August 10, 2018

Bass Connections Course Offers Unique Opportunity to Explore Global Climate Change Negotiations

Billy Pizer, faculty fellow at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, is a faculty sponsor for the the U.N. Climate Change Negotiation Practicum, a Bass Connections course that examines the negotiation of international climate change agreements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Applications for the course—offering a unique opportunity for Duke students to gain hands-on, applied experience learning about international climate policy and the negotiations process—are due August 15.

July 20, 2018

Comprehensive Study: Carbon Taxes won't Hamper the Economy

An article in The Guardian highlights a special issue in the journal Energy Economics featuring carbon tax modeling studies conducted through the Stanford Energy Modeling Forum Project. The issue includes an overview of the results co-authored by Brian Murray of the Duke University Energy Initiative and a faculty affiliate at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and an article on carbon tax implications for market trends and generation costs by my Nicholas Institute colleague Martin Ross. Comparison of the modeling studies’ results revealed similar conclusions: that a carbon tax is effective at reducing carbon pollution, although the structure of the tax and rate at which it rises are important, and that a revenue-neutral carbon tax would have a modest impact on gross domestic product. Even the most ambitious carbon tax was found to be consistent with long-term positive economic growth.

July 18, 2018

Understanding FERC’s Order Rejecting PJM’s Capacity Market Proposals and the Proposed Replacement Framework

Jennifer Chen, senior counsel at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, writes about how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently ordered changes to PJM's capacity market rules. FERC's 3-2 decision rejected two proposals filed by PJM as well as a proposal filed by a group of generators operating in PJM's footprint about how PJM's capacity market should handle state policies favoring certain types of power generation. PJM, states, and other stakeholders now have the opportunity to comment on and shape FERC's proposed replacement framework. Chen discusses the order, the proposed replacement framework, and dissects what FERC might consider as they move forward. 

July 9, 2018

The Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Finance: Catalytic Agent or Empty Vessel?

For Brookings Future Development blog, Jackson Ewing, a senior fellow at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and an adjunct associate professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy, writes that climate change is creating an investment challenge. Although overhauling traditional energy systems, curtailing harmful industry practices, and scaling emerging technology can make economic sense, they often mean steep front-loaded costs. The United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals are crafted to accelerate the flow of climate finance to developing countries, but, on the surface, it is unclear what new value they bring. 

July 9, 2018

North Carolina, It’s Time to Hit Reboot on Grid Modernization

In the News & Observer, Jen Weiss, senior policy associate at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, writes that on June 22 the N.C. Utilities Commission issued a long-anticipated order on Duke Energy Carolinas’ request for a hike in electricity rates. Observers have dissected the opinion and debated hot-button issues, ranging from fixed rates and coal ash expenses to costs tied to a shuttered nuclear project. One issue that rose to the top was the commission’s rejection of Duke Energy Carolinas’ 10-year, $7.8 billion grid modernization (or “grid mod”) bid, as well as a compromise deal brokered with green groups. As the dust settles on this decision, Weiss says, it could be a good time to hit the “reboot” button on Duke Energy’s often discussed, but seldom understood, $13 billion Power/Forward Carolinas Initiative.

July 9, 2018

Top Fisheries Report Mentions Forthcoming Study by Duke, Others

The latest edition of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report—the bi-annual flagship publication of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department—was released today. Circulated for the first time at the Committee on Fisheries, a meeting of the world's top fisheries officials, it highlights the importance of fishing and fish farming to people's livelihoods and discusses a 2020 study by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions' John Virdin, Nicholas School of the Environment’s Xavier Basurto, and partners at The WorldFish Center, and the FAO.

July 6, 2018

Duke Researchers Help Organize UN Event on Small-Scale Fisheries

Researchers from Duke University, including our Ocean and Coastal Policy Program director John Virdin, are playing a role in organizing an international symposium, July 9 in Rome, Italy, on small-scale fisheries’ contributions to sustainable development and food security.

July 3, 2018

New Nuclear Tech Won’t Help U.S. Avoid ‘Profound’ Climate Problem

Bloomberg BNA reports that nuclear power, one of the largest sources of low-carbon energy, is fading quickly in the U.S. About 20 percent of U.S. electricity comes from nuclear power plants, but electric utilities are closing plants across the country as companies turn to less-costly natural gas and renewable energy. Five nuclear power plants have closed since 2012, with nine more slated for closure through 2025. “Right now, the cost of generating electricity from newly constructed nuclear plants is almost double the cost for power from a new natural gas combined-cycle plant,” Etan Gumerman, senior policy associate at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, told the paper.

July 2, 2018

Foundations Support Internet of Water Launch

The Internet of Water, a new project to improve our nation’s water data infrastructure, has been awarded start-up support by six foundations.

The S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Kingfisher Foundation, The Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation, the Pisces Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and the Water Funder Initiative collectively awarded Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions $1 million in grant funding.

June 21, 2018

Tracing America’s Complicated Relationship With Our Rivers

In his new book “The Source: How Rivers Made America and America Remade Its Rivers,” Martin Doyle, director of the Water Policy Program at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, traces the nation’s complicated relationship with its waterways. Listen to Doyle speak with NPR's The State of Things host Frank Stasio about his book and about the many people he met whose lives are inextricably tied to their rivers.