Deborah Gordon
Senior Fellow in International and Public Affairs
Former Director, Energy and Climate Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Deborah Gordon is the former Director of the Energy and Climate Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Trained as a chemical engineer and policy analyst, Gordon works on global oil and climate change issues. After beginning her career with Chevron, Gordon managed an energy and environmental consulting practice, taught at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and directed the Energy Policy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Gordon regularly testifies before Congress, collaborates with government agencies, industry, and NGOs, and has served on National Academy of Sciences committees. Gordon’s op eds, articles, and quotes have appeared in The National Interest, The Hill, Pacific Standard, Financial Times, Scientific American, International Economy Magazine, About Oil, Boao Review, Xinghua News, Huffington Post, Newsweek, Time, Washington Post, and New York Times. She has been featured on ABC News, PBS Great Decisions, NPR’s To the Point, E&E TV's On Point.
Serving as lead researcher on the development of the Oil-Climate Index (OCI), a first-of-its-kind tool to assess and compare the total climate impacts of global oils through the supply chain from upstream production, midstream refining, and downstream end use
Researching global opportunities to reduce climate impacts in the petroleum sector and writing a new book titled No Standard Oil (forthcoming, Oxford University Press, 2020)
Applying the OCI to develop divestment strategies and design a smart carbon tax for the oil sector to equitably reflect producers, refiners and end users’ climate responsibilities
Collaborating with NASA Carbon Monitoring System scientists to assess methane emission impacts from global oil and gas operations
Conducting research on the impacts vehicle electrification and automation will have on the oil transition strategy in order to advance a low-carbon economy
Developed the first motor vehicle feebates policy while at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory under a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Petroleum Companies Need a Credible Climate Plan, (with Stephen Ziman), Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, November 2018
https://carnegieendowment.org/files/Gordon_Petro_Companies_Need_Climate_Plan_Nov2018.pdf
LegalPlanet Blog, Is California Extraordinary? Its Oil Resources Certainly Are, (with Frances Reuland), November 15, 2018
Medium, California’s Dirty Environmental Secret, (with J. Koomey), September 5, 2018
https://medium.com/@dxgordon/californias-dirty-environmental-secret-cd4f77f9afd2
Global Carbon Intensity of Crude Oil Production, (with M. Masnadi, et. al.), In Science, August 2018
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6405/851
Advancing Climate Engineering Disclosure, (with David Livingston), Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 2018
Climate-wise Choices in a World of Oil Abundance, In Environmental Research Letters, IOP Science, April 2018, (with A. Brandt, M. Masnadi, J. Englander, and J. Koomey)
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aaae76
December 13, 2018 ClimateWire
Senior Fellow Deborah Gordon comments on U.S. oil, saying "We're giving away oil that is potentially much lower-emitting oil, and we're importing oil that is very carbon-intensive."
April 26, 2018 Live Mint
Senior Fellow Deborah Gordon in Live Mint, "As a growing part of a growing region, India’s EV policies and refining decisions will be significant, both regionally and globally."
February 5, 2018 The Atlantic
Senior Fellow Deborah Gordon comments on the Department of Energy's research project on crude oils, "Everything is changing but no one really is aware or cares."
November 10, 2017 The Sacramento Bee
Senior Fellow Deborah Gordon in The Sacramento Bee, "As the state reduces oil demand with electric vehicles, automation and other strategies, it will be equally important to make oil production cleaner to keep California leading the charge against climate change."
October 30, 2017 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Senior Fellow Deborah Gordon on reducing climate impacts with oil innovation, "Reducing the climate impacts of the most emissions-intensive oils is possible with technologies that already exist. Even greater reductions are possible with innovations undergoing development."
October 19, 2017 Yale Environment360
Although a leader in climate policies, many experts say California's oil producing methods need reforming.
September 25, 2017 The National Interest
Senior Fellow Deborah Gordon in The National Interest, "More than fifty years later, the field of climate engineering remains largely unknown, especially to policymakers and the public. There are real risks to opting into—or out of—climate engineering."