William D. Nordhaus, the Yale University economist whose pioneering research integrated climate change into mainstream economic analysis, died Friday at his home in New Haven. He was 85. His death was confirmed by Yale University, with the cause identified as glioblastoma.
Bridging Economics and Earth Science
Professor Nordhaus was awarded the Nobel Prize in economic science in 2018 for his development of models that balanced the long-term damages of climate change against the costs of mitigation. His work transformed environmental economics from a fringe academic interest into a central pillar of global policy, providing the framework for the "social cost of carbon"—a metric used to quantify the economic benefits of climate action.
Throughout his career, Nordhaus advocated for a carbon tax that would escalate over time, a strategy he believed offered an efficient path to stabilization. While direct carbon taxes have faced political hurdles, his influence persists in the form of emissions-trading systems and the European Union’s recent implementation of a carbon border adjustment mechanism, which penalizes non-participating nations.
A Legacy of Rigorous Inquiry
Born in Albuquerque in 1941, Nordhaus earned his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before returning to Yale in 1967. He spent decades refining his models, often working against the grain of mainstream economic journals that initially dismissed the importance of environmental accounting. Despite his scrupulously apolitical reputation, he remained a vocal advocate for science, famously criticizing the Trump administration’s stance on climate change as "ludicrous."
Nordhaus is survived by his wife, Barbara Feise, three children, a brother, a sister, and three granddaughters.
