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News, ideas, and analysis from J-PAL staff and affiliated professors. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive monthly email updates.

An engineer inspecting HVAC on a roof.

Generating evidence to advance state and local decarbonization efforts in the United States

Peter Christensen, Scientific Advisor of the J-PAL North America Environment, Energy, and Climate Change (EECC) sector, discusses the importance of rigorously evaluating decarbonization programming now, outlines the project’s work to build and execute a coordinated research agenda, and invites...
Aerial view of irrigated nile river valley meeting the dry arid desert

Navigating climate justice in MENA: Emerging carbon markets

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Carbon markets are rapidly being developed by multiple countries, including those in the Middle East North Africa. While these markets aim to reduce emissions and enhance corporate action, rigorous impact evaluation and evidence-use is needed to ensure that the design and implementation of these...
An aerial shot of a village.

New resource: Incorporating remote sensing data into randomized evaluations

A growing number of economists are incorporating remotely sensed (RS) data—satellite data in particular—into their studies. For randomized evaluations, remote data collection offers alluring possibilities: lower data collection costs, a longer time series of data both before and after an...
Man taking care of a coffee tree that grows wild in a tropical rain forest in Pekalongan, Central Java, Indonesia.

Growing evidence-informed climate policy: Five scaling stories from the King Climate Action Initiative

J-PAL’s King Climate Action Initiative (K-CAI) supports pilot studies, randomized evaluations, and scaling projects at the nexus of climate change and poverty alleviation. Three years ago, the initiative concluded its first funding competition. Since then, K-CAI has generated evidence that has...
Cars and trucks drive on a highway in a city surrounded by smog

Evaluating effectiveness and equity in climate mitigation and transportation policy: A webinar recap

In December 2023, J-PAL North America’s Leveraging Evaluation and Evidence for Equitable Recovery (LEVER) program hosted a webinar in collaboration with Results for America highlighting how state and local jurisdictions can use randomized evaluation to accelerate climate action and tap into federal...
Panel discussion on transitioning to clean energy in Arab states

Partnering for resilience: Strengthening climate adaptation in the Middle East and North Africa

In the context of leveraging randomized evaluations for climate action, developing partnerships between various stakeholders is a necessary first step. From that premise, J-PAL MENA at the American University in Cairo co-hosted with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in Egypt, the...
Young Indian farmer digging in the field in front of sprinklers, at sunset

J-PAL South Asia and Community Jameel reaffirm their commitment to increase clean air and water access with the launch of SARWA

Two of the most fundamental necessities for human survival are under stress today: clean air and water. To fight this pressing problem, J-PAL, with Community Jameel, has launched the Air and Water Labs with government partners in Africa, MENA, and South Asia. Together, these labs aim to improve...
People walking in narrow street with full of food stalls during daytime in India

Shaping the right incentives for firms to facilitate climate adaptation and improve environmental quality

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IPA and JPAL have supported numerous rigorous research studies exploring diverse questions related to climate change and sustainable development. In particular, since 2020, the King Climate Action Initiative at J-PAL has funded several randomized evaluations addressing these questions as well as...