J-PAL North America Evidence for Climate Action Project

A man installs a solar panel on a rooftop on a sunny day.
Generating evidence to identify and advance equitable, high-impact policy solutions to climate change in the United States.

The United States is currently the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world. Structural discrimination has led low-income populations and people of color to disproportionately experience a range of climate change-related hazards in both the United States and around the world, including air and water pollution, loss of livelihoods, and increased risk of harm from extreme weather events. Reducing US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is therefore essential to addressing the dual global challenges of poverty and climate change. 

Currently, US state and local governments are leveraging federal resources from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to roll out extensive climate action plans. In the coming years, programs will be enacted across the country to promote decarbonization in areas ranging from transportation and land use, to building and facilities energy, to forests and agriculture. However, more research is needed to understand the impacts of policies and programs seeking to reduce emissions.

Evidence for Climate Action Project

Through the Evidence for Climate Action Project, J-PAL North America aims to generate evidence to identify and advance equitable, high-impact policy solutions to climate change in the United States. J-PAL North America will convene  an influential network of government leaders, academic researchers, and other key policy partners to launch successful researcher-practitioner partnerships and rigorously evaluate promising decarbonization programs, especially those funded through the IRA and IIJA. 

In 2025, J-PAL North America is excited to launch our Climate Action Learning Lab, which  will strengthen the long-term capacity of climate leaders to utilize rigorous evidence in advancing effective climate solutions through customized workshops and trainings, connections to academic researchers, and peer learning opportunities.

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Project Offerings

  • Economics of Decarbonization Working Group coordination - We have cultivated a team of more than 25 academic researchers interested in using randomized evaluation to test the impact of decarbonization programs and policies. The working group is currently documenting a research agenda that prioritizes policy relevant areas for experimental research and generating thought-leadership opportunities to amplify the agenda through publications in external media outlets. Are you a researcher who is interested in learning more? Please contact us at: [email protected].
  • COMING SOON: Climate Action Learning Lab - We will identify a cohort of agency staff, such as state and regional climate directors, to serve as champions for building and using evidence to inform policy. We are designing a series of tailored workshops and trainings to bolster the ability of climate leaders to generate and use evidence to inform decision-making. Interested in learning more? Sign up for updates on our newsletter.
  • Matchmaking and partnership building - Through individual meetings and virtual and in-person events, we bring together researchers and state and local government agency staff to identify priority research areas of interest and cultivate viable researcher-practitioner partnerships to launch priority evaluations on decarbonization strategies and programs.
  • Evaluation funding and support - We support climate-focused research proposals through our State and Local Innovation Initiative and Social Policy Research Initiative RFPs, offered twice per year to our network of academic researchers. Researchers can also apply for Research Management Support (RMS), short-term, customized, and expert support to help design and launch a randomized evaluation
  • Research results and policy lesson dissemination  - We summarize and synthesize research findings to inform the development of policies and practices that can help scale up equitable, high impact policy solutions.

Project Timeline

July 2023 - Economics of Decarbonization Working Group Inaugural Convening

J-PAL North America's Inaugural Convening of the Economics of Decarbonization Working Group brought together researchers interested in decarbonization from within and outside the J-PAL network to showcase decarbonization research, discuss the development of a coordinated research agenda, and build interest in future research partnerships with government jurisdictions to evaluate decarbonization interventions.

December 2023 - Evaluating Effectiveness and Equity in Climate Mitigation Webinar

J-PAL North America and Results for America hosted a conversation with an environmental economist and transportation and climate leaders from King County, WA on the role and promise of rigorous evaluation in informing effective, equitable climate mitigation and transportation strategies.

April 2024 - Inflation Reduction Act Evaluation Workshop

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July 2024 - J-PAL North America receives Arnold Ventures grant

J-PAL North America received an eight figure grant over a seven year period from Arnold Ventures to substantially expand the evidence base on effective solutions to poverty, among other organizational priorities. Funding from this grant has been allocated to support new offerings within the Evidence for Climate Action Project.

July 2024 - J-PAL North America Evidence for Climate Action Convening

J-PAL North America hosted an in-person convening to connect state and local climate leaders, government associations, and academic researchers from across the country to advance evidence for climate action. Participants shares opportunities and developed strategies for researcher-government partnerships to promote rigorous evaluation of decarbonization and adaptation programs.

Project Team

Leadership

Scientific Advisor - Peter Christensen, University of California, Santa Cruz
 

J-PAL Staff

Erin Graeber - Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (EECC) Sector Lead

Maggie Dennis - Senior Policy Associate

Laura Romero Ayala - Senior Policy Associate
 

Economics of Decarbonization Working Group Members

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Featured Evaluations and Resources