Thomas Sterner
Thomas Sterner is professor of environmental economics, focused on the design of environmental policy instruments. Recent research focuses on issues like: • Does refunding or earmarking make carbon taxes more acceptable? • How should we update biodiversity values over time? • How should we deal with methane compared to carbon in climate economics? • Policies for aviation (particularly contrails) His current teaching is on policy instrument design and modeling climate.
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Thomas Sterner is professor of environmental economics focused on the design of environmental policy instruments. On this subject, he has written a standard textbook that has appeared in several language editions (link to textbook).
He teaches three courses in environmental economics at Chalmers: Course 1, Course 2, and Course 3. Recent research focuses on issues of acceptability of policy instruments, their distributional effects and ways of making efficient instruments such as taxes more acceptable by refunding or using revenues constructively.
Although he still works on the economic theory of policy design and such overarching issues as fiscal reform, corporate environmental responsibility, circular economy, green growth, more and more attention is turned to actual interdisciplinary, empirical work. Currently he works on a range of issues from biodiversity protection and climate economics to green bonds and green finance, chemicals management. The largest focus is policy instruments to deal with climate change.
During the last two decades he has built up the Environmental Economics Unit (EEU) at the University of Gothenburg. This research group works both on environmental valuation, policy design and natural resource issues. For about two decades we gave a unique PhD program (with a large participation of graduate students from developing countries financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida). After graduating most of the PhDs joined the Environment for Development initiative (EfD) which does policy relevant research in developing countries.
Our research group is thus closely connected to several others with which we collaborate closely. This applies in particular to EfD but also Mistra Biopath and BECC on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services, FRAM on chemicals, CECAR, the Centre for Collective Action Research and the Mistra Carbon Exit research programme. Moreover, we have close research and teaching links to Physical Resource Theory at Chalmers.
Recent highlights:
- Fellow of the Society for Benefit Cost Analysis, inducted 2023.
- Honorary member of the French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (FAERE), appointed 2021.
- Chevalier (Knight) in the French Légion d’Honneur, appointed 2021.
- President of the Scientific Committee of the Climate Economics Chair, University Paris Dauphine
- Member of MCC Expert Advisory Board, Mercator Research Institute, Potsdam, Belin 2017-
- Member of Green OAT Evaluation Council (Council on French Sovereign Green bonds, French Government), 2017-
- Member of the Scientific Committee of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), 2016.
- Member of the Scientific Council for Sustainable Development to the Swedish Government 2015-
- Member of the Advisory Board of Climate Econometrics in Oxford, 2016-
- Honorary member of the French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (FAERE), appointed 2021
- Chevalier (Knight) in the French Légion d’Honneur, appointed 2020
- Doctor of Science Honoris Causa, University Collage Dublin 2019
- Pro Studio et Scientia Award, University of Gothenburg, October 2019
- EAERE Fellow 2019
- Elected Guest Professor at the Collège de France 2015-16
- Honorary Guest professor University of Cape Town
- University Fellow Resources for the Future, USA.
- Member of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences
- Beijer Fellow at the Beijer Institute of the Swedish Royal Academy, 2007-
- Environmental Fiscal Reformer of the Year Award 2014, Green Budget Europe
- Myrdal Prize 2008
Selected publications
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Drupp. M. A., Hänsel. M. C., Fenichel. E. P., Freeman. M., Gollier. C., Groom. B., Heal. G. M., Howard. P. H., Millner. A. Moore. F. C., Nesje. F., Quaas. M. F., Smulders. S., Sterner. T., Traeger. C., & Venmans. F. (2024). Accounting For the increasing Benefits from scarce ecosystems – As people get richer, and ecosystem services scarcer, policy-relevant estimates of ecosystem value must rise. Science. 383(6687) 1062-1064. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adk2086
- Sterner, T., Ewald, J., Sterner, E. (2023). Economists and the Climate. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 102158. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2023.102158
- Silvestro, D., Goria, S., Antonelli, A., & Sterner, T. (2022). Improving biodiversity protection through artificial intelligence. Nature Sustainability. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00851-6
- Hänsel, M., Drupp, M. A., Johansson, D. J. A., Nesje, F., Azar, C., Freeman, M. C., Groom, B. & Sterner, T. (2020) Climate economics support for the UN climate targets. Nature Climate Change. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0833-x
- Carlsson, F., Kataria, M., Krupnick, A., Lampi, E., Löfgren, Å., Qin, P., Sterner, T., & Yang, X. (2021). The climate decade: Changing attitudes on three continents. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 102426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102426
- Refunding Emission Payments: Output-Based versus Expenditure-Based Refunding
Hagem, C., Hoel, M., & Sterner, T.
Environmental and Resource Economics, 1-27, 2020.
Refunding a useful sidekick to environmental taxation?
Nowadays there is much resistance to environmental taxation (like carbon taxes). Some of this is based on a desire not to give money to the state because of practical, distributional, pragmatic or ideological reasons. One potential solution is to earmark or refund the tax revenues. Scandinavia has some interesting schemes for industrial pollutants (NOx) that we have analyzed.
This paper systematically analyses different kinds of tax refunding to industries. Refunding in proportion to output (which Sweden has for NOx) or in proportion to Abatement investments – which Norway has.
The former makes a very high pollution tax politically feasible. The latter actually makes a really low pollution tax very effective by using refunds to subsidize abatement. In effect it becomes a combined tax and subsidy. (If you are wondering which is better --- it turns out to be a bit complex so read the paper..…) - Mukanjari, S., Sterner, T. (2020). Charting a “Green Path” for Recovery from COVID-19. Environmental and Resource Economics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-020-00479-0
The pandemic has implied much suffering, but it has also been a time for concentration and many publications. Most of Thomas’ current work is focused on policy design. Much of it focuses on climate, where he has been exploring both issues of refunding of emissions payments and other issues related to the income distribution effects of policy and the perceived fairness effects.
- Emission Pricing for Development, 2015-01 –
Another area of work is related to the finance sector and effects of events, such as the Paris agreement or US elections on financial markets for fossil and renewable stock.
- Financial Effects of Climate Policy in the Energy Sector, 2020-01 – 2023-12
Finally, he also works in a number of other sectors, such as on biodiversity and on decontamination after major nuclear reactors.
- Decontamination of radioactive environments in Sweden, 2018-10 - 2021-12
First of all my major textbook on the design of environmental policy:
- Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management, second edition (2012) by Thomas Sterner and Jessica Coria. Published by RFF Press.
In this book I set out to study the often repeated allegation that gasoline taxes are a burden to the poor. It turns out to be true only in special circumstances. Generally, in most countries, gasoline taxes are actually neutral or progressive:
- Fuel Taxes and the Poor, The Distributional Effects of Gasoline Taxation and Their Implications for Climate Policy (2011) edited by Thomas Sterner. Published by RFF Press with Environment for Development initiative.
- The Economics of Environmental Policy – Behavioral and Political Dimensions (2016) edited by Thomas Sterner and Jessica Coria. The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics series. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- National and Sub-national Policies and Institutions. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(2014) by Somanathan E., T. Sterner, T. Sugiyama, D. Chimanikire, J. Essandoh-Yeddu, S. Fifita, L. Goulder, A. Jaffe, X. Labandeira, S. Managi, C. Mitchell, J.P. Montero, F. Teng, and T. Zylicz.
- Environmental Regulation and Public Disclosure, The Case of PROPER in Indonesia (2013) by Shakeb Afsah, Allen Blackman, Jorge H. Garcia, Thomas Sterner. Published by RFF Press. (See book review written by Fitrian Ardiansyah and published in the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies)
- Environmental Taxation in Practice (2006) edited by Adrian Muller and Thomas Sterner. Published by Ashgate.
- Choosing Environmental Policy, Comparing Instruments and Outcomes in the United States and Europe (2004) edited by Winston Harrington, Richard D. Morgenstern, Thomas Sterner. Published by Routledge.
- Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management, first edition (2003) by Thomas Sterner. Published by RFF Press. It is also available in Vietnamese, Chinese and Spanish under the following titles:
- Công cụ chính sách cho quản lý tài nguyên và môi trường (2008), translation arranged by Nha Xuat Ban Tong Hop Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh.
- 环境与自然资源管理的政策工具 (2005), translation arranged by Shanghai People's Publishing House, Century Publishing Group.
- Instrumentos de política económica para el manejo del ambiente y los recursos naturales (2007), translation arranged by Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE).
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Speaker at Climate and Biodiversity Crises: What is the Role of Economics?, on the topic What can economics contribute to biodiversity protection?, at Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands. 2024-05-16
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Panelist discussing the distributional impact of environmental taxation at the 2024 ATI General Assembly. 2024-06-20.
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Panelist discussing the question: “Based on your experience and research is it possible to combine environmental conservation and economic development and if so, how?“ at EUTOPIA Day – Special Joint Session. 2024-05-13.
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Moderator of the seminar “Congestion pricing in New York: What insights can Gothenburg offer?” at the University of Gothenburg. 2024-05-07.
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Speaker at ”Chalmers Styrkeområde Energi” (Chalmers area of strength – Energy”) on the subject of a fair climate capacity. 2024-03-20.
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Plenary at ”TNFD workshop Mistra BIOPATH and ORKLA” on the subject of biodiversity and finance. 2024-03-19.
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Expert commentator in the panel ”Klimat- och miljöminister Romina Pourmokhtari samtalar om klimathandlingsplanen” (“A conversation with the climate and environmental minister Romina Pourmokhtari about the governments climate action plan”). Organized by SNS. Available here. 2024-03-11.
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Hosted the research seminar “Aviation Contrail Cirrus and CO2: Trade-Offs and Social Cost Estimates”. Organized by the environmental economics unit at the University of Gothenburg. 2024-02-12.
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Panelist in ”AW with researchers: Capitalists for the environment”(“AW med forskare: Kapitalister för klimatet” in swedish) organized by Pustervik. 2023-12-06.
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Keynote speaker at “Workshop on the Economics of Sustainable Transport” held at Stockholm School of Economics, orgonized by The Forum for Research on Eastern Europe: Climate and Environment (FREECE) together with the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE). 2023-12-01.
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Panelist in the 2023 Volvo Environment Prize Award Ceremony on the topic “The challenge of preserving biodiversity – and having economic growth and equity”. Available here. 2023-11-22.
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Invited lecture on “The acceptability of carbon taxation in the European Union”. Invited by the Department of Political and International Sciences at the University of Siena. 2023-11-20.
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Panelist in the session entitled “Biodiversity, the business sector, and we” (“Biologisk mångfald, näringslivet, och vi” in Swedish) at the “Carl Skottbergs lecture with Alexandre Antonelli” (“Carl Skottbergsföreläsning med Alexandre Antonelli” in Swedish). Organized by the University of Gothenburg. 2023-10-24.
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Presenter on the theme of “The economic situation and the consequences for the climate” (also included biodiversity) at the seminar series “Energiklivet” organized by RISE (an independent, state-owned research institute). 2023-09-29.
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Panelist in the session entitled “Greening the vehicle supply chain - Industrial decarbonization in northern Sweden” at the “Mistra Carbon Exit Program conference – Delivering on climate targets”. Presented as highlighting “The value of being a forerunner” during the panel. 2023-09-18.
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Speaker at the conference “ClimBEco summer meeting 2023 – Double up and double down: linking the global climate and biodiversity crises to bring about fast, fair and transformative change”. Presented under the topic “Efficient policy instruments can save the climate”. 2023-09-15.
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Discussant at the workshop “Designing Fiscal Policies on the Road to Net Zero” with the theme “Session III: Firms’ Green Investment and Responses to Government Climate Policies”. Organized by the International Monetary Fund. 2023-07-06.
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Panelist in the plenary session entitled “COP15 versus COP27: lessons from international negotiations on biodiversity and climate change” at the “Fourth Conference on the future of Europe”. Organized by the University of SIENA, the European University Institute (EUI), and the Think Tank Vision. 2023-06-09.
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”Forskare sågar slopad flygskatt: ”Väldigt olyckligt”. (Researchers criticize the removal of the flight tax: “Very unfortunate.") Debate article published in Göteborgs Posten. 24-09-04
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”Utan biologisk mångfald har människan ingen framtid – inför en naturlag”. (Without biodiversity, humanity has no future – implement a nature law). Debate article published in Göteborgs Posten. 24-07-07.
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Interviewed in the Vera Podden podcast Sterner om: Bränsleuppror, elbilsstöd och kurser i miljöpolitik. (Sterner on: The Fuel Rebellion, Electric Car Support, and Courses in Environmental Politics). Produced by Chalmers tekniska högskola. 24-06-19.
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Forskare: Skapa inte mer polarisering mellan människa och natur, Moderaterna.
(Researchers: Do not create more polarization between humans and nature, Moderaterna).Debate article published in Altinget Miljö och Energi. 2004-06-11. -
Interviewed in the podcast 03. Nyfiken: Thomas Sterner (03. Curious: Thomas Sterner). By Lina Persson, produced by the University of Gothenburg. 2024-05-08.
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Expert: Regeringen håller flyget under armarna. (Expert: The Government is supporting the aviation industry). Interviewd by Hanna Odelfors and Petra Hedbom from TT. Article published in SvD, Aftonbladet, Norra Skåne and VK. 2024-04-27.
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Medelklassen behandlas som världens känsligaste grupp. (The middle class is treated as the world’s most sensitive group). Opinion piece highlighting Thomas Sterner participation. By DN:s editorial board. Published in Dagens Nyheter. 2024-03-16.
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Nytt sätt att räkna på naturvärlden. (New method of calculating the value of nature). Article about the Science article (A203) written by Karin Montgomery. Published in Extrakt. 2024-03-11.
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Forskare: Därför kan det bli dyrare att exploatera natur. (Scientist: Why it can become more expensive to exploit nature). Interviewed by Anna Liljemalm. Published in Forskning & Framsteg. 2024-03-08.
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GU-forskare kommenterar klimatavtalet i Dubai. (GU Researchers comment on the climate agreement in Dubai). Interviewed by the University of Gothenburg. 2023-12-13.
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Utsläppen måste minska drastiskt om staden ska nå sina klimatmål. (Emissions must be drastically reduced if the city is to reach its climate goals). Debate article as a member of the Gothenburgs Climate Council. Published in Göteborgs Posten. 2023-12-12.
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Experterna – här är de viktigaste klimatfrågorna i Dubai. (The experts – here are the most important environmental issues in Dubai). Interviewed by Annelie Moran in Göteborgs Posten. 2023-11-29.
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Klimatekonomen om COP28: ”Risk att oljeintressen får för stort inflytande”. (The environmental economist about COP28: ”Risk of oil interests gaining too much influence”). Interviewed by The University of Gothenburg. 2023-11-27.
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Fossila subventioner på nya rekordnivåer – trots att de ska fasas ut. (Fossil subsidies at new record levels – even though ther are to be phased out). Interview by Jannike Kihlberg in Dagens Nyheter. 2023-09-14.
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Miljöekonomen stödjer klimatrapporten: “Det behövs något radikalare”. (The environmental economist supports the climate report: ”Something more radical is needed). Interviewed by The University of Gothenburg. 2023-10-20
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Klimatutredaren Hasslers förslag: ”Omformulera klimatmålen” (Climate investigator Hasslers’s proposal: ”Reformulate the climate goals”). Panel member on the Swedish Radio’s science department The Globe. 2023-10-19.
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”Utsläppen minskade i EU – men ökade i Sverige” (Emissions decreased in the EU – but increased in Sweden). Interviewed by Mia Pettersson in Göteborgs Posten. 2023-08-22.
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”Västsvenska företagen som släpper ut mest koldioxid” (the West Swedish companies that emit the most carbon dioxide). Interviewed by Magdalena Rosen in Göteborgs Posten. 2023-06-18.
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”Forskare: Kreml tackar för sänkta reduktionsplikten” (”Researchers: Kreml thanks for reduced reduction obligations”). Interviewed by Aleksandra Pogorzelska in Dagens ETC. 2023-05-08.
- “We talk and talk about taxing carbon. Meanwhile lobbyists secure enormous subsidies instead.” IMF Working paper
- Carbon markets around the world are continuing to expand and gather momentum, according to a series of case studies released by IETA, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and CDC Climat Research today, despite diverse challenges. The World's Carbon Markets
- Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace has released a retrospective report of transaction activity on the global voluntary carbon markets over the last decade, up to and including information on 2014 transactions. The report finds that companies, governments, and individuals voluntarily spent just under $4.5 billion to transact nearly one billion carbon offsets from projects that halt deforestation, install renewable energy, promote energy efficiency, distribute cleaner-burning cookstoves, and more. Ahead of the Curve: State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2015.
US President Joe Biden reiterates support for climate goals | Money Talks
Comment by Thomas Sterner after 1 min.
Two Degrees of Difference
Thomas Sterner discusses global climate goals at the Environmental Defense Fund.
#MeetTopEnvEcon
Ingmat Schumacher meets Thomas Sterner for an interview. (November 2018).
The International Science Festival Gothenburg
Karin Gyllenklev meets Thomas Sterner at Vetenskapsfestivalen (Gothenburg, 2018-09-14)
Fossil free – but how?
Thomas Sterner plenary speech at Fossilfritt Sverige (Stockholm, 2018-09-06).
The Risk of Climate Change
Thomas Sterner discuss the most efficient tools to mitigate those risks from the perspective of policymakers, corporates and the (re)insurance industry (SCOR, 2018-07-11).
Hur kan politiken, tekniken och individen bidra till en smart klimatpolitik?
Thomas Sterner participates in a debate with Isabella Lövin, Minister for Climate and Vice Prime minister in Sweden. (Handelshögskolan Göteborg, 2018-01-31)
Did Paris Solve the Climate Problem?
In a plenary talk at 13th Annual Conference on Economic Growth and Development Thomas Sterner asks “Did Paris Solve the Climate Problem?” (Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi, 2017-12-20).
Åtgärder för att begränsa klimatförändringar - IPCC:s tredje delrapport
At this seminar you will hear Thomas Sterner present the results of the Third Interim Report of the IPCC, which deals with measures to limit climate change. (Seminar at the University of Gothenburg, 2015-03-23)
Explaining Ramsey
Thomas Sterner's web lecture on the Ramsey Rule: What is discounting and how much do we care about the future?
Pathways to Paris
In this lecture you will hear Thomas Sterner talk about the climate negotiations leading up to Paris. (Lecture recorded in May 2015).
The Menu of Environmental Policy Instruments
Thomas Sterner discusses the policies available to mitigate environmental damages at his inaugural lecture at Collège de France. More lectures with Thomas Sterner at Collège de France can be found here. (Lecture recorded in October 2015).