Nicholas Institute experts, in partnership with The Resiliency Company, have released a series of in-depth case studies documenting innovative financing approaches to property-level resilience improvements in six states.

Nicholas Institute expert Michelle Lewis spoke to Yale Climate Connections about how Cooling Communities project is providing resources to faith leaders in rural parts of the Carolinas to help them support their communities during extreme heat events.

Civil society groups are pushing for a new mechanism to help countries make a just energy transition as one of the main deliverables at the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye this November. Nicholas Institute expert Sandeep Pai spoke to Climate Home News about considerations and challenges for international negotiators in developing such a mechanism.

Interested in building a high-impact career in countries with rapidly growing economies—but not sure how to get started? Duke undergraduate and graduate students in all degree programs are invited to apply for “Careers Beyond Borders: A Boot Camp for Working in Emerging Markets” on October 12-13.

This two-day interactive workshop will help you explore how to build a career in emerging economies, including in sectors like energy, agriculture, climate, health, logistics, and fintech.

While weather forecasts tend to focus on daytime highs in the summer, the low temperature is just as important. "If you're a person who works in a high-heat exposure job and come home counting on being able to cool yourself at night, you need that recovery from daytime exposure," Nicholas Institute expert Ashley Ward told the Greensboro News & Record.

Interesting is growing in using private finance to supplement limited grant funding and scale nature-based solutions. But there's a catch—most natural resource professionals aren't finance experts.

Nicholas Institute expert Sara Mason writes on LinkedIn about a new nature finance primer that she co-authored with Lydia Olander.

As fall sports get underway across the U.S., Nicholas Institute expert Ashley Ward told Yale Climate Connections that heat-related risks for young athletes are often greatest early in the season, when it’s still hot out and they are not yet acclimated to intense workouts. Ward discussed what schools and coaches can do to help keep kids safe.

Yale scholars Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Stephen Henriques and computer scientist David Siegel write in TIME that major industry players have accepted that data centers should pay the full grid costs of their own growth, a central demand from communities. Flexible demand response is one of the cheapest options available to meet that goal. The commentary cites a Nicholas Institute analysis that found retail electricity prices could fall up to 2.8% if data centers trimmed their peak demand.

Among all the disasters reshaping the insurance conversation, heat stands apart because it leaves almost nothing you can see like a hurricane or flood. Nicholas Institute expert Ashley Ward talked with the Thriving in the Storm podcast, produced by The Environmental Collaboratory at Drexel University, about pushing policymakers to to stop treating heat as a passing emergency and start treating it as what it’s become: a season.

Emerald AI's Emerald Conductor software allows data centers to adjust their electricity consumption according to grid conditions by coordinating computing workloads and on-site energy resources, reports Indian Startup News. Research from Duke University scholars has estimated that the existing U.S. grid could accommodate nearly 100 GW of additional large electricity loads if those users were able to temporarily reduce consumption during periods of stress.

Duke students are turning data science into climate action. This summer, 30 students on nine interdisciplinary Climate+ teams analyzed data to yield new insights about climate risks and promising solutions.

Nicholas Institute Director Brian Murray was one of several Duke experts who talked to Duke Today about the dual challenge of making artificial intelligence more sustainable while using it to address climate challenges. The Nicholas Institute is contributing to this effort with a first-of-its-kind analysis showing how load flexibility could enable the U.S. power system to more quickly absorb new energy demand from AI data centers.

Electric utilities in the Phoenix area report breaking demand records this summer, delivering more energy than they ever had before during the peak of the summer heat. And higher temperatures and more demand for electricity mean higher energy bills for utility customers.

Nicholas Institute Elizabeth Berg joined KJZZ's "The Show" to discuss a new Heat Policy Innovation Hub report that finds many households in Arizona and across the country can't afford those bills.

During a spring practicum course, 20 Duke students stepped into the complex world of utilities, working with industry clients to turn classroom learning into climate solutions. The course was co-taught by Jeff Hughes (Duke Climate Leader in Residence), Luana Lima (Nicholas School of the Environment) and Sara Oliver (Pratt School of Engineering).

During testimony to the Virginia Energy Commission, Duke University scholar Ben Weintraut raised concerns about promises in the proposed NextEra-Dominion Energy merger that cannot be measured, verified or enforced, WTVR CBS 6 News reported. Weintraut said regulators need to require that all merger promises be stated in measurable numbers, so that if the merger is approved, there is a basis for the yearly audit to determine whether NextEra held up to its commitments.