World leaders gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November for the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP29—and Duke University experts and students were on the scene.

A new analysis by Energy Pathways USA estimates how electricity demand may change in the next decade and the potential impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Modeled scenarios focused on the potential reversal of an EPA rule limiting emissions from power plants and how quickly renewable resources can be connected to the power grid.

Several Duke experts are attending COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, to share insights, advance collaborative initiatives and network. They are accompanied by 17 students who are getting an up-close view of how international climate policy moves forward.

Proposed legislation in the U.S. Senate seeking to speed federal permitting processes for energy projects and strengthen the electric grid is likely positive on balance, said Jackson Ewing, director of energy and climate policy at the Nicholas Institute.

Energy Pathways USA hosted a briefing about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s newly released power sector regulations on May 7. Nicholas Institute expert Tim Profeta, former EPA special counsel for the power sector and senior advisor, explained the new standards for existing coal and new gas-fired power plants, outlined the key implications and questions for U.S. decarbonization and answered attendee questions.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released four pollution rules that could largely remove coal from the U.S. power grid by the early 2030s, reports E&E News. “These are very significant and important rules for the general transition of [the power] sector,” said Tim Profeta, senior fellow at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability.

Three Nicholas Institute experts discussed the key findings of a report offering new insights into US energy transition investments during a webinar held Jan. 25. The report from Energy Pathways USA models the intersecting effects of the Inflation Reduction Act, clean electricity development cost increases and the impacts of proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency greenhouse gas regulations for fossil fuels.

A new report released Wednesday by the Rhodium Group estimated that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.9 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year—even as the economy grew. Nicholas Institute experts Jackson Ewing and Brian Murray are available to speak on the policy implications of the report.

World leaders—along with government officials, nongovernmental organizations, researchers and activists—gathered in Dubai for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss ways to advance climate action. Experts from the Nicholas Institute attended the conference, released publications or announced initiatives tied to it and/or followed the proceedings closely.

Modeling from Energy Pathways USA finds the two policies can combine to move the country closer to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, but complementary action is needed to reach the goal by 2050.