Stephen Jarvis
@stephenjarvis.bsky.social
Assistant Professor in Environmental Economics at LSE. Posting mostly about energy/enviro research. https://stephenjarvis.github.io/
We're hiring! Environmental econ AP position with a focus on biodiversity and related topics.
Come join our great community here at LSE, with lots of people working in the enviro econ space across campus.
Deadline in just under 3 weeks (Oct 26th) and details here: jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
Come join our great community here at LSE, with lots of people working in the enviro econ space across campus.
Deadline in just under 3 weeks (Oct 26th) and details here: jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
October 7, 2025 at 11:42 AM
We're hiring! Environmental econ AP position with a focus on biodiversity and related topics.
Come join our great community here at LSE, with lots of people working in the enviro econ space across campus.
Deadline in just under 3 weeks (Oct 26th) and details here: jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
Come join our great community here at LSE, with lots of people working in the enviro econ space across campus.
Deadline in just under 3 weeks (Oct 26th) and details here: jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
New paper out in @pnas.org! We study the effect of air pollution on pets, finding increased vet admissions when air quality is worse. Tackling air pollution doesn't just matter for human health - it's important for animals too, including people's much loved cats and dogs www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
October 1, 2025 at 3:42 PM
New paper out in @pnas.org! We study the effect of air pollution on pets, finding increased vet admissions when air quality is worse. Tackling air pollution doesn't just matter for human health - it's important for animals too, including people's much loved cats and dogs www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Striking stats in @suttontrust.bsky.social report cited by this piece.
Dominance of private school / Oxbridge in media, government and law is really quite damning.
Big drop for current cabinet vs previous one though, and hilarious that Oxbridge is apparently not an asset in the Scottish parliament
Dominance of private school / Oxbridge in media, government and law is really quite damning.
Big drop for current cabinet vs previous one though, and hilarious that Oxbridge is apparently not an asset in the Scottish parliament
September 18, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Striking stats in @suttontrust.bsky.social report cited by this piece.
Dominance of private school / Oxbridge in media, government and law is really quite damning.
Big drop for current cabinet vs previous one though, and hilarious that Oxbridge is apparently not an asset in the Scottish parliament
Dominance of private school / Oxbridge in media, government and law is really quite damning.
Big drop for current cabinet vs previous one though, and hilarious that Oxbridge is apparently not an asset in the Scottish parliament
Lots of wind farms operating close to their max output (capacity factors of 90+%). The ones that aren't are mostly further north and presumably being curtailed - still plenty to do to resolve that particular issue.
Nice map with live data is from here: renewables-map.robinhawkes.com
Nice map with live data is from here: renewables-map.robinhawkes.com
September 16, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Lots of wind farms operating close to their max output (capacity factors of 90+%). The ones that aren't are mostly further north and presumably being curtailed - still plenty to do to resolve that particular issue.
Nice map with live data is from here: renewables-map.robinhawkes.com
Nice map with live data is from here: renewables-map.robinhawkes.com
Cycling in to work with a stiff headwind and clear blue skies thinking "I wonder what the grid is looking like today?"
Surprise, surprise: 70% renewables, gas down close to 10%, prices in the single digits (and negative overnight). 🔌💡
grid.iamkate.com
Surprise, surprise: 70% renewables, gas down close to 10%, prices in the single digits (and negative overnight). 🔌💡
grid.iamkate.com
September 16, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Cycling in to work with a stiff headwind and clear blue skies thinking "I wonder what the grid is looking like today?"
Surprise, surprise: 70% renewables, gas down close to 10%, prices in the single digits (and negative overnight). 🔌💡
grid.iamkate.com
Surprise, surprise: 70% renewables, gas down close to 10%, prices in the single digits (and negative overnight). 🔌💡
grid.iamkate.com
Basically I hope Ethiopia does not follow in Laos' footsteps where over a quarter of electricity now goes to crypto. That's more than is consumed by all residential households 😕
September 10, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Basically I hope Ethiopia does not follow in Laos' footsteps where over a quarter of electricity now goes to crypto. That's more than is consumed by all residential households 😕
We should just have GDP figures published every hour with 24/7 coverage - confidence intervals be damned.
P.S. I enjoyed the xkcd comic reference. Very apt. xkcd.com/904/
P.S. I enjoyed the xkcd comic reference. Very apt. xkcd.com/904/
September 10, 2025 at 10:56 AM
We should just have GDP figures published every hour with 24/7 coverage - confidence intervals be damned.
P.S. I enjoyed the xkcd comic reference. Very apt. xkcd.com/904/
P.S. I enjoyed the xkcd comic reference. Very apt. xkcd.com/904/
This is pretty funny from Miliband. "I'll give you the energy and climate brief when you pry it from my cold, dead hands".
September 8, 2025 at 2:54 PM
This is pretty funny from Miliband. "I'll give you the energy and climate brief when you pry it from my cold, dead hands".
Just spent the afternoon hanging out reading in the park. Local cricket match being played. All kinds of people sat out enjoying the nice weather. A string quartet even did an outdoor music recital.
Total hellscape London these days.
Total hellscape London these days.
August 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Just spent the afternoon hanging out reading in the park. Local cricket match being played. All kinds of people sat out enjoying the nice weather. A string quartet even did an outdoor music recital.
Total hellscape London these days.
Total hellscape London these days.
If you could be PM or President for the day but could only make small petty reforms, what would you do?
For one, I think I’d ban airports from forcing you to walk through the duty free gauntlet. Truly an awful idea that seems endemic at UK airports.
For one, I think I’d ban airports from forcing you to walk through the duty free gauntlet. Truly an awful idea that seems endemic at UK airports.
August 15, 2025 at 11:54 AM
If you could be PM or President for the day but could only make small petty reforms, what would you do?
For one, I think I’d ban airports from forcing you to walk through the duty free gauntlet. Truly an awful idea that seems endemic at UK airports.
For one, I think I’d ban airports from forcing you to walk through the duty free gauntlet. Truly an awful idea that seems endemic at UK airports.
For context, the vast majority of heat pumps installed elsewhere in Europe are air-to-air. This is partly driven by countries like Italy, Spain and France where the primary purpose is often cooling rather than heating. But even in cold Nordic countries the vast majority are air-to-air heat pumps.
August 13, 2025 at 10:44 AM
For context, the vast majority of heat pumps installed elsewhere in Europe are air-to-air. This is partly driven by countries like Italy, Spain and France where the primary purpose is often cooling rather than heating. But even in cold Nordic countries the vast majority are air-to-air heat pumps.
Also this trope of an "orthodox neoclassical priesthood" suppressing the plucky, heterodox "dissenters" and "activists" is really quite silly.
Anyway, with that I'll go dig out my cassock and get back to prepping my teaching materials - these students won't indoctrinate themselves.
Anyway, with that I'll go dig out my cassock and get back to prepping my teaching materials - these students won't indoctrinate themselves.
July 24, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Also this trope of an "orthodox neoclassical priesthood" suppressing the plucky, heterodox "dissenters" and "activists" is really quite silly.
Anyway, with that I'll go dig out my cassock and get back to prepping my teaching materials - these students won't indoctrinate themselves.
Anyway, with that I'll go dig out my cassock and get back to prepping my teaching materials - these students won't indoctrinate themselves.
The broad approach of "mainstream" environmental economics (market failures, externalities etc) may not be to the author's liking. But these core economic theories are still valuable tools for understanding real-world phenomena, and the quantitative methods students learn have lots of practical uses
July 24, 2025 at 11:34 AM
The broad approach of "mainstream" environmental economics (market failures, externalities etc) may not be to the author's liking. But these core economic theories are still valuable tools for understanding real-world phenomena, and the quantitative methods students learn have lots of practical uses
Yes good point, and this comes through clearly with the soaring "cost of other services".
But even absent the gas price spike constraint costs have been rising and are forecast to keep growing to 2030 until various network upgrades are completed (see for example these rather ugly charts from NESO).
But even absent the gas price spike constraint costs have been rising and are forecast to keep growing to 2030 until various network upgrades are completed (see for example these rather ugly charts from NESO).
July 23, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Yes good point, and this comes through clearly with the soaring "cost of other services".
But even absent the gas price spike constraint costs have been rising and are forecast to keep growing to 2030 until various network upgrades are completed (see for example these rather ugly charts from NESO).
But even absent the gas price spike constraint costs have been rising and are forecast to keep growing to 2030 until various network upgrades are completed (see for example these rather ugly charts from NESO).
Also the idea that it is unfair for electricity prices to vary based on where someone lives ignores the fact that this is already the case! Distribution network charges are higher in some regions than others, often by more than any predicted divergence in wholesale prices from the reforms. (34/n)
July 23, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Also the idea that it is unfair for electricity prices to vary based on where someone lives ignores the fact that this is already the case! Distribution network charges are higher in some regions than others, often by more than any predicted divergence in wholesale prices from the reforms. (34/n)
Post-reform Scotland and northern England would have had the cheapest electricity prices in Europe by some distance. Attracting new large loads (e.g. data centres) to site near cheap surplus renewables seems like a no brainer. Ditto for incentivising additional clean energy further south. (24/n)
July 23, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Post-reform Scotland and northern England would have had the cheapest electricity prices in Europe by some distance. Attracting new large loads (e.g. data centres) to site near cheap surplus renewables seems like a no brainer. Ditto for incentivising additional clean energy further south. (24/n)
In fact nodal pricing has been around for decades and is used in several large markets, especially in the US. The operational benefits are well documented, and in the UK would have seen existing infrastructure (especially interconnections with Norway or France) used much more efficiently. (22/n)
July 23, 2025 at 8:03 AM
In fact nodal pricing has been around for decades and is used in several large markets, especially in the US. The operational benefits are well documented, and in the UK would have seen existing infrastructure (especially interconnections with Norway or France) used much more efficiently. (22/n)
An intermediate option is zonal pricing, where a national market is broken into sub-national zones (see Norway and Sweden below). In practice each zone functions similarly to the GB market (eg in terms of redispatch) but smaller zones can capture some key within-country grid constraints. (13/n)
July 23, 2025 at 8:03 AM
An intermediate option is zonal pricing, where a national market is broken into sub-national zones (see Norway and Sweden below). In practice each zone functions similarly to the GB market (eg in terms of redispatch) but smaller zones can capture some key within-country grid constraints. (13/n)
These constraint redispatch actions incur costs that used to be small in a grid designed for big fossil/nuclear plants (£150m/yr in 2010). With the rapid shift to renewables constraint costs have increased while grid upgrades race to keep up (now £2bn/yr, rising to £3-4bn/yr in the 2030s). (8/n)
July 23, 2025 at 8:03 AM
These constraint redispatch actions incur costs that used to be small in a grid designed for big fossil/nuclear plants (£150m/yr in 2010). With the rapid shift to renewables constraint costs have increased while grid upgrades race to keep up (now £2bn/yr, rising to £3-4bn/yr in the 2030s). (8/n)
Fun Star Wars fact is that the Aldhani heist in Andor season one was shot at the Cruachan Dam pumped hydro power station in Scotland.
I'm curious what the economic verdict is on the merits of UK film production subsidies, but it is at least kind of cool seeing familiar locations show up on screen.
I'm curious what the economic verdict is on the merits of UK film production subsidies, but it is at least kind of cool seeing familiar locations show up on screen.
July 15, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Fun Star Wars fact is that the Aldhani heist in Andor season one was shot at the Cruachan Dam pumped hydro power station in Scotland.
I'm curious what the economic verdict is on the merits of UK film production subsidies, but it is at least kind of cool seeing familiar locations show up on screen.
I'm curious what the economic verdict is on the merits of UK film production subsidies, but it is at least kind of cool seeing familiar locations show up on screen.
For context, it’s not like SFO is a particularly new/fancy airport. But it’s rarely overcrowded, it’s quiet (no loud music or announcements), no duty free gauntlet, decent food/drink, easy to get between gates/terminals, easy to travel to (rideshare or subway). Basically, it just works pretty well.
June 25, 2025 at 10:46 PM
For context, it’s not like SFO is a particularly new/fancy airport. But it’s rarely overcrowded, it’s quiet (no loud music or announcements), no duty free gauntlet, decent food/drink, easy to get between gates/terminals, easy to travel to (rideshare or subway). Basically, it just works pretty well.
Riding Amtrak over the Sierras from Reno to the Bay Area for a conference in Berkeley. It’s a pretty journey, but at 7+hrs it’s real slow (twice as long as driving) and always delayed. Wish the US had even mildly more convenient train service, especially out west - it really is a nicer way to travel
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Riding Amtrak over the Sierras from Reno to the Bay Area for a conference in Berkeley. It’s a pretty journey, but at 7+hrs it’s real slow (twice as long as driving) and always delayed. Wish the US had even mildly more convenient train service, especially out west - it really is a nicer way to travel
The mid-2000s marked an inflection point for the UK in so many ways.
June 2, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The mid-2000s marked an inflection point for the UK in so many ways.
New @nber.org working paper with good news from NYC on the impact of congestion pricing. Clear improvements in vehicle speeds and reductions in journey times, especially during peak hours. Can't think of many other policies that have had the intended effect so rapidly.
www.nber.org/digest/20250...
www.nber.org/digest/20250...
June 2, 2025 at 8:34 PM
New @nber.org working paper with good news from NYC on the impact of congestion pricing. Clear improvements in vehicle speeds and reductions in journey times, especially during peak hours. Can't think of many other policies that have had the intended effect so rapidly.
www.nber.org/digest/20250...
www.nber.org/digest/20250...
UK grid looking real clean today - lots of wind, negative prices, large exports to Europe. 🔌💡
Always lots of talk about how to decouple power prices from [expensive] gas. This is how. Continued rollout of renewables/storage should mean these kind of days become much more common. grid.iamkate.com
Always lots of talk about how to decouple power prices from [expensive] gas. This is how. Continued rollout of renewables/storage should mean these kind of days become much more common. grid.iamkate.com
May 26, 2025 at 1:02 PM
UK grid looking real clean today - lots of wind, negative prices, large exports to Europe. 🔌💡
Always lots of talk about how to decouple power prices from [expensive] gas. This is how. Continued rollout of renewables/storage should mean these kind of days become much more common. grid.iamkate.com
Always lots of talk about how to decouple power prices from [expensive] gas. This is how. Continued rollout of renewables/storage should mean these kind of days become much more common. grid.iamkate.com