YDS’ Sterling Divinity Quadrangle is one of 20 Yale facilities participating in an innovative Yale University experiment in energy conservation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
Yale has launched an energy conservation pilot project that follows the recommendation of a task force of students, faculty, and staff, chaired by Sterling Professor of Economics William Nordhaus, that urged the university to introduce the concept of carbon pricing on campus.
The six-month pilot will use Yale’s buildings as living laboratories by testing and comparing multiple forms of carbon pricing. The goal is to begin identifying the best model for Yale by studying the administrative aspects and evaluating the effectiveness of the different pricing schemes.
Sterling Divinity Quadrangle is in the third of four treatment groups. The Divinity School will invest a small amount of money, related to the social cost of the carbon it generates, as part of a series of energy-related actions aimed at reducing consumption and, as a result, greenhouse gas emissions.
“The YDS community is excited about participating in the carbon charge pilot project,” YDS Dean Greg Sterling said. “Sustainability is an important part of the scholarship, teaching, learning, and living that takes place on our campus. By participating in this promising new program, we hope to contribute to a more sustainable Yale and to demonstrate our commitment to intergenerational equity and the respect for all life. We believe that sustainability is not only a political and scientific issue, but a moral issue.”
Carbon pricing, a form of energy policy, is regarded by economists, business leaders, and politicians as an important part of efforts to mitigate global climate change. By charging energy producers or consumers a price for emitting carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere, carbon pricing can account for unpriced environmental and social costs at the source of pollution, including the practices of students, faculty, and staff in turning lights off and on, using appliances, and adjust thermostats.
The School’s participation in Yale’s carbon pricing project continues YDS’ longstanding efforts to incorporate sustainability into curriculum, scholarship, and operations on Sterling Divinity Quadrangle.
For more on Yale’s carbon-pricing project, visit carbon.yale.edu.