UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Carbon taxes and cap-and-trade systems are intended to harness market forces to drive clean energy innovation and lower greenhouse gas emissions. But how well do these policies work? David Victor, professor of industrial organization and innovation and co-director of the Deep Decarbonization Initiative at the University of California San Diego, will discuss the choices and technology available to make climate policy work at a talk at 4 p.m. Monday, April 5. The seminar, which is free and open to the public, will be broadcast via Zoom.

Victor’s talk is based on his most recent book, “Making Climate Policy Work,” which examines why market-based carbon pricing policies around the globe have remained largely ineffective and how government-led strategies for smart regulation and industrial policy can achieve better results. In addition to his appointments at UC San Diego, Victor holds an appointment in the Climate, Atmospheric Science and Physical Oceanography research unit at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Prior to joining the faculty at UC San Diego, he taught energy and environmental law at Stanford Law School and was a convening lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that won half of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He received his doctoral degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

Victor’s talk is part of the spring 2021 EarthTalks series, “Energy and climate policy: How to avoid a global hothouse.” The series focuses on policies and technology that could help slow down global warming and addresses topics such as carbon taxes, renewable energy subsidies and the feasibility of carbon sequestration. For more information about the spring 2021 series, visit the EarthTalks website.