Economic Growth, Inequality & Decarbonization (Carey King, University of Texas Energy Institute)

“It’s not clear from the macro level statistics that we can [grow and decarbonize at the same time.]”

“GDP is highly correlated with end-use energy consumption. From WWII to the 1970s households became less energy efficient.  After the 1970s they became more efficient….”

“Lower carbon infrastructure tends to be higher capital cost relative to operating cost, implying less labor and lower employment — and therefore fewer people with money to buy things.”

Carey W King performs interdisciplinary research related to how energy systems interact within the economy and environment as well as how our policy and social systems can make decisions and tradeoffs among these often competing factors. He has both a B.S. with high honors and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.