Climate change is widely regarded as one of the most difficult problems facing modern society. Developing legal, economic, and social responses requires interdisciplinary research that is theoretically sophisticated and policy-relevant.
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.
Affiliated Faculty, Research Associates, and Graduate & Professional Students
Brooke Ackerly, Department of Political Science, Vanderbilt University
Joe Bandy, Center for Teaching, Sociology, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University
Jack Barkenbus, Associate Director CCRN, Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment
Lisa Bressman, Environmental Law Program, Vanderbilt Law School
Nick Brill, law student, Vanderbilt Law School
Amanda Carrico (MA'05, PhD'09), Environmental Studies, University of Colorado - Boulder (former VIEE/CCRN Postodoctoral Research Fellow)
James Clarke, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University
Mark A. Cohen, Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University
Jennifer Cole, Postdoctoral Scholar, Social Psychology
Kelsey Craig, law student, Vanderbilt Law School
Douglas Fisher, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University
James Fraser, Department of Human and Organizational Development, Vanderbilt University
Jonathan Gilligan, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University
Ash Gillis, Postdoctoral Scholar, Social Psychology Climate Change Research Network Law School
Travis Gray, law student, Vanderbilt Law School
George Hornberger, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University
Leslie D. Kirby, Director of Undergraduate Studies & Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Vanderbilt University
Kaitlin Toner Raimi, CCRN/VIEE Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Vanderbilt University
Jim Rossi, Professor of Law, Vanderbilt Law School
J.B. Ruhl, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair in Law, Professor of Law, Vanderbilt Law School
Lanka Thabrew, systems engineer, Western Power, Perth Australia (former VIEE Postodoctoral Research Fellow)
Heather Truelove, Psychology, University of North Florida (former VIEE/CCRN Postodoctoral Research Fellow)
Michael Vandenbergh, Energy, Environment and Land Use Program, Vanderbilt Law School
W. Kip Viscusi, Law & Economics Program, Vanderbilt Law School
“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
Thomson Reuters Foundation News: Michael Vandenbergh quoted in discussion of how carbon-footprint labels can steer consumers to climate-friendly options.
Free Range podcast: Climate Change Research Network scholars Michael Vandenbergh and Jennifer Cole featured Listen to Mike Livermore's interview with Climate Change Research Network director Michael Vandenbergh and social psychologist Jennifer Cole, a post-doctoral fellow of the CCRN, who discuss political polarization and its impact on climate change policy.
NewsChannel5: Renewed focus on Climate Change Professor Michael Vandenbergh was interviewed by NewsChannel5 discussing the renewed focus on tackling climate change and reducing greenhouse gasses by 2030.
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.
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.
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.
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.