• Primary Program Climate and Environment
  • Research Interests Climate change, energy efficiency, and renewables

Biography

Eric has over 20 years of experience as an energy and environmental economist focusing on energy and climate change policy, energy systems analysis, and climate change mitigation and adaptation options. Eric was managing the writing and publication of a series of reports on Circular Carbon Economy to be delivered to the G20 this year. The reports are written by International Organizations, including the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), and the Global CCS Institute (GCCSI). Eric was previously acting Program Director for the Climate Change and Environment program at KAPSARC. Before joining KAPSARC, Eric worked as an economist with the North Carolina Utilities Commission and was a consultant at the OECD. Eric has previously worked in the United Nations, academic research institutes, think tanks, and government.

Publications

See all Eric’s publications
  • Discussion paper
  • Methodology paper
  • Report
  • Instant Insight
  • Commentaries
  • External journal articles
Finding a Viable Path to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Finding a Viable Path to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

A viable, least-cost pathway to a low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions future must lie within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement. The rulebook for the Agreement was in many ways rewritten at the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) in Katowice, Poland. The flexible nature of the Agreement allows the international community to shift course as necessary. 

29th August 2019
Residential Energy Model for Evaluating Energy Demand and Energy Efficiency Programs in Saudi Residential Buildings

Residential Energy Model for Evaluating Energy Demand and Energy Efficiency Programs in Saudi Residential Buildings

This paper describes the development of the Residential Energy Model (REEM) for Saudi Arabia using an engineering bottom-up approach. The model can assess energy demand for the current residential building stock and the impact of energy efficiency and demand-side management programs. It accounts for the makeup and features of the Kingdom’s existing housing stock using 54 prototypes of residential buildings defined by three building types, three vintages, and six locations representing different climatic zones.

21st February 2021
Circular Carbon Economy: Least-Cost Path to Net Zero

Circular Carbon Economy: Least-Cost Path to Net Zero

Carbon neutrality can be defined as a state of net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions achieved by balancing CO2 emissions with removals. ‘Net-zero’ has become a shorthand phrase to describe how governments, companies, and others should respond to climate change challenges and to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. However, there is no standard definition of what exactly net-zero entails, and certainly no commonly agreed roadmap for how to get there. The motivation for this study is to provide a broad perspective on net-zero scenarios with a focus on scenarios that are in line with the International Energy Agency (IEA) Net-Zero by 2050 scenario (IEA 2021) and scenarios that embrace the circular carbon economy (CCE) concept.

16th August 2023
Achieving Climate Goals by Closing the Loop in a Circular Carbon Economy

Achieving Climate Goals by Closing the Loop in a Circular Carbon Economy

On October 30, the Saudi Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, announced at the Future Investment Initiative that “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia offers the concept of a circular carbon economy … Such a closed-loop system, much like what happens in nature, will help restore the balance of the carbon cycle.” With this bold new vision for addressing climate change, Saudi Arabia has an opportunity to shift the climate debate, both as part of its presidency of the G20 in 2020 and in the wider international community, toward an approach that explicitly includes and encourages all possible climate mitigation options.

7th November 2019
Building Back Better in Saudi Arabia With Energy Efficiency

Building Back Better in Saudi Arabia With Energy Efficiency

The first priority for governments in managing the COVID-19 crisis is the health of their citizens. However, the implementation of restrictions on activity necessary for limiting the spread of the disease has caused the greatest global recession since the Great Depression. Many governments are considering how to support citizens’ livelihoods and stimulate economies hit hard by the disease.

5th October 2021
Carbon Sequestration Units (CSUs): A New Tool to Mitigate Carbon Emissions

Carbon Sequestration Units (CSUs): A New Tool to Mitigate Carbon Emissions

The United Kingdom’s decision to aim for net zero emissions by 2050 and to enshrine it in law raises the bar for global policymakers as the world seeks to limit the impact of climate change. A recent European Commission paper outlined policy pathways toward carbon neutrality by 2050, but European governments are still at loggerheads as to whether to adopt the target. Climate experts highlight the urgency of cutting carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 if global warming is to be restricted to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.

13th January 2020
Market Impacts

Market Impacts

Sections 10.2.4 and 10.2.5 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II Assessment Report 5, IPCC

2014
Socio- and Macroeconomic Issues in National Long-Term Nuclear Energy Strategies

Socio- and Macroeconomic Issues in National Long-Term Nuclear Energy Strategies

International Atomic Energy Agency

2011
An analysis of large-scale CO2 trunklines using an engineering- economic model

An analysis of large-scale CO2 trunklines using an engineering- economic model

8th Annual Conference on Carbon Capture & Sequestration, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A, 2009

2009
Greenhouse Gas Allowance Allocation: Cost Pass-Through, Sector Differentiation and Economic Implications

Greenhouse Gas Allowance Allocation: Cost Pass-Through, Sector Differentiation and Economic Implications

https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/climate/policydesign/greenhouse-gas-allowance-allocation-cost-pass-through-sector-differentiation-and-economic-implications

2007
Emission Reductions from Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies: A Guide for Public Benefit Fund Managers

Emission Reductions from Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies: A Guide for Public Benefit Fund Managers

CCAP Report. CCAP, 2004

2004

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