Publications - Reports

Environmental Management Needs for Exploration and Exploitation of Deep Sea Minerals

May 2012 - by International Seabed Authority, et al.

The International Seabed Authority in collaboration with the Government of Fiji and the SOPAC Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community held a Workshop on Environmental Management Needs for Exploration and Exploitation of Deep Sea Minerals, in Nadi, Fiji.This initiative reflected the increasing interest in and associated concerns about the potential environmental impacts of deep sea minerals exploration and mining and how competent authorities at the national and international level will regulate this emerging economic development opportunity in a sustainable manner in areas within and beyond national jurisdiction. This document contains the outcomes of the discussions at the workshop.

OptimaCCS Carbon Capture and Storage Infrastructure Optimization: North Carolina Case Study

April 2012 - by Darmawan Prasodjo and Lincoln Pratson

The use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the United States will allow coal-fired power generation to remain a major component of the nation’s energy mix while also reducing its carbon emissions. The cost of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) will affect the deployment of CCS, as will the costs for CO2 pipeline transport and underground injection. Transportation and storage costs can be minimized, however, by optimizing the design of the transport system. This report examines how a software program created at Duke, OptimaCCS, maps out cost-efficient options for overall CCS network design, including pipeline routes, necessary pipe diameters and lengths, efficiencies from using shared pipelines, and the impact of sequestration costs.

Why Value the Oceans?

April 2012 - by Yannick Beaudoin and Linwood Pendleton

This discussion paper by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)/GRID-Arendal and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, in collaboration with the UNEP TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) Office and the UNEP Regional Seas Programme, is based on contributions from an international group of experts. It highlights areas of ocean and coastal management for which a better understanding of the economic value of marine ecosystem services could substantially improve the management of critical marine resources; improve governance, regulation, and emerging ocean policy; and provide a better understanding of the potential economic challenges that arise from a rapidly changing ocean environment.

Green Economy in a Blue World

January 2012 - by United Nations Environment Programme, et al.

This report highlights how ecological health and economic productivity of marine and coastal ecosystems, which are currently in decline around the globe, can be boosted by shifting to a more sustainable economic paradigm that taps their natural potential. Released by the United Nations Environment Programme and partners, it further highlights how the sustainable management of fertilizers would help reduce the cost of marine pollution caused by nitrogen and other nutrients used in agriculture, which is estimated at $100 billion per year in the European Union alone.

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential of Agricultural Land Management in the United States: A Synthesis of the Literature (Third Edition)

January 2012 - by Alison J. Eagle, Lydia P. Olander, Lucy R. Henry, Karen Haugen-Kozyra, Neville Millar, and G. Philip Robertson

The Net Global Effects of Alternative U.S. Biofuel Mandates: Fossil Fuel Displacement, Indirect Land Use Change, and the Role of Agricultural Productivity Growth

January 2012 - by Aline Mosnier, Petr Havlík, Hugo Valin, Justin S. Baker, Brian C. Murray, Siyi Feng, Michael Obersteiner, Bruce A. McCarl, Steven K. Rose, and Uwe A. Schneider

One of the declared objectives of U.S. biofuel policy is the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel combustion, but many studies have questioned whether such a reduction would actually occur and, if so, how large it would be. This report describes the global market, land use, GHG emissions, and nitrogen use impacts of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) and several alternative biofuel policy designs, which differ in terms of mandate magnitude and feedstock composition, over the 2010–2030 period.

OptimaCCS Carbon Capture and Storage Infrastructure Optimization: Texas Case Study

December 2011 - by Darmawan Prasodjo and Lincoln Pratson

The use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the United States will allow coal-fired power generation to remain a major component of the nation’s energy mix while also reducing its carbon emissions. The cost of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) will affect the deployment of CCS, as will the costs for CO2 pipeline transport and underground injection. Transportation and storage costs can be minimized, however, by optimizing the design of the transport system. This report examines how a software program created at Duke, OptimaCCS, maps out cost-efficient options for overall CCS network design, including pipeline routes, necessary pipe diameters and lengths, efficiencies from using shared pipelines, and the impact of sequestration costs.

Profiling Local Climate Change Governance in the Southeastern United States

December 2011 - by Amy Morsch

While other regions have taken a more proactive approach, state and federal government officials and privately owned utilities have largely dismissed the idea of climate and energy policies in the southeastern United States. In this environment, many cities have developed climate and sustainability programs independent of state action. In the summer of 2011, the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions surveyed Southeastern cities with populations greater than 100,000 on their sustainability, climate, and energy policies and practices. This report presents the results of that survey, which reflect how local governments in the region are articulating goals, exercising influence and authority, and planning and implementing policy. The research revisits many of the topics analyzed in a similar 2010 Nicholas Institute report, and it provides a glimpse at the direction of local governments in the Southeast.

Distribution of Emissions Permits to the U.S. Pulp and Paper Sector under Alternative Output-Based Allocation Schemes

December 2011 - by Joshua Schneck and Gale Boyd

Under a cap-and-trade climate policy, emissions allowances—tradable rights to emit a fixed amount of greenhouse gases—become scarce and valuable resources that change the economic incentives to implement more energy-efficient processes and energy management practices, and to select fuels with lower carbon content. A key question accompanying the design of any such policy is how to allocate these allowances. This paper examines how key design elements and industry characteristics affect the distribution of allowances to U.S. pulp and paper firms under three variations of a proposed output-based allocation program—the American Power Act’s emissions allowance rebate program.

Financing Options for Blue Carbon: Opportunities and Lessons from the REDD+ Experience

November 2011 - by David Gordon, Brian C. Murray, Linwood Pendleton, and Britta Victor

When development pressures transform mangroves, seagrass, and coastal wetlands, carbon stored in their biomass and soil is released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. One way to counter these pressures and thereby conserve the carbon stored in these habitats (referred to as “blue carbon”) is to provide payments for the environmental services they provide. This paper analyzes current and potential options for carbon mitigation payments as a source of blue carbon finance. With other work that has focused on the payments needed to secure blue carbon, this paper can help stakeholders assess funding gaps and direct scarce resources to those activities that will provide the greatest blue carbon benefits.

Assessing Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Opportunities and Implementation Strategies for Agricultural Land Management in the United States

October 2011 - by Lydia P. Olander, Alison J. Eagle, Justin S. Baker, Karen Haugen-Kozyra, Brian C. Murray, Alexandra Kravchenko, Lucy R. Henry, and Robert B. Jackson

Approximately 6% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States come from agriculture. This number could be reduced through the use of on-farm management practices, such as switching to no-till, reducing fallow, managing species composition on grazing lands, and adjusting management of nitrogen fertilizer. Efforts are under way by government, industry, and others to incentivize such practices by creating new business opportunities or revenue for farmers and ranchers. This assessment reviews a wide range of agricultural practices and provides a roadmap and resource for programs and initiatives that are designing protocols, metrics, or incentives to engage farmers and ranchers in large-scale efforts to enhance GHG mitigation on working agricultural land in the United States.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Nitrogen Use in U.S. Agriculture: Historic Trends, Future Projections, and Biofuel Policy Impacts

October 2011 - by Justin S. Baker, Brian C. Murray, Bruce A. McCarl, Steven K. Rose, and Joshua Schneck

Agriculture is among the world’s largest sources of greenhouse emissions and is the largest source of certain types of anthropogenic nitrogen pollution. But as a source of renewable fuels production and carbon sequestration, agriculture could also be part of the solution to energy security and climate change problems. Similarly, improved management of agricultural nitrogen use could be the key to managing nitrogen pollution in surface- and groundwater systems. If policy makers are to determine how best to develop and implement effective policy interventions to correct environmental problems in agriculture, the critical linkages among demand, supply, land use, nitrogen use, and greenhouse gas emissions must be captured. This paper projects greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen use from agricultural and forestry practices under baseline and alternative biofuel scenarios in the United States, while accounting for land use competition, production heterogeneity, and a full suite of biofuel production possibilities.

A Silent Tsunami Revisited: Extending Global Access to Clean Water and Sanitation

August 2011 - by Harriet C. Babbit, Malcom S. Morris

Freshwater Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment: The Indrawati Sub-Basin, Nepal

July 2011 - by Ryan Bartlett, Sarah Freeman, Jonathan Cook, Bhawani S. Dongol, Roshan Sherchan, Moon Shrestha, and Peter G. McCornick

This report is part of a project of WWF Nepal and the Nepalese Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS). It outlines the discussions and conclusions of three workshops held in Nepal to determine the vulnerability of the Indrawati sub-basin to the impacts of climate change and development within the context of climate change vulnerability at the national level. Held over the course of four days in Kathmandu and in the Sindhupalchok district headquarters of Chautara, the workshops brought together a diverse group of more than 60 participants, including Nepali national experts, local bureaucrats, and most importantly, local water users and subsistence farmers with direct knowledge of resource management issues in the basin.

State of the Science on Coastal Blue Carbon: A Summary for Policy Makers

May 2011 - by Samantha Sifleet, Linwood Pendleton, and Brian C. Murray

The natural science of blue carbon is evolving rapidly, and many policy makers remain uncertain about the biophysical potential of these habitats as engines of carbon storage. To better manage the ecosystem services provided by coastal blue carbon, we need a good scientific understanding of how coastal habitats sequester and store carbon, where on the planet carbon is stored in these habitats, how rapidly the habitats are being modified with a risk of carbon release into the atmosphere or water column, and the mechanisms and rate of carbon emissions that follow habitat conversion. This report examines the current science as it relates to these topics. In doing so, it aims to give policy makers a feel for what is known and unknown about coastal blue carbon.

T-AGG Survey of Experts: Scientific Certainty Associated with GHG Mitigation Potential of Agricultural Land Management Practices

April 2011 - by Alison J. Eagle and Samantha D. Sifleet

This survey of experts was designed to assess confidence in the mitigation potentials contained in the literature and to discuss critical uncertainties, regional issues, and other caveats. The survey results provide qualitative information that can help decision makers prioritize activities and highlight key areas for near-term research.

Green Payments for Blue Carbon: Economic Incentives for Protecting Threatened Coastal Habitats

April 2011 - by Brian C. Murray, Linwood Pendleton, W. Aaron Jenkins, and Samantha Sifleet

This report examines the critical question of whether monetary payments for blue carbon—carbon captured and stored by coastal marine and wetland ecosystems—can alter economic incentives to favor protection of coastal habitats such as mangroves, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes. This idea is analogous to payments for REDD+ (reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation), an instrument of global climate policy that aims to curtail forest clearing, especially in the tropics. Like payments for REDD+, incentives to retain rather than emit blue carbon would preserve biodiversity as well as a variety of other ecosystem services at local and regional scales.

Climate Ready Estuaries: A Blueprint for Change

March 2011 - by Bill Holman and Amy Pickle

Initially conceived as an outreach pilot to increase public and local government awareness in five counties of the Albemarle-Pamlico region, our Blueprint summarizes the initial outreach efforts, includes findings and recommendations for increasing the region’s climate resilience, compiles a resource of up-to-date science on sea-level rise impacts, and serves as a first step in educating the public and decision makers about the opportunities and challenges of becoming a climate ready estuary.

Using Biogeochemical Process Models to Quantify Greenhouse Gas Mitigation from Agricultural Management Projects

March 2011 - by Lydia P. Olander and Karen Haugen-Kozyra, with contributions from Stephen Del Grosso, César Izaurralde, Daniella Malin, Keith Paustian, and William Salas

This paper provides an overview of how biogeochemical process models can be used to quantify greenhouse gases (GHG) in agricultural systems for use in developing GHG mitigation programs or protocols. Federal and state agencies, voluntary carbon market registries, and companies are all looking for ways to assess mitigation opportunities in agriculture and to track outcomes of various management options.

Financial Market Reform and the Implications for Carbon Trading

January 2011 - by Joshua Schneck and Jonas Monast

Concerns about regulating carbon markets became an increasingly integral part of the climate policy debate in the aftermath of recent episodes of market abuse and failure. In the absence of an existing comprehensive system of market oversight for carbon trading, policymakers drafting market-based climate legislation started including a range of market oversight provisions to help ensure that a new market, potentially valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars a year, would function properly.