Technology alone cannot ensure sustainability — efficiency gains may be offset by behavioral and market responses. This thrust applies environmental and energy economics to study how computing efficiency improvements interact with energy markets, regulatory frameworks, and user behavior. Central concerns include the Jevons Paradox, carbon leakage, and the design of policy instruments that achieve genuine emissions reductions. The research bridges techno-economic modeling with empirical policy analysis.
Key Research Questions
- When do computing efficiency improvements trigger rebound effects, and how large are they?
- How do renewable energy policies interact with datacenter siting, and where does carbon leakage undermine outcomes?
- What policy instruments most effectively align datacenter incentives with grid decarbonization?
| Role | PI | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | Arthur van Benthem | Penn (Wharton) |
| Collaborator | Adam Wierman | Caltech |
| Collaborator | Benjamin Lee | Penn |
| Collaborator | Yuan Yao | Yale |

