Overview
Dr. Brian C. Murray is Director of the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Research Professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment (primary) and Sanford School of Public Policy (secondary), and Faculty Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society. In 2015 he was Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Environment and Economy at University of Ottawa’s Institute of the Environment. He is widely recognized for his work on the economics of energy and climate change policy, including the design of market based mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gases and deploy low-carbon energy. Members of the United States Congress, state legislators and regulators have sought the counsel of Dr. Murray and colleagues in developing energy and climate legislative proposals and regulatory options. Their development of the cost containment reserve mechanism is now in use in several greenhouse cap-and-trade programs in North America. Dr. Murray has been invited as a co-author of several national and international assessments of natural resources, especially related to energy and climate change. Of particular note, he serves on a National Academy of Sciences panel on greenhouse gases and the tax code, where he led the panel’s efforts on biofuel subsidies. He was a convening lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry. He has convened several forums of economic modeling experts to examine and communicate the results of their climate, energy and land use policy efforts to the public and private sectors. His research has examined the economic effects of traditional command-based regulatory strategies for pollution control and more market-oriented approaches such as cap-and-trade programs and emission taxes. He has been a consultant to a wide range of clientele in the public and private sector, including numerous federal government agencies, members of Congress and their staff, state regulatory agencies, CEOs and senior staff from Fortune 500 companies, trade groups, nongovernmental organizations, and other academic institutions. He has authored or co-authored over 100 publications in books, edited volumes, and professional journals across a range od disciplines. From 2017-21 he was a regular contributor to Forbes. Prior to coming to the Nicholas Institute in 2006, Dr. Murray was Director of the Center for Regulatory Economics and Policy Research at RTI International, a university-affiliated not-for-profit research institution.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Publications
Planning for Growing Electricity Demand During an Era of Uncertain Renewables and Climate Policy
Report · November 15, 2024 Electricity demand growth has accelerated significantly, a trend that is expected to continue for at least the next 5 to 10 years and is driven by new technologies such as data centers and the expansion of the manufacturing and industrial base in the Unite ... Open Access Link to item CiteCarrots, Sticks, and the Evolution of U.S. Climate Policy
Journal Article Texas A&M Law Review · May 2024 The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted by Congress in 2022, is the most significant federal investment in decarbonization in U.S. history. The law makes hundreds of billions of dollars available for clean energy tax credits, grants to state and ... Full text Open Access CiteProjecting Electricity-Sector Investments Under the Inflation Reduction Act: New Cost Assumptions and Interactions with EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Proposal
Report · December 4, 2023 Energy Pathways USA, an initiative of the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University, has released a report that offers new insights into US energy transition investments. This report comprehensively models the intersect ... Open Access Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Advancing Southeast transportation electrification
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Energy Foundation · 2022 - 2025RTOGov: An Electricity Governance Research Network for a Changing Power Grid
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Pennsylvania State University · 2022 - 2025Interdisciplinary Energy Data Analytics Ph.D. Fellows Program Phase II: Training the Next generation of Energy Data Scholars
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation · 2020 - 2024View All Grants