People
Research
Publications
News
Figures
NSF INFEWS
CALUE Database
University of California, Irvine  |  Dept. of Earth System Science
Our research is aimed at understanding the complex interactions of human and natural systems in order to assess the causes and magnitude of damages and disruptions now and in the future, and to identify possible solutions.
Global and regional drivers of land-use emissions
Nature | January 27, 2021

We estimate country-, process-, GHG- and product-specific land-use emissions 1961-2017. Total emissions have increased to 14.6 GtCO2-eq in 2017 (~25% of anthropogenic GHG emissions). Our results may help prioritize mitigation efforts, but suggest drastic reductions in emissions will require similarly drastic changes in agricultural production and/or practices.

Hong et al. 2021
Research Brief

Economic footprint of California wildfires
Nature Sustainability | December 7, 2020

The costs of fires are much greater and more dispersed than the destroyed infrastructure. Of the $149 billion in losses due to 2018 California wildfires, only 19% were related to destroyed infrastructure. 22% of costs are health damages related to air pollution and 59% were indirect damages due to the broader disruption of economic supply chains.

Wang et al. 2020
Research Brief
Selected Press: Gizmodo, E&E
African fossil fuel CO2 emissions 1990-2017
Environmental Research Letters | November 3, 2020

African CO2 emissions were just 4% of global fossil fuel emissions in 2017, but have grown by nearrly 5% per year for nearly two decades. If the continent-wide such growth persists, by 2030 the continent's emissions will have risen by ~30% (to 1.6 Gt CO2), a sizeable quantity very much at odds with international climate targets.

Ayompe et al. 2020


Near real-time estimates of global CO2 emissions
Nature Communications | October 14, 2020

We present daily estimates of country-level CO2 emissions for different sectors based on near-real-time activity data. This is a new dataset developed during the COVID pandemic that substantially advances the frontier of emissions monitoring. It also represents the genesis of a new international research collaborative, Carbon Monitor.

Liu et al. 2020

Selected Press: SciAm, C&EN
Long-duration storage reduces costs of
wind-solar-battery systems

Joule | August 6, 2020

Using 39 years of hourly U.S. weather data and a macro-scale energy model, we show that currently available long-duration storage technologies like power-to-gas-to-power lower the cost of solar-wind-battery electricity systems.

Dowling et al. 2020
Research Brief

Early power plants retirements in climate mitigation scenarios
Environmental Research Letters | May 27, 2020

We show that ambitious climate mitigation scenarios entail drastic, and perhaps un-appreciated, changes in the operating and/or retirement schedules of power infrastructure. For example, in 1.5 or 2°C scenarios, the median age of global coal plants at retirement is <10 years.

Fofrich et al. 2020
Research Brief