The oil-rich countries of the Arabian/Persian Gulf currently face a dual challenge. As climate predictions for their region suggest conditions could become intolerable later this century, renewable energy stands to eclipse demand for oil. What if these countries decide it’s in their best interest to turn away from oil, harness their immense solar potential, and emerge as vanguards of global climate action?

Dr. Jesse Reynolds will offer an introduction to solar geoengineering’s capabilities and limitations for addressing the serious risks posed by anthropogenic climate change. This webinar is co-sponsored by the Duke Center on Risk seminar series on “Perspectives on Planetary Risks,” and the Environmental Institutions Seminar Series of Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, Sanford School of Public Policy, and Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and the University Program in Environmental Policy for the first presentation of their Fall 2019 seminar series. The featured speaker will be Florian Diekert, junior professor for resource and environmental economics at the University of Heidelberg.

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and the University Program in Environmental Policy for the first presentation of their Fall 2019 seminar series. The featured speaker will be Dr. Coraline Goron, an assistant professor of environmental policy at Duke Kunshan University.

Krithi Karanth presents “Living with Wildlife: Insights from conservation research, technology and education programs in India” on Monday, April 15, 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. EST in Duke University's Field Auditorium in Grainger Hall.

Dr. Amanda Stronza presents "Conflict and Coexistence: A Story of People and Elephants in the Okavango" on Friday, March 29, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. EST in Duke University's Field Auditorium in Grainger Hall.

Ann M. Bartuska, Vice President for Land, Water, and nature at Resources for the Future, will present "Bringing an Economic Focus to our Nation’s Water Challenges: An RFF Water Initiative" on Friday, March 22, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. EST in Duke University's Grainger Hall, Room 2102.

Jennifer Hadden, Associate Professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, will present "Beyond Coal? Exploring Global Variation in Protests Against Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plants" on Friday, January 25.
 

Yueming (Lucy) Qiu, assistant professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland College Park, will present "Quantifying the Rebound Effects of Residential Solar Panel Adoption" on Friday, December 7.

Linda Fernandez, associate professor of environmental and resource economics at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Department of Economics and Center for Environmental Studies, will present "Economic Incentives in Policy for International and Interstate Resources Management" on Friday, November 30.

Joseph E. Aldy, associate professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, university fellow at Resources for the Future, faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, will present The Political Economy of Pricing Carbon for a 2°C World on the Duke University campus, Friday, October 12.

Tatsuyoshi Saijo, program director and member of the Board of Advisors at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Kyoto, Japan, will discuss "Future Design: Bequeathing Sustainable Natural Environments and Sustainable Societies to Future Generations" at Duke University on Friday, September 7.  

Paul Wapner, professor of global environmental politics in the School of International Service at American University, will present "Is Wildness Over?" on Wednesday, April 18, in Environment Hall on Duke University's west campus.

Yoram Bauman, a PhD environmental economist who founded Carbon Washington, will present "Carbon Taxes in Theory and in Practice: Lessons from the I-732 Ballot Measure in Washington State," on Tuesday, March 6, in Duke University's Gross Hall.

Andrew Light, professor of philosophy, public policy, and atmospheric sciences at George Mason University and a distinguished senior fellow with the World Resources Institute, will present the lecture "The Roads to and From the Paris Climate Agreement" on Friday, February 2 from 10-11 a.m. in the Levine Science Research Center on Duke University's west campus.

Erin Graham, assistant professor Department of Politics at Drexel University, will discuss "Power and Influence in International Climate Finance Institutions: The Importance of Funding Rules and Practices," 10-11:15 a.m. Friday, January 26, in the Levine Science Research Center on Duke University's West Campus.

Michael Grubb, professor of energy and climate change at University College London, will present the lecture "Revolution and Regulation in the U.K. Electricity System: Model or Warning?" at noon on Friday, December 1, in Duke's Environment Hall room 2102.

The U.K. was widely seen as one of the world’s leaders on electricity deregulation in the early 1990s. Though the model of liberalisation went through significant changes, many international observers were surprised when in 2010 the new U.K. government embarked on a fundamental reform, giving the state a far more prominent role. To many, it has seemed like abandoning the principles of market competition that had defined the U.K. approach.

Grubb will discuss the UK’s Electricity Market Reform legislation and how, some three years on, the U.K. has seen a collapse in coal generation and dramatic reductions in the cost of renewable energy. 

This talk is part of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and the University Program in Environmental Policy seminar series featuring leading experts discussing a variety of pressing environmentally focused topics. 

Heather Randell, postdoctoral fellow at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, will discuss "The Impact of Climate Change on Educational Attainment: Evidence from the Global Tropics," on Thursday, October 12, in Environmental Hall on the Duke University campus.