Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making
Decisions in climate and energy involve multiple factors, with each having aspects unique to it, due to the variety of decision-makers, time horizons, and uncertainties involved. The spectrum of factors ranges from the multitude of strategies available to reduce carbon dioxide emissions over the next fifty years to how to decide which marine ecosystems to protect from an increase in the oceans’ pH levels.
Values
Our center and its graduates will develop and promulgate new and innovative, behaviorally and technically informed insights involving the intersection points between climate and energy. It will also generate methods to frame, analyze, and assist key stakeholders in addressing important decisions regarding climate change and the necessary transformation of the world's energy system.
Our Mission
- To assist private and public organizations in making decisions which are scientifically informed, cost-effective, socially equitable, and behaviorally realistic.
- To develop and implement strategies assuring that decisions are informed by thoughtful and reasoned public input. Frequently, decisions will have to be made in the face of deep uncertainty about the future climate and its variability, as well as many other social and physical factors.
- To prepare graduate students with the knowledge and skills preparing them for careers at the forefront of climate, energy and environmental research with a multidisciplinary perspective.
- To disseminate the Center's insights and results to students at all levels as well as the general public.
Organization
CEDM is anchored at the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and includes also the following institutions:
- Duke University
- Oxford (no funding)
- University of British Columbia
- University of Calgary
- Wharton
- Woods Hole
- Penn State
- RAND Pittsburgh
- George Mason
- RAND Santa Monica
- Vermont Law School
Hover over each institute's name to show its map location, click to view its website.
Funding
The funding from CEDM comes from an agreement between Carnegie Mellon University and the National Science Foundations under DMUU Solicitation NSF 09-554.