Industrial Economics, Incorporated

  • About
    • About
    • Our Story
    • Consulting Approach
    • Our Culture
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at IEc
    • Sustainability At IEc
  • Our Work
    • Natural Resource Management
    • Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)
    • Site Restoration & Remediation
    • Applied Sciences
    • Endangered Species
    • Water Resources Management
    • Public Policy AnalysisZakim bridge
    • Regulatory Analysis & Support
    • Climate Change
    • Risk Analysis & Risk Communication
    • Energy
    • Applied EconomicsApplied Economics
    • Natural Resource Economics
    • Health Measurement & Valuation
    • Benefit-Cost Analysis
    • Utility Rate Regulation
    • Finance & Forensic AnalysisFinancial Management & Accounting
    • Penalty Assessments
    • Financial Analysis
    • Financial Management, Accounting, & Reporting
    • Economic & Financial Damages
    • Program Design & EvaluationProgram Design, Implementation, & Evaluation
    • Strategic Planning & Program Design
    • Measurement & Evaluation
    • Environmental Reporting and Communications
    • Sustainabilitywind turbine
    • Footprinting: Energy/Carbon, Water, Waste
    • Strategic Planning and Target Setting for a Low-Carbon Future
    • Sustainability Program Implementation Support
    • Reporting & Communications
    • Information Technologies & CommunicationInformation Technologies & Communication
    • Data Management
    • Decision Support Tools
    • Spatial Analysis / GIS
    • Graphic Design
    • Survey Research
  • Staff
    • StaffStaff
    • Our People
    • Senior Staff Profiles
  • Careers
    • CareersCareers
    • Open Positions
    • Career Development
  • Contracts
    • ContractsContracts
    • GSA Services
    • Procuring Work From IEc
  • Find Us
    • Find UsContact
    • Our Office
    • Our Neighborhood

Climate Change

Climate change presents the greatest environmental challenge of our time, and IEc is prominent in efforts to understand and control this complex phenomenon. Since the mid 1990s, IEc has cultivated a national reputation in climate change impact assessment, drawing on our expertise in air policy and resource economics. We have expanded this expertise into diverse specialties such as sea level rise and climate change adaptation. Likewise, we have expanded our client base to include not only domestic agencies such as the U.S. EPA, the Department of the Interior, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, but also inter-governmental organizations such as the World Bank, international government agencies, and various non-profit groups.

Specialty Areas

IEc is a leader in efforts to assess climate change impacts on natural systems and the built environment.  Using models of wetlands, commercial agriculture, water supplies, infrastructure, and other systems, we help clients characterize physical responses in the environment, as well the economic implications of these changes. For instance, for the U.S. EPA, IEc estimated the impact of climate change on key categories of vulnerable infrastructure resources, including roads, water supply, and urban drainage. Likewise, IEc has examined how inaction will affect Department of Interior holdings in the southeast U.S., including impacts on coastal wetlands, recreational opportunities, and invasive species.

Our consultants are recognized experts on adaptation strategies to counter the effects of climate change, as well as in estimating the public investment needed to implement these strategies. Adaptation and investment are topics of acute interest in developing countries, where anticipated impacts are great and public resources are limited. For instance, IEc has worked extensively with the World Bank on infrastructure design for managing water supplies in Uganda; adaptation options for irrigation and agriculture in Albania, Macedonia, Moldova, and Uzbekistan; and adaptation scenarios for nations threatened by sea level rise, such as Madagascar.

IEc’s climate change expertise grew out of our previous work in air quality and emissions control. We have a sophisticated understanding of greenhouse gas (GHG) contributors, control methods, and the potential for carbon sequestration as a mitigation strategy. Our recent experience includes assessing alternative GHG mitigation policy scenarios and their effect on climate forecasts and biophysical indicators. IEc experts also testified before the U.S. Senate on the design of financial mechanisms to ensure the carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) industry is adequately capitalized to fund future liabilities.

Project Examples

Paved road in Africa
Climate Resilience in Africa
World Bank
Earth as seen from space
Benefits of Global Action on Climate Change
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change Division
  • Public Policy AnalysisZakim bridge
  • Regulatory Analysis & Support
  • Climate Change
  • Risk Analysis & Risk Communication
  • Energy
Industrial Economics, Inc. Logo

2067 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140 617.354.0074

© 2023 Industrial Economics, Incorporated