Research by the Rapid Decarbonization Initiative

Peer-reviewed journal articles, working papers, and other publications apply Stanford’s interdisciplinary strengths in engineering, economics, business, and energy policy to increase global knowledge of low-carbon energy technologies.

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Journal Article

Advances in Power-to-Gas Technologies: Cost and Conversion Efficiency

Gunther Glenk, Philip Holler, Stefan J. Reichelstein
Energy & Environmental Science November2023

Widespread adoption of hydrogen as an energy carrier is widely believed to require continued advances in Power-to-Gas (PtG) technologies. Here we provide a comprehensive assessment of the dynamics of system prices and conversion efficiency for…

Working Paper

Area Conditions and Positive Incentives: Engaging Local Communities to Protect Forests

Xavier Sebastian Warnes, Joann F. de Zegher, Dan A. Iancu, Erica Plambeck
October2023

Tropical deforestation for agriculture causes alarming CO2 emissions and loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. To prevent this, various governments and multinational commodity-buyers offer a positive incentive for locals conditional on no…

Journal Article

Corporate Carbon Reporting: Improving Transparency and Accountability

Stephen Comello, Julia Reichelstein, Stefan J. Reichelstein
One Earth July2023 Vol. 6 Issue 7

Numerous multinational firms have recently pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to a net-zero position by the year 2050. These pledges currently lack a unified measurement and reporting structure, leaving the public unsure about the…

Journal Article

Executive Compensation Tied to ESG Performance: International Evidence

Shira Cohen, Igor Kadach, Gaizka Ormazabal, Stefan J. Reichelstein
Journal of Accounting Research June2023

Using a wide sample of international publicly traded firms, this paper studies the rapidly increasing practice of incorporating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics in executive compensation contracts. Our evidence suggests that…

Working Paper

Advances in Power-to-Gas Technologies: Cost and Conversion Efficiency

Gunther Glenk, Philip Holler, Stefan J. Reichelstein
March2023

Widespread adoption of hydrogen as an energy carrier is widely believed to require continued advances in Power-to-Gas (PtG) technologies. Here we provide a comprehensive assessment of the dynamics of system prices and conversion efficiency for…

Working Paper

Economics of Grid-Scale Energy Storage in Wholesale Electricity Markets

Ömer Karaduman
March2023

I investigate the incentives for investing and operating grid-scale energy storage in electricity markets and the need for policies to complement investments with renewables. I develop a new dynamic equilibrium framework that allows for storage’s…

Journal Article

Energy Storage and Conversion: Reversible Power-to-Gas Systems

Gunther Glenk, Stefan J. Reichelstein
Nature Communications December2022 Vol. 13 Issue 1

In the transition to decarbonized energy systems, Power-to-Gas (PtG) processes have the potential to connect the existing markets for electricity and hydrogen. Specifically, reversible PtG systems can convert electricity to hydrogen at times of…

Journal Article

The Economic Dynamics of Competing Power Generation Sources

Gunther Glenk, Stefan J. Reichelstein
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews October2022 Vol. 168

Competing power generation sources have experienced considerable shifts in both their revenue potential and their costs in recent years. Here we introduce the concept…

Working Paper

Transparency on the Path to Net-Zero

Stephen D. Comello, Julia Reichelstein, Stefan J. Reichelstein
March2022

We propose and describe a corporate carbon reporting framework intended to strengthen the credibility and transparency of the existing net-zero pledges. We refer to this framework as the Time-Consistent Corporate Carbon Reporting (TCCR…

Working Paper

Corporate Carbon Reduction Pledges: An Effective Tool to Mitigate Climate Change?

Stephen D. Comello, Julia Reichelstein, Stefan J. Reichelstein
November2021

In this article we first summarize the specific plans articulated by seven major corporations for reducing their Corporate Carbon Footprints (abbreviated as CCF from hereon). Our sample is not intended to be representative of the broader…