Jonathan Koomey
Biographic Data
| ID | 6562914 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jonathan Koomey |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jonathan |
| FAMILY NAME | Koomey |
| SIGNATURE | KOOMEY J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2983-344X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Abandon the idea of an “optimal economic path” for climate policy
Many economic modelers believe that there is an “optimal economic path” for solving the climate problem that exists independent of human choices. This belief rests on the notion that Integrated Assessment Models can determine the path that “maximizes global welfare” and, in turn, this path should drive climate policy. This commentary focuses on an under‐appreciated problem with that belief. We argue that the existence of pervasive increasing retu…
Recalibrating global data center energy-use estimates
Growth in energy use has slowed owing to efficiency gains that smart policies can help maintain in the near term
Electricity Intensity of Internet Data Transmission: Untangling the Estimates
In order to understand the electricity use of Internet services, it is important to have accurate estimates for the average electricity intensity of transmitting data through the Internet (measured as kilowatt‐hours per gigabyte [kWh/GB]). This study identifies representative estimates for the average electricity intensity of fixed‐line Internet transmission networks over time and suggests criteria for making accurate estimates in the future. Dif…
Climate-wise choices in a world of oil abundance
Constrained oil supply has given way to abundance at a time when strong action on climate change is wavering. Recent innovation has pushed US oil production to all-time heights and driven oil prices lower. At the same time, attention to climate policy is wavering due to geopolitical upheaval. Nevertheless, climate-wise choices in the oil sector remain a priority, given oil’s large role in modern economies. Here we use a set of open-source models …
Data center growth in the United States: Decoupling the demand for services from electricity use
Data centers are energy intensive buildings that have grown in size and number to meet the increasing demands of a digital economy.This paper presents a bottom-up model to estimate data center electricity demand in the United States over a 20 year period and examines observed and projected electricity use trends in the context of changing data center operations.Results indicate a rapidly increasing electricity demand at the turn of the century th…
The Carbon Footprint of Games Distribution
This research investigates the carbon footprint of the lifecycle of console games, using the example of PlayStation®3 distribution in the UK. We estimate total carbon equivalent emissions for an average 8.8‐gigabyte (GB) game based on data for 2010. The bulk of emissions are accounted for by game play, followed by production and distribution. Two delivery scenarios are compared: The first examines Blu‐ray discs (BDs) delivered by retail stores, a…
Moving beyond benefit–cost analysis of climate change
The conventional benefit–cost approach to understanding the climate problem has serious limitations. Fortunately, an alternative way of thinking about the problem has arisen in recent decades, based on analyzing the cost effectiveness of achieving a normatively defined warming target. This approach yields important insights, showing that delaying action is costly, required emissions reductions are rapid, and most proved reserves of fossil fuels w…
The Energy and Climate Change Implications of Different Music Delivery Methods
The impacts of information and communications technology (ICT) on the environment have been a rich area for research in recent years. A prime example is the continuing rise of digital music delivery, which has obvious potential for reducing the energy and environmental impacts of producing and delivering music to final consumers. This study assesses the energy and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions associated with several alternative methods for de…
Defining a standard metric for electricity savings
Defining a standard metric for electricity savings
Other addresses not given because coauthors are too numerous Version 30 Final version submitted to Environmental Research Letters, after revisions in response to journal reviewers ’ comments
Worldwide electricity used in data centers
The direct electricity used by data centers has become an important issue in recent years as demands for new Internet services (such as search, music downloads, video-on-demand, social networking, and telephony) have become more widespread. This study estimates historical electricity used by data centers worldwide and regionally on the basis of more detailed data than were available for previous assessments, including electricity used by servers,…
The risk of surprise in energy technology costs
As countries begin to reassess and expand their energy research and development programs, it is appropriate to understand the likely costs of alternate approaches. Unfortunately, communities of experts have a well-known optimistic bias in their judgments. We review findings from several disciplines that underscore this tendency toward overconfidence as well as some proposed alternatives to incorporate it in public decision-making. We further argu…
Learning and climate change
Learning – i.e., the acquisition of new information that leads to changes in our assessment of uncertainty – plays a prominent role in the international climate policy debate. For example, the view that we should postpone actions until we know more continues to be influential. The latest work on learning and climate change includes new theoretical models, better informed simulations of how learning affects the optimal timing of emissions reductio…
Room for improvement: Increasing the value of energy modeling for policy analysis
Room for improvement: Increasing the value of energy modeling for policy analysis
Abandon the idea of an “optimal economic path” for climate policy
Many economic modelers believe that there is an “optimal economic path” for solving the climate problem that exists independent of human choices. This belief rests on the notion that Integrated Assessment Models can determine the path that “maximizes global welfare” and, in turn, this path should drive climate policy. This commentary focuses on an under‐appreciated problem with that belief. We argue that the existence of pervasive increasing retu…
Room for improvement: Increasing the value of energy modeling for policy analysis
Learning and climate change
Learning – i.e., the acquisition of new information that leads to changes in our assessment of uncertainty – plays a prominent role in the international climate policy debate. For example, the view that we should postpone actions until we know more continues to be influential. The latest work on learning and climate change includes new theoretical models, better informed simulations of how learning affects the optimal timing of emissions reductio…
The risk of surprise in energy technology costs
As countries begin to reassess and expand their energy research and development programs, it is appropriate to understand the likely costs of alternate approaches. Unfortunately, communities of experts have a well-known optimistic bias in their judgments. We review findings from several disciplines that underscore this tendency toward overconfidence as well as some proposed alternatives to incorporate it in public decision-making. We further argu…
Worldwide electricity used in data centers
The direct electricity used by data centers has become an important issue in recent years as demands for new Internet services (such as search, music downloads, video-on-demand, social networking, and telephony) have become more widespread. This study estimates historical electricity used by data centers worldwide and regionally on the basis of more detailed data than were available for previous assessments, including electricity used by servers,…
The Energy and Climate Change Implications of Different Music Delivery Methods
The impacts of information and communications technology (ICT) on the environment have been a rich area for research in recent years. A prime example is the continuing rise of digital music delivery, which has obvious potential for reducing the energy and environmental impacts of producing and delivering music to final consumers. This study assesses the energy and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions associated with several alternative methods for de…
Defining a standard metric for electricity savings
Defining a standard metric for electricity savings
Other addresses not given because coauthors are too numerous Version 30 Final version submitted to Environmental Research Letters, after revisions in response to journal reviewers ’ comments
Moving beyond benefit–cost analysis of climate change
The conventional benefit–cost approach to understanding the climate problem has serious limitations. Fortunately, an alternative way of thinking about the problem has arisen in recent decades, based on analyzing the cost effectiveness of achieving a normatively defined warming target. This approach yields important insights, showing that delaying action is costly, required emissions reductions are rapid, and most proved reserves of fossil fuels w…
The Carbon Footprint of Games Distribution
This research investigates the carbon footprint of the lifecycle of console games, using the example of PlayStation®3 distribution in the UK. We estimate total carbon equivalent emissions for an average 8.8‐gigabyte (GB) game based on data for 2010. The bulk of emissions are accounted for by game play, followed by production and distribution. Two delivery scenarios are compared: The first examines Blu‐ray discs (BDs) delivered by retail stores, a…
Electricity Intensity of Internet Data Transmission: Untangling the Estimates
In order to understand the electricity use of Internet services, it is important to have accurate estimates for the average electricity intensity of transmitting data through the Internet (measured as kilowatt‐hours per gigabyte [kWh/GB]). This study identifies representative estimates for the average electricity intensity of fixed‐line Internet transmission networks over time and suggests criteria for making accurate estimates in the future. Dif…
Climate-wise choices in a world of oil abundance
Constrained oil supply has given way to abundance at a time when strong action on climate change is wavering. Recent innovation has pushed US oil production to all-time heights and driven oil prices lower. At the same time, attention to climate policy is wavering due to geopolitical upheaval. Nevertheless, climate-wise choices in the oil sector remain a priority, given oil’s large role in modern economies. Here we use a set of open-source models …
Data center growth in the United States: Decoupling the demand for services from electricity use
Data centers are energy intensive buildings that have grown in size and number to meet the increasing demands of a digital economy.This paper presents a bottom-up model to estimate data center electricity demand in the United States over a 20 year period and examines observed and projected electricity use trends in the context of changing data center operations.Results indicate a rapidly increasing electricity demand at the turn of the century th…
Recalibrating global data center energy-use estimates
Growth in energy use has slowed owing to efficiency gains that smart policies can help maintain in the near term
Abandon the idea of an “optimal economic path” for climate policy
Many economic modelers believe that there is an “optimal economic path” for solving the climate problem that exists independent of human choices. This belief rests on the notion that Integrated Assessment Models can determine the path that “maximizes global welfare” and, in turn, this path should drive climate policy. This commentary focuses on an under‐appreciated problem with that belief. We argue that the existence of pervasive increasing retu…
Economics (13 works) · Computer Science (12 works) · Environmental economics (8 works) · Business (7 works) · Engineering (7 works) · Environmental Science (7 works) · Climate Change Policy and Economics (5 works) · Electrical engineering (5 works) · Electricity (5 works) · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies (5 works)