Dallas Burtraw
Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow
Dallas Burtraw has worked to promote efficient control of air pollution and written extensively on electricity industry regulation and environmental outcomes. Burtraw’s current research includes analysis of the distributional and regional consequences of climate policy, the evolution of electricity markets including renewable integration, and the interaction of climate policy with electricity markets. He has provided technical support in the design of carbon dioxide emissions trading programs in the Northeast states, California, and the European Union. He also has studied regulation of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide under the Clean Air Act and conducted integrated assessment of costs, and modeled health and ecosystem effects and valuation, including ecosystem improvement in the Adirondack Park and the southern Appalachian region. Burtraw currently serves as Chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee. Burtraw holds a Ph.D. in economics and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis.
Education
- PhD in economics, University of Michigan, 1989
- MPP in public policy, University of Michigan, 1986
- BS in community economic development, University of California at Davis, 1980
Featured Content
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Media Highlight — Mar 20, 2024
E&E News: “Washington Carbon Price Crashes as Possible Repeal Looms”
RFF Senior Fellow Dallas Burtraw shares his thoughts on the effects of a bill to repeal Washington State‘s carbon market and the market's falling prices.
Testimony and Public Comments — Mar 11, 2024
Testimony on California's Statewide Trends of Greenhouse Gas Emissions to the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies
RFF Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow Dallas Burtraw testified to California's Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies about the state's carbon market and related areas of economic and environmental performance.
RFF Live — Mar 12, 2024
Green Cities: Strategies for Decreasing Construction Emissions
Green Cities: Strategies for Decreasing Construction Emissions
Testimony and Public Comments — Dec 19, 2023
Comments on the Joint California-Quebec Workshop: Potential Amendments to the Cap-and-Trade Regulation
RFF researchers submitted two comments to the California Air Resources Board in response to a cap-and-trade workshop held with the government of Quebec.
Testimony and Public Comments — Mar 11, 2024
Testimony on California's Statewide Trends of Greenhouse Gas Emissions to the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies
RFF Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow Dallas Burtraw testified to California's Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies about the state's carbon market and related areas of economic and environmental performance.
Testimony and Public Comments — Dec 19, 2023
Comments on the Joint California-Quebec Workshop: Potential Amendments to the Cap-and-Trade Regulation
RFF researchers submitted two comments to the California Air Resources Board in response to a cap-and-trade workshop held with the government of Quebec.
Journal Article — Nov 30, 2023
Power Sector Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
This paper investigates potential impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act on the power sector, which is the focus of many of the law's core provisions.
Working Paper — Nov 9, 2023
Leveraging the IRA to Achieve 80x30 in the US Electricity Sector
This working paper explores how a federal emissions cap could build on the emissions reductions promised by the Inflation Reduction Act.
RFF Live — Mar 12, 2024
Green Cities: Strategies for Decreasing Construction Emissions
Green Cities: Strategies for Decreasing Construction Emissions
Workshop — Nov 23, 2020
Private Event: The US Wood Pellet Industry
Private Event: The US Wood Pellet Industry
Workshop — Jul 15, 2020
Exploring Innovative Transportation Policies
Exploring Innovative Transportation Policies
RFF Live — Apr 30, 2020
Net Zero by 2070: Decarbonizing Global Industry
Net Zero by 2070: Decarbonizing Global Industry
Common Resources — Nov 9, 2023
Adding an Emissions Cap to the Inflation Reduction Act Would Help Meet US Climate Goals
Implementing a federal cap-and-trade policy would complement the Inflation Reduction Act. Together, these two policies could reduce air pollution and retail electricity prices and ensure that the United States meets its national climate goals for 2030.
Resources Magazine — Oct 4, 2023
California’s Cap-and-Trade Program and Improvements in Local Air Quality
Although sometimes at odds, economic efficiency and environmental justice can coexist in effective, viable climate policy. Thoughtful policy design can help ensure that environmental benefits accrue in communities that need them the most.
Resources Magazine — Oct 4, 2023
Supporter Spotlight: Creating Policy with Good Thinking and Social Stakeholders
In this Supporter Spotlight feature, Dallas Burtraw talks about the importance of global climate coordination, speaking the language of policymakers, the value of flexible funds for researchers, and more.
In Focus — Sep 20, 2023
In Focus: Shaping Policy Expectations in the Private Sector
This video shares an approach to climate policymaking that emphasizes the facilitation of investor confidence in the credibility of national net-zero pledges, with RFF Senior Fellow Dallas Burtraw.
Media Highlight — Mar 20, 2024
E&E News: “Washington Carbon Price Crashes as Possible Repeal Looms”
RFF Senior Fellow Dallas Burtraw shares his thoughts on the effects of a bill to repeal Washington State‘s carbon market and the market's falling prices.
Press Release — Nov 9, 2023
Adding an Emissions Cap to the Inflation Reduction Act Could Create More Cost-Effective, Certain Emissions Reductions
New RFF modeling shows that a federal cap on power-sector emissions could carry the United States to its power-sector emissions goal, and that such a cap would be less expensive for emitters and households than it would have been otherwise.
Media Highlight — Nov 8, 2023
New York Times: “A Package of Bold Laws Puts Michigan on a Fast Track to Renewable Energy”
RFF Senior Fellow Dallas Burtraw comments on Michigan's groundbreaking new climate package.
Press Release — Sep 26, 2023
Climate Policies Should Focus on Private-Sector Expectations, New Study Argues
New research in the journal Nature Climate Change suggests that, to be successful, climate policies must shape expectations in the private sector that align with the long-term net-zero goal.