Tracy Hester of the University of Houston Law Center.
March 19, 2020 — University of Houston Law Center Lecturer Tracy Hester was recently announced as the co-director of the Center for Carbon Management in Energy, an initiative of UH Energy. Charles McConnell, a former energy executive and assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Energy, will serve as the interim executive director.
The center's goal is to bring a holistic approach to a low carbon future by driving research in strategies aimed at lessening carbon emissions and greenhouse gases in the energy industry. The CCME also will create impactful policy and law proposals to help implement the findings of such research.
"Given the University of Houston's unique position as the leading energy university in the world’s energy capitol, we hope that the center will take advantage of the enormous talent, resources, and interest that Houston provides,” Hester said.
“To meet the enormous challenges of combating climate change, the energy industry will have to navigate demands to reduce its carbon emissions while satisfying the growing need for energy in a fast-changing world."
Hester said that to manage carbon effectively in the energy industry, experts must examine all dimensions of its production — otherwise, a solution for one segment may only increase the challenges in another.
“Any truly powerful answer will need an effective combination of innovative basic research, technological development, creative business, finance, and policy designs, and supportive legal strategies," Hester said.
Hester teaches Environmental Law, Statutory Interpretation and Regulatory Practice, Climate Change Law, Practice of Environmental Law, Emerging Technologies and Environmental Law and Environmental Enforcement at the Law Center.
