Congress is debating another round of economic stimulus to provide a measure of emergency relief from shutdowns induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, but more help will likely be needed down the road for a full recovery. A proposed national green bank could put people back to work while building a sustainable future by creating jobs in clean energy infrastructure, clean transportation, and energy efficiency, writes Jennifer Weiss.

The initiative, a collaboration between the Global Financial Markets Center at Duke Law, the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, and the National Whistleblower Center, will improve corporate reporting of climate-related risk and facilitate information sharing and policy development.

More than 300 experts from over 50 countries are contributing to the Illuminating Hidden Harvests (IHH) study, which will provide never-before-seen insights into global small-scale fisheries when the results are released in February 2021. Led by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Duke University, and WorldFish, the study will assess the contributions, imp

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted momentum for government action to address plastic pollution. The authors of a global review of government responses over the last 20 years have observed complex impacts from the pandemic on international and national efforts. However, it seems local governments have pushed the pause button, particularly in the case of single-use plastics in the United States.

As Americans were put under stay-at-home orders and told to social distance this spring, many turned to parks for their mental and physical health. With travel and vacation limited in the coming months, they are increasingly looking to nearby parks to fill their recreational needs.

A post for the Clean Energy Blog from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy breaks down what is known so far about discussions among Southeastern utilities to develop a regional energy exchange. The post cites analysis by Jennifer Chen showing that market competition in the Southeast would bring about benefits to customers.

The success of a proposed regional energy exchange for the Southeast U.S. depends on ensuring fairness, transparency, and market access, Jennifer Chen told S&P Global Market Intelligence.

China’s economic rebound from COVID-19 disruptions is in full swing. As with reactions to the 2008 global financial crisis and the domestic slowdown of 2015, the country appears poised for an economic rebound that puts emissions on a higher overall trajectory than would have resulted from having no slowdown at all, writes Jackson Ewing.

Unreliable energy access presents additional challenges to developing countries responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rob Fetter told Energy Voice that off-grid solutions could be implemented relatively quickly to help address the issue.

In a time of conflicting signals on China’s energy future, the implementation of its national emissions trading system offers unique opportunities to put the country on a long-term path toward lower greenhouse gas emissions, write Alistair Ritchie and Jackson Ewing.