The Climate and Energy Policy Laboratory (CEPL) supports Georgia Tech's School of Public Policy in two major ways. The CEPL administers the Master of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Management (MSEEM) degree and the Certificate for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Management (CSEEM) programs. The CEPL also conducts research on: clean energy financing; information and regulatory policies; trends in the U.S. South; transformation to a smart grid; and the evolution of distributed resources including energy efficiency, demand response, electric vehicles and solar photovoltaics. Graduates are positioned for leadership careers that address sustainable energy challenges in various areas of professional life, including government agencies, universities, non-governmental organizations, business, and industry. We are involved in studies of climate mitigation under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Our policy interests span the triad of mitigation, adaptation, and geo-engineering, while also including issues of equity, employment, and other impacts of policy interventions.

Multidisciplinarity, quantitative rigor, and strong conceptual frameworks underpin CEPL’s approach to policy analysis. Econometric models are employed to evaluate the impacts of existing programs. We use a unique ensemble of modeling tools including the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS), hybrid NEMS-Input/Output approaches, Monte Carlo methods to characterize uncertainties, and GT-DSM and GT-Solar cost-benefit calculators. Together, these models are used to forecast the speed and market penetration of new and improved energy technologies and the ability of possible future policies to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies and practices. An interest in institutional and consumer behavior underpins the CEPL research agenda.