Aurélien Saussay

Aurélien Saussay is an Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. He joined the Institute in September 2019. His research focuses on the economic consequences of the transition to a low carbon economy, in order to identify the social and political acceptance challenges that hamper the implementation of effective decarbonisation.
Background
Aurélien completed his PhD at EHESS (CIRED) in 2018. His dissertation, titled “Three Essays on Energy Prices and the Energy Transition” received the 2019 EAERE Award for Best Doctoral Dissertations in Environmental and Resource Economics. One of his articles, “The Impacts of Energy Prices on Industrial Foreign Investment Location: Evidence from Global Firm Level Data”, co-authored with Misato Sato, also received the FAERE Young Economist Best Paper Award.
In parallel to his PhD, Aurélien was head of the environmental team at OFCE, Sciences Po. There, he has been one of the main co-authors of the Multi-sector Macroeconomic Model for the Evaluation of Environmental and Energy policies (ThreeME), which is used extensively in France, the Netherlands, Mexico and Indonesia to assess the economic consequences of energy transition scenarios. Aurélien has previously been an energy policy analyst at the International Energy Agency from 2009 until 2013. He holds an MSc Engineering from Mines-Paristech, and an MSc in Economics and Public Policy from Sciences Po and Ecole Polytechnique.
Research interests
- Environmental Economics
- Empirical Econometrics
- Energy Transition
Research
Research - 2024
This study examines the influence of relative energy prices on the geographical distribution of industrial investments across 41 countries. Read more

Research - 2023
The authors of this paper introduce a simple empirical approach to test the pollution offshoring hypothesis (POH) combining a comprehensive industrial mergers and acquisitions dataset, a measure of sectoral linkages based on input-output tables and an index score of environmental policy stringency. Read more

Research - 2022
This paper provides evidence on the characteristics of low-carbon jobs in the United States and reveals the potential skills gaps and hiring difficulties emerging in specific labour markets affected by the low-carbon transition. Read more

Research - 2020
This paper provides a quantitative assessment of the economic and environmental impacts of COVID-19 lockdown measures in the short and long term. Read more

Research - 2018
The results of this paper show that upon deciding to invest, firms are attracted to regions that have lower energy prices. This supports arguments for better targeting leakage prevention measures to complement carbon pricing for energy-intensive industrial activities. Read more

Policy
Policy - 2024
This report examines the potential future ramifications that tariff proposals put forward by US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump in August 2024 could have on the EU and UK, and also on China and other major emerging economies. Read more

This report aims to inform government criteria for assessing UK ETS expansion to cover the domestic heating and road transport sectors, including practicality, suitability and distributional impacts across different income groups. Read more

Policy - 2023
This report provides a detailed characterisation of low-carbon jobs from the last decade in the United States and the United Kingdom, bringing new evidence to support policy discussions. Read more

Policy - 2022
This paper presents new simulation results for the UK combining macroeconomic simulations in ThreeME, a computable general equilibrium model, with... Read more

Events
Events - 2023
News
News - 2025
This article looks at the potential impact of President Trump's trade tariffs on the renewable energy and green technology sectors. Read more

This news article considers the implications of President Trump's promised trade tariffs on the European Union. Read more

This article considers the implications of trade tariffs that may be introduced by the incoming Trump presidency. Read more

This article discusses some of the international agreements and institutions that the United States may withdraw from during the second Trump presidency. Read more

News - 2024
This article considers the implications for Europe if Donald Trump were to return to the White House as US President. Read more

This news article reports on the apparent shift away from the Green party by young German voters during the 2024... Read more

In this radio interview Aurélien Saussay discusses the reasons behind recent losses by Green parties in the 2024 European parliamentary... Read more

Guardian, 10 June 2024 Read more

News - 2023
This article which reports on how an apparent shortage of green skills in the workforce may undermind climate targets. The... Read more

News - 2021
In this article for the French magazine L'Express, Aurélien Saussay outlines why it is important for France to remain actively engaged with global efforts to tackle climate change. Read more

In this editorial article for L'Express Aurélien Saussay considers the climate and enviornmental impact of the recent growth in single-family detached homes in France during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

News - 2020
Low prices are a huge threat to efforts to shift the world’s energy supply to a greener path and curb... Read more
