MIT Independent Activities Period - This session will explore two important issues in the realm of climate policy: technological change in the energy industry, and U.S. biofuels policies and their implications. Part 1 will focus on climate policy-induced R&D, innovation, and important technological change considerations within climate policy models. Part 2 will focus on policies that impact the production and use of biofuels and biomass, and the implications for the electricity, transportation, and agricultural sectors, food production, infrastructure, and the economy at large.

Part 1: Climate Policy-Induced R&D and Technological Change in the Energy Industry: In coming years, policymakers, industry officials, and other stakeholders across the globe will choose which low-carbon energy technologies to use as part of a larger effort to mitigate long-term damages from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Additionally, decision-makers will select policies to reduce GHG emissions, with express intention to spur private technological innovation. This lecture provides an overview about climate policy-induced R&D, innovation, and technology change in the energy industry, with extensions about the state of important technological change considerations within climate policy models. Led by Nidhi Santen.

Part 2: Review of US Biofuels Policies and their Implications: The production and use of biofuels in the United States has rapidly increased in the last several years, due to US energy security and climate change concerns. The use has been promoted by a variety of government policies at the federal, state, and even local level. Many of these policies were designed with focused objectives in mind and are targeted at specific segments of the biofuels market. Little is known, however, about the potential interactions of such policies and whether they are likely to reinforce or negate one another. In this talk, we provide an overview of the most prominent policies to date that impact the production and use of biofuels and biomass and outline their intended objectives and mechanisms. We focus on three economic sectors, electricity, transportation, and agriculture and attempt to describe the impacts of those policies on other sectors such as food production, energy and environment, infrastructure, and the economy at large. Led by Suhail Ahmad

"Climate Change" is a three session series on climate policy issues, including Climate Change 101: Introduction to Climate Change Economics and Policy (Jan 19, 2-4pm), and Climate Change 102: Recent Developments in U.S. Climate Policy Legislation (Jan 21, 2-4pm). Each presentation is designed to stand alone.

These activities are organized and presented by graduate students affiliated with the Global Change Program. Other activities sponsored by the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change include a two-part series Climate Science I: Paleoclimate to the Present (Jan 12, 2-4pm), and Climate Science II: Introduction to Climate Modeling (Jan 14, 2-4pm).