Comment on the Adverse Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity
June 6, 2019
A recent report released from the United Nations details the threat that climate change and human activities pose to hundreds of thousands of plant and animal species and their biodiversity. ... Continue Reading »
Patrick Gonzalez Selected to be a Lead Author of IPCC’s Next Major Climate Change Report
April 17, 2018
ERG alumnus Patrick Gonzalez (PhD ’97) has been selected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be a lead author for a chapter about freshwater ecosystems in their ... Continue Reading »
ERG Professor Anthoff: Climate Change at the International Level
October 26, 2016
ERG Professor David Anthoff discusses climate change at the international level for Berkeley's C&R Breakthroughs magazine.
One grad student’s story: from English lit to global climate talks
December 7, 2015
ERG grad student Valeri Vasquez will be at the COP21, acting as a counselor to the co-chair of the United Nations climate negotiations, Daniel Reifsnyder. She has been advising on the mediation and negotiations among the 195 national parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
23-year experiment finds surprising global warming impacts
February 11, 2015
Professor John Harte and team's paper on results of a 23-year ecosystem experiment in Rocky Mountain meadowlands featured in Guardian.
Holdren on Climate Change in the USA
May 6, 2014
Watch Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science & Technology and ERG Co-founder, discuss the newly released National Climate Assessment report.
Equity Matters in Calculating the Social Cost of Methane Say Anthoff and Errickson
April 22, 2021
ERG assistant professor David Anthoff and alumnus Frank Errickson recently published a report on Nature finding that "by accounting for economic inequalities between countries and regions, the social cost of methane drops by almost a factor of 10 in sub-Saharan Africa and jumps by almost a factor of 10 for industrialized countries, such as the United States."
New Study by ERG Postdoc James Rising Finds Northern States Might Profit as the Planet Warms
July 6, 2017
If you live in the South, climate change could kill your economy.
Proposed state fee would end solar savings
November 1, 2015
ERG professor Dan Kammen looks at impacts of proposed new CPUC rules.
ERG Adjunct Professor Margaret Torn Conducts Vital Research on Carbon Dioxide Removal
January 26, 2021
ERG adjunct professor Margaret Torn was featured in EurekAlert for her contributed work on a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) primer. The article cites the research as a valuable resource on CDR technologies and policies, and how such strategies can help create a serious plan to address climate change. "Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are already 50% over historic natural levels - 270 ppm (parts per million) in pre-industrial times vs 414 ppm today," Torn stated. "To slow climate change and avoid its worst impacts, climate scientists tell us that we need to restore atmospheric CO2 concentrations to about 350 ppm or less. To do that, we need CDR technologies and policies to remove excess CO2 from the atmosphere."
ERG Alum Patrick Gonzalez Testifies Before Congress as Expert Witness
February 21, 2019
During a recent House Natural Resources Committee event titled “Climate Change and Public Lands: Examining Impacts and Considering Adaptation Opportunities,” ERG alumnus Patrick Gonzalez (PhD ’97) provided testimony as an ... Continue Reading »
Governor Newsom Appoints ERG Alum Carla Peterman to New Wildfire Recovery Commission
January 31, 2019
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office has released three appointments to the new Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery, which includes ERG alumna Carla Peterman (PhD ’17). Peterman served as a ... Continue Reading »
Dan Kammen Featured in Recent WIRED Article
August 17, 2017
ERG Professor Dan Kammen was quoted in a recent WIRED article addressing the effective withdrawal of US funding for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
New ERG Chair Daniel M. Kammen
July 25, 2017
We are pleased to announce the appointment of the new Energy and Resources Group Chair, Professor Daniel M. Kammen. His appointment began July 1, 2017. Daniel Kammen is a Professor of Energy with ... Continue Reading »
ERG Summer Courses Available
February 28, 2016
ERG is offering four of its most popular courses this summer! Enroll Today!
but scientists say the work’s just begun. Obama’s Clean Power Plan is finally out
August 5, 2015
ERG Professor Daniel Kammen was featured in two magazine publications regarding Obama's Clean Power Plan and the impacts it might have on the U.S. population.
A unique moment in history for “sustainable energy for all”
March 26, 2015
ERG team study showing how off-grid power can improve equality in energy access published in Nature Climate Change. Interview with lead author Peter Alstone.
Zoë Chafe leads new WHO Report
March 12, 2015
"We wanted to help policymakers and members of the general public understand that household heating with biomass is a complicated issue," says ERG PhD candidate Zoë Chafe.
ERG students win United Nations award
November 13, 2013
Jalel Sager (PhD candidate) and Austin Cappon (Minor) head to Nairobi, Kenya to pick up UN prize for a sustainable energy development project in Vietnam.
Topics (2 results)
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James Rising
Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellow
James received his PhD in Sustainable Development from Columbia University. He previously taught assorted seminars at MIT's Experimental Study Group and electrical engineering at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. Until recently, he worked as a software developer, working with over a dozen companies on signal processing, social networks, and artificial intelligence. He hopes to use new technologies to help communities act on modeling insights to mitigate climate change, promote social justice, and pursue ecocentric world changing.
Peter Gleick
MS, PhD
Environmental Consequences of Hydroelectric Development: The Issue of Size (’80 M.S.) Regional Water Availability and Global Climatic Change: The Hydrological Consequences of Increases in Atmospheric CO2 and Other Trace Gases ... Continue Reading »
- climate change
- climate impacts
- environment and security
- sustainable water use
- water and conflict
- water conservaton
- water resources
- water use efficiency