Gregor Semieniuk

Assistant Research Professor at the Political Economy Research Institute and the Department of Economics University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Amherst MA

Gregor Semieniuk is an expert on the political economy of policy-induced structural change required to transition to a low-carbon economy.

Contact

University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Expertise

Low Carbon Economy
Climate Change
Economic Growth
Political Economy
Renewable Energy

Biography

Gregor Semieniuk is an expert on the energy and resource requirements of global economic growth and on the political economy of rapid, policy-induced structural change that is required for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

He has published and spoke in the media extensively on these topics including for National Public Radio, Scientific American, the Washington Post and Nature Energy. He has consulted for the United Nations Environment Program, the European Commission and the UK government, and won grants to study policies inducing investments into renewable energy supply as well as the risks for financial investors from stranded assets in a fast low-carbon transition.

Social Media

Video

Education

The New School for Social Research

Ph.D.

Economics

The New School for Social Research

M.S.

Economcs

Technische Universität Dresden

B.A.

International Relations

Select Recent Media Coverage

When oil and gas infrastructure becomes obsolete

The New Statesman  online

2023-12-18

Gregor Semieniuk is quoted in an article on stranded fossil fuel assets. As the economy moves toward more renewable energy sources and the assets of oil and gas companies become obsolete, the financial losses pose a problem for the green transition, he says. “What if the financial losses were so large, that there are such big interest groups behind these that they could derail progress? What if the big oil companies push back? What if the utilities push back?,” Semieniuk asks.

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Open secret at climate talks: The top temperature goal is mostly gone

Politico  online

2023-12-03

Gregor Semieniuk weighed in on the debate between countries calling for a “phase-out” of all fossil fuels and countries that use the wording “phase-down.” He said, “It matters for sentiments and discussions, and therefore I think ‘phase out’ is pushed for by those who take this really seriously.”

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Greening up the nation will be borne by top 10% of earners in US, UMass experts say

MassLive  online

2023-06-23

New research, co-authored by Gregor Semieniuk of the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute, has found that a transition to renewable energy would not have a major financial effect on the general population.

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Select Publications

Bold Climate Fixes Won’t Wreck Middle Class Retirement Plans

Scientific American

Lucal Chancel and Gregor Semieniuk

2023-11-01

In an opinion piece, Gregor Semieniuk outlines his study that demonstrates that moving away from fossil fuels will impact the wealthy more than the poor or middle class. “We estimate that losses amount to less than half a percent of the net wealth of [the] wealthiest 1% or 10% of Americans,” Semieniuk and his co-author write.

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Technical comment on “Fairness considerations in global mitigation investments”

Science

2023

In an otherwise excellent analysis of fair regional shares of global mitigation investments, Pachauri et al. (Policy Forum, 9 December 2022, p. 1057) dramatically overestimate developing countries’ ‘capability’ to invest by estimating GDP using purchasing power parity exchange rates. Since internationally sourced investment goods must be paid for at market exchange rates, capability-based interregional finance flows should be vastly larger.

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Stranded assets and implications for financial markets

Elsevier

2023

Greenhouse gas emissions reductions in line with international climate targets would substantially decrease the value of reserves of oil, gas and coal and related infrastructures, such as power plants for fossil fuel combustion. This article provides an overview of estimates of the value of such ‘stranded assets’ in different climate scenarios. We then illustrate how the prospect of asset stranding could increase political resistance against climate policy and show that unmitigated climate change would also lead to stranding of a different kind of asset, such as coastal real estate. Finally, we discuss potential implications of asset stranding for financial markets.

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