Julien Xavier Daubanes

What is your area of research?

I study how the economy—including energy markets—responds to environmental public policy and corporate social responsibility initiatives. My research covers topics such as the effects of carbon pricing and green finance on the oil market, investors’ valuation of oil assets (including stranded assets), the role of NGO pressure on business conduct, the effectiveness of divestment from polluting industries, and international sanctions such as those currently imposed on Russia. My methods combine applied economic theory, empirical testing, and counterfactual simulations based on calibrated models.

Why is it so important?

My research highlights that well-intentioned policies have unintended consequences, which may make them counterproductive. These findings have implications for the design of policies addressing urgent challenges such as climate change or sanctions against Russia aimed at limiting its ability to finance the war. For example, my recent results suggest that divestment from oil companies makes the industry more short-term oriented, leading to higher oil production even over a relatively long horizon. They also show that strengthening the price-cap on Russian oil—an option advocated by Nordic countries—would increase Russia’s oil revenues, and they point to more effective alternatives.

A project you are proud of?

I am extremely proud of the team of excellent junior researchers specialized in sustainable finance and corporate environmental practices that we are assembling at DTU. This team is harnessing state-of-the-art techniques to develop powerful tools of economic analysis, which we will use to assess the role of finance in climate policy, among other issues. I am also very excited about my research on oil sanctions, which has immediate implications for the ongoing policy debate on the design of sanctions against Russia.

Updated June 2026

Through his participation in Policy Fellowship 2025-2026, Julien has been working with Gro Høyer Thielst, journalist at Dagbladet Børsen