The Climate Change Research Network at Vanderbilt includes a team of faculty and graduate students who are conducting theoretical and applied research on one of the most important and most widely overlooked sources of greenhouse gases: individual and household behavior. The research also explores how insights from law and the social and behavioral sciences can reduce corporate carbon emissions. The Climate Change Research Network is affiliated with the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment.
Matthew Zaragoza-Watkins, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University
“I'm very impressed with way schools at Vanderbilt work together to address complex environmental problems. The Climate Change Research Network is a good example; it's an interdisciplinary collaboration that involves Vanderbilt Law School, Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and the Environment, Owen Graduate School of Management, the School of Engineering, science departments, and the Human and Organizational Development program. I wanted to be a part of that.”
- J.B. Ruhl, the David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair in Law
Inside Climate News: The TVA's Slower Pace Toward Renewable Energy Weakens Nashville's Future
A report suggests Nashville and communities in seven southeast states could suffer economically if the TVA doesn't speed up its energy transition.
Huffington Post: Companies Are Making Major Climate Pledges. Here's What They Really Mean.
How to decode corporate climate change targets ― from net-zero emissions to going carbon negative. Professor Michael Vandenbergh is quoted.
Inside Climate News: Q&A: A Law Professor Studies How Business is Making Climate Progress Where Government is Failing
Michael Vandenbergh says the marketplace is cutting emissions and reaching people skeptical of climate action, but can't make up for a lack of political leadership.
Washington Post: How to persuade people that climate change is real
Alexander Maki, a postdoctoral fellow with the VIEE and Climate Change Research Network pens this piece with five insights from the young but growing body of research on climate change communication.
Science Magazine: Faced with government inaction, private firms emerge as major players in climate change mitigation
“Beyond Politics: The Private Governance Response to Climate Change” by Michael Vandenbergh, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Professor in Law, and Jonathan M. Gilligan, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, is reviewed.
Private Interests and the Environment
There have been few new government-led environmental regulations passed in recent years. But private interests are creating their own regulations. Professor Michael Vandenbergh discusses with Ozarks at Large.
Inside Climate News: 2 Reasons Solar Is Booming in Trump Country: Price and Energy Independence
Michael Vandenbergh
, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair in Law, is quoted.
Sputnik News: The real significance of US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord - July 7, 2017 - Michael Vandenbergh, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair in Law, and Dr. Richard Wellings, researcher at the Institute of Economic Affairs, an influential think tank in London, are interviewed about their views surrounding the Paris Climate Accord and EU-US relations.
Salon: Government action isn’t enough for climate change. The private sector can cut billions of tons of carbon - July 5, 2017 - With President Trump’s announcement to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, many other countries around the world — and cities and states within the U.S. — are stepping up their commitments to address climate change. We’ve studied the role of the private sector in addressing climate change, and we’re convinced that the next stage is going to require more than just political agreement. What is needed is a concerted effort to mobilize private action, write Michael Vandenbergh, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Professor of Law and director of the Climate Change Research Network, and Jonathan M. Gilligan, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, in this piece first published by The Conversation.
The Conversation: Government action isn’t enough for climate change. The private sector can cut billions of tons of carbon - June 22, 2017 - With President Trump’s announcement to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, many other countries around the world – and cities and states within the U.S. – are stepping up their commitments to address climate change. But one thing is clear: Even if all the remaining participating nations do their part, governments alone can’t substantially reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change, writes coauthors Michael Vandenbergh, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Professor of Law, and Jonathan Gilligan, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences.
