Associate Professor
Education
PhD, MA Sustainable Development, Columbia University
BSE, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University
Bio
Kyle Meng is an Associate Professor at the Bren School of Environmental Management and the Department of Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Climate and Energy Program Director at UCSB’s Environmental Markets Lab. He served as Senior Economist for climate, energy, and environment at the White House Council of Economic Advisers in the Biden Administration.
An environmental economist with training in engineering and atmospheric physics, Dr. Meng studies the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity consequences of environmental policies, with a focus on climate change. His research has examined the environmental justice consequences of carbon markets; explored the drivers of long-term clean energy transitions; and uncovered relationships between the global climate and global patterns of violence and food insecurity.
Dr. Meng has published in leading science and economics journals including the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Nature, Science, and PNAS, and his research is regularly discussed by major media outlets and policymakers. Dr. Meng received his PhD in Sustainable Development from Columbia University and his Bachelor’s in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Princeton University. A first-generation immigrant, he was a recipient of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. He serves on the board of directors at the Union of Concerned Scientists.