Elizabeth A. Stanton
Senior Scientist
Somerville, MA
liz.stanton@sei-us.org
+1 (617) 627-6872
Liz Stanton is a senior economist with SEI-US. She has a special interest in environmental policy and in economic inequality and has focused much of her work on the interplay between climate protection and development.
Stanton has led domestic and international studies commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme, Friends of the Earth-U.K. and Environmental Defense, and co-authored dozens of reports with Frank Ackerman and others on topics including the cost of inaction on climate change; the economics of emissions-reduction targets, and the balance of science, policy and equity in global climate protection.Currently, Stanton is leading SEI-US work on the Consumption-Based Emissions Inventory (CBEI) model and on water issues and climate change in the U.S. West. She also serves on the Climate Taskforce of Economics for Equity and Environment (the E3 Network).
Before joining SEI, Stanton was engaged in research on environmental economics and globalization at the Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE) of Tufts University, where she remains a research fellow. Stanton was previously an editor and researcher at the Political Economy Research Institute and program director of the Center for Popular Economics, both at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Stanton is co-author of Environment for the People(Political Economy Research Institute, 2005, with James K. Boyce) and co-editor of Reclaiming Nature: Worldwide Strategies for Building Natural Assets (Anthem Press, 2007, with Boyce and Sunita Narain). She earned her Ph.D. in economics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and has taught economics at Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, among others.
Stanton welcomes media inquiries and invitations to speak and write on climate economics; the intersection of environmental protection, development and equity; and economic modeling of the jobs impact of proposed climate protection policies.
Recent Publications by Elizabeth A. Stanton
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Estimating Regions' Relative Vulnerability to Climate Damages in the CRED ModelSEI Working Paper WP-US-1103 Author(s): Stanton, E.A. ; Cegan, J. ; Bueno, R. ; Ackerman, F.Year: 2012 Research Area(s): Climate Economics Description: This article introduces the CRED climate vulnerability index (VI-CRED), developed for use in the CRED integrated assessment model. VI-CRED is an index of vulnerability to climate change, with the advantage of simplicity and transparency as compared to more complicated indices with dozens of components. VI-CRED apportions economic damages from climate change among world regions on the basis of differences in vulnerable sectors' contribution to gross domestic product, share of population living at less than 5 meters above sea level, and access to freshwater resources. Its results are broadly similar to those of other indices, but it assigns a more prominent role to water scarcity and, for this reason, includes the Middle East among the most vulnerable regions.Note: This is an updated version of a paper first published in February 2011. Download PDF |
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Development without Carbon as Climate PolicyE3 Network working paper Author(s): Stanton, E.A.Year: 2012 Research Area(s): Climate Economics ; Climate Equity Description: Climate-economics models' projections of slow economic growth in the developing world create the expectation that the poorest countries will use up a relatively small share of the global 21st century emissions budget, leaving more "emissions space" for high- and middle-income countries. Making poverty reduction a central goal of climate policy, however, would require considering scenarios in which incomes converged around the world. This article reviews recent literature connecting climate, poverty and energy; establishes equity's critical role in climate policy; demonstrates the importance of economic growth assumptions in climate modeling; and concludes with several policy recommendations for climate-economics modeling.Note: This paper draws on material from the report Development Without Carbon: Climate and the Global Economy through the 21st Century. More information Download PDF External Link |
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The Social Cost of CarbonThe Environmental Forum 28:6 (November/December 2011), 38-41 Author(s): Stanton, E.A.Year: 2011 Research Area(s): Climate Economics Description: Buried deep in the back pages of a minor, and seemingly unrelated, environmental regulation, the Obama administration has laid out its climate agenda. But estimating the results of greenhouse warming turns on a set of nested assumptions, each of which can sway the ultimate answer.Note: This article is based on the SEI report Climate Risks and Carbon Prices: Revising the Social Cost of Carbon, published by the E3 Network. Download PDF External Link |
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Climate Economics: The State of the ArtSEI Report Author(s): Ackerman, F. ; Stanton, E.A.Year: 2011 Research Area(s): Climate Economics Description: Economic analysis has become increasingly central to the climate policy debate, but the models and assumptions of climate economics often lag far behind the latest developments in this fast-moving field. This report offers an in-depth review of new developments in climate economics and science since the Stern Review (2006) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report (2007), with more than 500 citations. Drawing on this review, the authors also make several recommendations for aligning climate economics with climate science.More information Download PDF |
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Development without Carbon: Climate and the Global Economy through the 21st CenturySEI Report Author(s): Stanton, E.A.Year: 2011 Research Area(s): Climate Economics ; Climate Equity Description: Economic development and the eradication of energy poverty are increasingly seen as key components in a comprehensive strategy to prevent dangerous climate change, along with emission reductions and adaptation measures. But most climate economics models used to guide policymakers assume very little economic growth in the poorest countries. This report reviews the literature regarding the connection between energy, poverty, and emissions mitigation; sets out principles for an equitable climate policy; and explores three scenarios for future economic growth and emissions. It also includes a case study showing the impact of these three scenarios on Latin America and the Caribbean.This report is part of a package that also includes Energy-Water-Climate Planning for Development without Carbon in Latin America and the Caribbean. More information Download PDF |