Thomas Heller
Encyclopedia
Thomas C. Heller is an American climate policy expert, lawyer, and academic. Mr. Heller currently serves as Executive Director of Climate Policy Initiative, a global policy effectiveness analysis and advisory organization headquartered in San Francisco.
, and the interaction of government and nongovernmental organizations in establishing legal structures in the developing world. Since 1991, Heller has been increasingly engaged in research and applied policy studies in energy and climate, with a principal concern with developments in China, India, Mexico, Brazil and other leading emerging markets.
Since September 2009, Heller has served as Executive Director of Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), a policy effectiveness analysis and advisory organization that evaluates and supports the efforts of nations to achieve low-carbon growth. He was also a contributing lead author for the IPCC’s Third
and Fourth Assessment Reports
and a contributor to the Special Reports on Technology Transfer and Emissions Scenarios
, for which he was a joint Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 2007. Heller also served as a core team member directing Project Catalyst—an analysis-based project in support of the Copenhagen Climate Process
—and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Governing Board of the Global Green Growth Institute, with headquarters in Seoul, Korea.
Thomas Heller received his B.A. in Economics from Princeton University
in 1965 and his LL.B. from Yale Law School
in 1968. From 1968-1971, he worked as an Attorney-Advisor for the Governments of Chile and Argentina. Upon returning from South America, Heller served as a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School
before joining the Stanford Law School
Faculty in 1978, where he remained until 2009. There he served as the Lewis Talbot and Nadine Hearn Shelton Professor of International Legal Studies and was also a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and at the Woods Institute for the Environment.
Biography
An expert in law, economic development, and the performance of legal institutions, Thomas Heller's work has focused on policy effectiveness, international climate control, global energy use, Green GrowthGreen growth
Green Growth is a term to describe a path of economic growth which uses natural resources in a sustainable manner. It is used globally to provide an alternative concept to standard economic growth...
, and the interaction of government and nongovernmental organizations in establishing legal structures in the developing world. Since 1991, Heller has been increasingly engaged in research and applied policy studies in energy and climate, with a principal concern with developments in China, India, Mexico, Brazil and other leading emerging markets.
Since September 2009, Heller has served as Executive Director of Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), a policy effectiveness analysis and advisory organization that evaluates and supports the efforts of nations to achieve low-carbon growth. He was also a contributing lead author for the IPCC’s Third
IPCC Third Assessment Report
The IPCC Third Assessment Report, Climate Change 2001, is an assessment of available scientific and socio-economic information on climate change by the IPCC. The IPCC was established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme and the UN's World Meteorological Organization ".....
and Fourth Assessment Reports
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
Climate Change 2007, the Fourth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects, and options for...
and a contributor to the Special Reports on Technology Transfer and Emissions Scenarios
Special Report on Emissions Scenarios
The Special Report on Emissions Scenarios was prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2000, based on data developed at the Earth Institute at Columbia University. The emissions scenarios described in the Report have been used to make projections of possible future climate...
, for which he was a joint Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 2007. Heller also served as a core team member directing Project Catalyst—an analysis-based project in support of the Copenhagen Climate Process
Copenhagen Climate Challenge
During the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 , there was a rival conference in Copenhagen for sceptics, called the Copenhagen Climate Challenge. which was organised by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow....
—and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Governing Board of the Global Green Growth Institute, with headquarters in Seoul, Korea.
Thomas Heller received his B.A. in Economics from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1965 and his LL.B. from Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
in 1968. From 1968-1971, he worked as an Attorney-Advisor for the Governments of Chile and Argentina. Upon returning from South America, Heller served as a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School
University of Wisconsin Law School
The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional school for the study of law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The law school was founded in 1868.-Facilities:...
before joining the Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
Faculty in 1978, where he remained until 2009. There he served as the Lewis Talbot and Nadine Hearn Shelton Professor of International Legal Studies and was also a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and at the Woods Institute for the Environment.
Works
- Nicholas Bloom, Benn Eifert, Thomas C. Heller, Erik Jensen, and Aprajit Mahajan, Contract Enforcement and Firm Organization: Evidence from the Indian Textile Industry, CDDRL Working Papers, 2009.
- Thomas C. Heller, "Afterword: Reflections on a Path to Effective Climate Change Mitigation," in Climate Finance: Regulatory and Funding Strategies for Climate Change and Global Development, Richard B. Stewart, Benedict Kingsbury, Bryce Rudyk, eds., New York: New York University Press, 2009.
- Thomas C. Heller and David G. Victor, Political Economy of Power Sector Reform: The Experiences of Five Major Developing Countries, Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
- Thomas C. Heller, "Diversifier la Production Electrique en Chine", in Regards Sur la Terre 2007, Pierre Jacquet and Laurence Tubiana, eds., Paris: Les Presses Sciences Po, 2007.
- Thomas C. Heller and Erik G. Jensen, editors, Beyond Common Knowledge: Empirical Approaches to the Rule of Law, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003.
- IPCC, 2001: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2001: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.