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.
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.
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.
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.
A new blog post by John Virdin, Director of the Ocean and Coast Policy Program, in chinadialogue ocean explores the outcomes when poorer coastal African nations and island countries try to make money by selling access to their fish-abundant waters to companies from richer countries with large fishing fleets. "Done well, these arrangements can contribute significantly to the development of lower-income countries," Virdin writes.
James Borton and the Nicholas Institute's Jackson Ewing say the devastation wrought by island building in the waters, mainly by China, is having a big impact on an already fragile ecosystem. Cooperation on scientific research and environmental management must be encouraged to limit the damage, and as a way to build trust.
By Tim Profeta, Director, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions
The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, and the larger Duke University community, are heartbroken at the loss of our good friend, Jim Rogers. His passing yesterday leaves a void in the Institute’s leadership, on our campus, and across the world of energy and the environment. It is not a void that can ever truly be filled.
We are pleased to announce that Peter Colohan will be the first Executive Director to lead the Internet of Water, working to realize the vision of connecting water data for sustainability. Peter comes to us from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) where he served as the Director of Service Innovation and Partnership at the Office of Water Prediction.
Governor Roy Cooper recently signed an executive order on climate change, setting goals for the state's economy to reduce greenhouse emissions 40 percent from earlier levels by 2025.
“These goals by themselves do not really have much effect,” wrote Billy Pizer, faculty fellow in the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and Susan B. King Professor of Public Policy, in an article appearing in the Duke Chronicle. "Any real action will require legislation."
When it comes to water, critical decisions are made every day, regardless of data availability. But what if we could harness more data to make better-informed decisions? The Internet of Water seeks to fundamentally change how we manage water by improving access to more water data for real-time decision-making. The project, undertaken by Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, has been awarded $2 million by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.