Date: October 1, 2026

Time: 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Location: Maeder Hall Auditorium

HIGHLIGHT SEMINAR SERIES

Contemplating the Frontier of Energy Transition Modeling

Steven Davis

Professor of Earth System Science at Doerr School of Sustainability, Senior Fellow, Precourt Institute of Energy, and Director of the Sustainable Solutions Lab, Stanford University

Abstract

Energy system models typically answer a central planner’s question: what mix of technologies meets an emissions target at least cost? But the energy transition is increasingly driven by defense agencies, health ministries, environmental justice groups, mining communities, grid operators and technology manufacturers who are asking very different questions. Davis will reflect on this gap, drawing on recent work on air pollution, trade exposure, mining and water, grid reliability under climate change, and rare-earth supply chains to address where and how we may improve upon the idealized assumptions of existing energy system models to deliver insights to these key constituencies. Davis will also comment on what it would take for models to answer these questions directly and briefly consider the context of lower-income countries, where models are least well-calibrated and the stakes are highest.

Bio

Steve Davis is Professor of Earth System Science in Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability, where he directs the Sustainable Solutions Lab and is a Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy. His research focuses on the practical pathways to a net-zero economy: carbon accounting, supply-chain emissions, energy systems, food systems, and the critical materials that the transition depends on. He has served as a Lead Author on the U.S. Fifth National Climate Assessment, a Contributing Author on the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, on the Global Carbon Project’s Scientific Steering Committee, and the board of the Aspen Global Change Institute. Beyond academia, he chairs the Science Advisory Board at the climate software company Watershed and sits on the Technical Council of the Science Based Targets initiative. Before he was a scientist, Steve practiced corporate law in Silicon Valley, which shaped his thinking on business, policy, and decision-making.