Overview

The Economics of Sustainability Programme seeks to understand the economy and environment as a deeply interlinked complex system and is working to gain insights into how the human economic part of this integrated system might be transformed to become more sustainable.

Economics has often viewed the economy and Earth's physical and ecological systems as separate domains. It frequently does not account for the economy's need for energy and material inputs and views pollution as an "externality." The Economics of Sustainability Programme is attempting to understand the economy and environment as a deeply interlinked complex system and is working to gain insights into how the human economic part of this integrated system might be transformed to become more sustainable. The programme is looking at new ways to take into account natural capital, measure wealth creation, stimulate green technology innovation, and assess climate and economic risk. It is also looking at new methods of modelling economy-ecosystem interactions to better understand the impact of climate policies on economic growth, employment, and political economy, and to understand socioeconomic tipping points and dynamic effects in the transition to a post-carbon society. The programme is also examining the institutional innovations needed to transition to a sustainable economy. The programme is directed by Prof. Cameron Hepburn and is conducted in partnership with Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.

Related Projects


Recent Publications

Oct 2025
Blog
Americans are adapting to a warmer world — trading winter heat for summer cooling
François Cohen ,  Matthieu Glachant ,  Magnus Söderberg
Oct 2025
INET Working Paper
Sept 2025
Journal
Sept 2025
INET Working Paper
Aug 2025
Journal
Aug 2025
Policy Briefing
Aug 2025
Journal
The revised oxford principles for net zero aligned carbon offsetting
in Environmental Research Letters
Injy Johnstone ,  Myles Allen ,  Kaya Axelsson ,  Ben Caldecott ,  Nick Eyre ,  Samuel Fankhauser ,  Thomas Hale ,  Cameron Hepburn ,  Conor Hickey ,  Stuart Jenkins ,  Radhika Khosla ,  Stephen Lezak ,  Alison Smith ,  Stephen M. Smith ,  Audrey Wagner
Aug 2025
Journal
A method to identify positive tipping points to accelerate low-carbon transitions and actions to trigger them
in Sustainability Science
Timothy M. Lenton ,  Thomas W. R. Powell ,  Steven R. Smith ,  Frank W. Geels ,  Floor Alkemade ,  Martina Ayoub ,  Pete Barbrook-Johnson ,  Scarlett Benson ,  Fenna Blomsma ,  Chris A. Boulton ,  Joshua E. Buxton ,  Sara M. Constantino ,  Sibel Eker ,  Kai Greenlees ,  Thomas Homer‑Dixon ,  Kelly Levin ,  Michael B. Mascia ,  Femke Nijsse ,  Ilona M. Otto ,  Viktoria Spaiser ,  Simon Sharpe ,  Talia Smith
Aug 2025
Press Release
Aug 2025
Journal
United Nations Environment Assembly attendees underestimate public willingness to contribute to climate action
in communications earth & environment
Ximeng Fang ,  Joshua Ettinger ,  Stefania Innocenti
Jul 2025
INET Working Paper
No. 2025-06 - Systems thinking in UK environmental policy making
Pete Barbrook-Johnson ,  Domenica Cox ,  Alexandra S. Penn
Jul 2025
Journal
Economic models and frameworks to guide climate policy
in Oxford Review of Economic Policy
Cameron Hepburn ,  Matthew C. Ives ,  Sam Loni ,  Penny Mealy ,  Pete Barbrook-Johnson ,  J. Doyne Farmer ,  Nicholas Stern ,  Joseph Stiglitz
Jul 2025
Report
The UK State of Carbon Dioxide Removal
Christopher Lomax ,  Stephen M. Smith ,  Rob Bellamy ,  Astha Wagle
Jul 2025
Journal
The autonomous adaptation of US homes to changing temperatures
in Journal of Economic Geography
François Cohen ,  Matthieu Glachant ,  Magnus Söderberg
Jul 2025
Policy Briefing
The innovation race on geological carbon removal: who is best placed to lead?
Esin Serin ,  Josh Burke ,  Siyu Feng ,  Maxwell Read ,  Ram Smaran Suresh Kumar
Jun 2025
Video
Jun 2025
Working Paper
Jun 2025
Article
Tackling transformational change in climate policy appraisal: experiences and perceptions of United Kingdom policy analysts
Cormac Lynch ,  Pete Barbrook-Johnson ,  Pablo Salas Bravo ,  Jean-Francois Mercure ,  Femke Nijsse ,  Jin Qin ,  Roberto Pasqualino
Jun 2025
Blog
Policy Pathways to Achieve Net-Zero Goals: A New Look at Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Siyu Feng ,  Johanna Arlinghaus ,  Joseph Stemmler ,  Stephen M. Smith ,  Samuel Fankhauser
Jun 2025
Journal
An asset-level analysis of financial tail risks under extreme weather events
in Environmental Research Climate
Ruben Kerkhofs ,  Mark Bernhofen ,  Marcin Borsuk ,  Moritz Baer ,  Nicola Ranger ,  Wim Schoutens ,  Gireesh Shrimali
Jun 2025
Policy Briefing
May 2025
INET Working Paper
May 2025
Policy Briefing
Policy Evaluation and Selection to Accelerate Geological Carbon Dioxide Removal Deployment
Siyu Feng ,  Joseph Stemmler ,  Johanna Arlinghaus ,  Samuel Fankhauser ,  Stephen M. Smith
May 2025
Working Paper
A taxonomy of policies to support geological carbon dioxide removal
Johanna Arlinghaus ,  Siyu Feng ,  Joseph Stemmler ,  Samuel Fankhauser ,  Stephen M. Smith
May 2025
INET Working Paper
2025-11 - Innovation Bandits: A Dynamic Portfolio Strategy with Endogenous Rewards
Lennart Baumgärtner ,  Laurin Köhler-Schindler ,  Jacquelyn Pless
Apr 2025
INET Working Paper
Apr 2025
Journal
Community Decisions to Insure Against Collective Risk: The Case of Maintenance Services for Rural Water Infrastructure
in Journal of Development Studies
Stefania Innocenti ,  Ben Brunckhorst ,  Jacob Katuva ,  Johanna Koehler
Mar 2025
Journal
Facilitating India’s Deep Decarbonisation Through Sector Coupling of Electricity with Green Hydrogen and Ammonia
in Energy Storage and Applications
Zac Cesaro ,  Rasmus Bramstoft ,  Rene Banares-Alcantara ,  Matthew C. Ives
View All Related Publications

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