I am a PhD candidate in Sustainable Development at Columbia University.
My PhD program includes core training in economics with additional social and natural science training.
From 2021-2022 I served in the Biden Administration as the Climate Staff Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers.
I do research on climate change economics, global cooperation, and other global risks including nuclear proliferation, biosecurity, and war. My research has been covered in outlets such as the NYTimes, NPR, Scientific American, and Vox.
I am a Global Priorities Fellow and a 2020 Nuclear Scholar at CSIS.
I am a former management consultant.
Get in touch: rdb2148 (at) columbia.edu
Selected Recent Work
Bressler, R. D. (2021).The Mortality Cost of Carbon. Nature Communications. 2021.
Selected Media coverage: Covered in 219 news outlets, including [NYTimes] [NPR] [Scientific American] [Vox] [Bloomberg] [Axios] [The Guardian] [USA Today] [Forbes] [Wired] [The Independent] [The Hill] [CNBC] [Süddeutsche Zeitung] [Univision] [Business Insider] [MIC] [Health Policy Watch] [Breitbart]
Selected Interviews: [Weather Channel] [Cheddar News] [CFRA Canada (start at 12:00)] [Ukraine Inter TV] [NTN 24 Spanish Language TV]
Cited in Supreme Court Case West Virginia Vs. EPA (2022)
Bressler, R. D., Moore, F. C., Rennert, K., & Anthoff, D. (2021). Estimates of country level temperature-related mortality damage functions.. Nature Scientific Reports.
Selected Media coverage: [The Guardian] [MIT Technology Review] [The Conversation - Professor François Lévêque]
Bressler, R. D., & Heal, G. (2022). Valuing Excess Deaths Caused by Climate Change (No. w30648). National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Latest Draft as of November 2, 2022.
Selected Media coverage: [Vox]
Bressler, R.D., Shimberg, N., & Gillingham, K. (2023). The Phantom Dismal Theorem: How Discounting and Mortality Valuation Interaction Can Cause Infinite Valuation of Future Lives.