Brian C. Prest
Fellow; Director, Social Cost of Carbon Initiative
Brian Prest is an economist and Fellow at Resources for the Future specializing in climate change, oil and gas, and energy economics. Prest uses economic theory and econometric models to improve energy and environmental policies by assessing their impacts on markets and pollution outcomes. His recent work includes improving the scientific basis of the social cost of carbon (SCC) and economic modeling of federal oil and gas leasing policies that account for the SCC as part of royalties. He also uses machine learning techniques to improve understanding of household electricity demand and time-varying pricing. His past work includes econometric modeling of the US oil and gas industry, evaluating the effects of coal subsidies on emissions, understanding the economic effects of rising temperatures, modeling the market dynamics of climate change policy under policy uncertainty. His work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals including Nature, the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Energy Economics, and The Energy Journal.
Prior to joining RFF, Prest earned his PhD at Duke University and previously worked in both the public and private sectors. At the Congressional Budget Office, he developed economic models of various energy sectors to analyze the effects of proposed legislation, including the 2009 Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill and related Clean Electricity Standards. At NERA Economic Consulting, he conducted electricity market modeling, project valuation, and discounted cash flow analysis of various infrastructure investments in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia, with a focus on the power sector.
Education
- PhD in environmental and resource economics, Duke University, 2018
- BA in economics, Williams College, 2009
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Testimony and Public Comments — Nov 21, 2022
Calculating Life-Cycle Emissions from Electricity Consumption
To the Department of Energy on the Clean Hydrogen Production Standard.
Issue Brief — Nov 21, 2022
The Shadow Price of Capital: Accounting for Capital Displacement in Benefit–Cost Analysis
This issue brief explains why the discounting sensitivity case using a 7 percent investment rate of return is generally incorrect and can yield extremely misleading estimates of the costs and benefits of policies with long-lived impacts.
Journal Article — Sep 1, 2022
Comprehensive Evidence Implies a Higher Social Cost of CO₂
A multi-year study of the social cost of carbon, a critical input for climate policy analysis, finds that every additional ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere costs society $185—far higher than the current federal estimate of $51 per ton.
Data Tool — Sep 1, 2022
Social Cost of Carbon Explorer
Explore how our open-source GIVE model produces updated estimates of the Social Cost of Carbon
Testimony and Public Comments — Nov 21, 2022
Calculating Life-Cycle Emissions from Electricity Consumption
To the Department of Energy on the Clean Hydrogen Production Standard.
Issue Brief — Nov 21, 2022
The Shadow Price of Capital: Accounting for Capital Displacement in Benefit–Cost Analysis
This issue brief explains why the discounting sensitivity case using a 7 percent investment rate of return is generally incorrect and can yield extremely misleading estimates of the costs and benefits of policies with long-lived impacts.
Journal Article — Sep 1, 2022
Comprehensive Evidence Implies a Higher Social Cost of CO₂
A multi-year study of the social cost of carbon, a critical input for climate policy analysis, finds that every additional ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere costs society $185—far higher than the current federal estimate of $51 per ton.
Data Tool — Sep 1, 2022
Social Cost of Carbon Explorer
Explore how our open-source GIVE model produces updated estimates of the Social Cost of Carbon
Media Highlight — Nov 17, 2022
Bloomberg: "'No Brainer' Methane Rule Touts New EPA Approach to Carbon Costs"
This article, which cites RFF research and Fellow Brian Prest's expertise, discusses the EPA's recently proposed methane rule and the newly estimated social cost of carbon that it uses.
Media Highlight — Nov 10, 2022
Bloomberg: "Biden Climate Rules Move Ahead Amid Wait for Final Carbon Metric"
This article references RFF research and expertise about the social cost of carbon in an article about the fate of this important climate metric.
Media Highlight — Oct 20, 2022
TIME: "It's Crucial for the US to Figure out How Much Carbon Emissions Are Costing All of Us"
A story about the nuances of the social cost of carbon quotes Brian Prest, RFF fellow and director of RFF's Social Cost of Carbon Initiative.
Media Highlight — Sep 8, 2022
Barron's: "The Damage from Carbon Is More Costly Than We Thought"
An op-ed written by RFF scholars Maureen Cropper, Richard Newell, Brian Prest, and Kevin Rennert discusses the significance of new findings that the social cost of carbon is $185 per ton.
Common Resources — Nov 15, 2022
The US Environmental Protection Agency Introduces a New Social Cost of Carbon for Public Comment
The US Environmental Protection Agency has introduced an updated approach to estimating the social cost of carbon that incorporates important scientific and statistical advances.
Common Resources — Oct 27, 2022
How Can Hydrogen Producers Show That They Are “Clean”?
To derive the value of hydrogen fuel tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, the US Treasury Department must assess the life-cycle emissions of hydrogen production, including upstream electricity use. Assessing these life-cycle emissions is difficult.
Resources Radio — Sep 6, 2022
A New Social Cost of Carbon, with Brian C. Prest and Kevin Rennert
Brian C. Prest and Kevin Rennert discuss their updated estimate of the social cost of carbon and its implications for policymaking.
Resources Magazine — Sep 1, 2022
The Social Cost of Carbon: Reaching a New Estimate
RFF scholars lay out their new (higher) calculation of the social cost of carbon—an estimate of the economic damages that result from an incremental ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere—which can help evaluate US policy actions.