April 19, 2019

Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition Releases Annual Report

The World Bank’s Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition has released its annual report to provide an update on the Coalition’s activities over the last year. The report features articles from thought leaders to inspire and guide government and business leaders to increase their carbon pricing ambition. Jackson Ewing, a senior fellow at the Nicholas Institute, wrote one of the thought leadership articles for the report about how market approaches for reducing greenhouse gases are gaining traction in Northeast Asia.

April 19, 2019

Standing on the Shoulders of Science Above the South China Sea Fray

The waters of the South China Sea face environmental peril that is "inseparable from the territorial disputes that plague it." Scientific cooperation is an action without legitimate substitute in the region and can offer a chart for protecting marine environments while enjoying their bounty sustainably, write the Nicholas Institute's Jackson Ewing and the University of South Carolina's James Borton in East Asia Forum.

April 18, 2019

News Tip: Environmental Policy Experts Available for Comment on China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Chinese President Xi Jinping will convene an international forum on April 25-27 in Beijing to discuss next steps for the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s plan to strengthen ties with other countries in its region through infrastructure investments. The forum will include sessions on addressing BRI’s environmental impacts.

April 5, 2019

China's Foreign Energy Investments Can Swing Coal and Climate Future

The International Energy Agency recently reported strong greenhouse gas growth from energy production in 2018, with an emerging fleet of Asian coal-fired power plants leading the way. Coal plants are being planned or constructed in 14 countries with no current coal power to speak of, and in 19 countries where new coal plants would more than double coal-fired capacity. The Nicholas Institute's Jackson Ewing writes for The Hill that, while there are multiple drivers of coal investment, China is the pivotal player.

March 25, 2019

Pacific Catalyst Announces Projects to Strengthen Fisheries Management

Pacific Catalyst, a partnership of fishery management experts in collaboration with the University of the South Pacific (USP), today announced their official launch and described several projects they have underway. They also introduced their new website at PacificCatalyst.org.

March 8, 2019

Global Study on Small-Scale Fisheries to Provide Vital Knowledge, Recognizes U.N. Food Report

The Illuminating Hidden Harvests study will provide critical knowledge and information on small-scale fisheries globally, informing the way forward for sustainable development of the sector. 

This vital contribution of the study, due out in late 2020, was acknowledged in the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food report released on January 25, 2019.

February 12, 2019

Stalemate in Poland Revealed Central Tension of Paris Agreement

The 2015 Paris Agreement became the most important climate accord of its decade by encompassing and embracing different circumstances and capacities around the world. But with that broad accommodation came the challenge of crafting a single set of rules for all to follow, writes Jackson Ewing for Climate Home News.

January 29, 2019

The Deforestation Risks of China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Environmental risks vary both among and within different economic corridors of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s initiative to strengthen regional cooperation through infrastructure and investment. Identifying the most environmentally sensitive areas during the planning of transport routes can help avoid environmental damage while availing of economic benefits that come from the improved infrastructure.

January 18, 2019

First Study Of ACE Emission Impacts Finds 18 States Could See More GHGs ($)

A new article in InsideEPA explains that a new peer-reviewed study of the greenhouse gas (GHG) and other emission effects of EPA's Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) proposal finds the policy would have the perverse outcome of boosting GHGs in 18 states and the District of Columbia by causing almost one-third of existing coal plants to run more often.

January 18, 2019

PG&E's Ch. 11 Is Climate Change Wake-Up Call For Utilities ($)

A new article in Law360 discusses how Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s plan to seek bankruptcy protection to address crippling liabilities for California wildfires should ring alarm bells for utilities, regulators and lawmakers in other states and force them to examine whether the current utility business model can accommodate climate change-related risks to energy infrastructure, policy experts say.