| Stephen Hatfield Dodds | |
| Birth Name: | Stephen Dodds |
| Occupation: | Philosophical economist |
Steve Hatfield Dodds (born Stephen Dodds) is an Australian philosophical economist, with notable work in the social cost of economic decision-making and particularly sustainable development and the economic impact of climate change.
In 2000, Hatfield Dodds gained his PhD in Economics from the Australian National University in Canberra, after submitting a thesis, From consumerism to sustainable development: essays on progress, well-being and limits in economic thought.
Soon after graduating, and joining the Australian Government's Treasury, Hatfield Dodds was seconded to the Canadian Department of Finance for several years and lived in Ottawa with his family.
On returning to Australia, he held positions in The Allen Consulting Group, Environment Australia, and the Australian National University.
He worked with, and advised on:
He joined Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in 2002,[1] and in 2003 became Senior Researcher in the Integration Science and Public Policy office, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems. In 2008 he joined the newly formed Commonwealth Department of Climate Change.
In the December 2007 report Leader, follower or free rider? touted[2] as of similar importance to Sir Nicholas Stern's Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change for the Government of the United Kingdom (to which he contributed a submission), Hatfield Dodds as lead author argued for deep cuts in Australia's greenhouse gas emissions in the next 40 years (to 2050) and that the economic costs are modest and manageable and, indeed, preferable to the consequences of not acting. "It is much more disruptive and costly to step up action than to relax it so it is better to start off with the most stringent target you can imagine and that is what we have modelled... ".[3]
In 2022, the Albanese government commissioned an Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units, that reported in December 2022. The independent panel was composed of Professor Ian Chubb AC (Chair), the Hon Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC, Ms Ariadne Gorring and Dr Stephen Hatfield Dodds.[4]
The Bulletin magazine's 28 October 2003 edition named Hatfield Dodds in its inaugural 'Smart 100' list of leading Australian innovators.
Hatfield Dodds has published more than 125 papers and reports (most are co-authored), including articles in Nature, Science, Agricultural Systems, Ecological Economics, and Ecology and Society. Despite this, his peers do not often refer to his work, with only a little over 5,000 citations to date. His highest cited publication where he is listed as first author has received only 240 citations.