The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is the federal government’s primary tool for addressing energy affordability, distributing billions of dollars to low-income households each year. While LIHEAP has served millions of households for decades, it has faced ongoing criticism for the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of its funding distribution.

Socially vulnerable communities within the contiguous United States (CONUS) face disproportionate heat exposure, yet how these disparities will change under future warming remains unclear. Although socially vulnerable communities already experience higher air temperatures, high-resolution downscaled climate projections have not been used to assess future exposure disparities under different Global Warming Levels (GWLs).

Water security is the backbone of a healthy society, a prosperous economy, and a resilient environment. The Aspen National Water Strategy—published by the Aspen Institute in partnership with Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab—identifies six interconnected strategies essential to America’s water security.

Smallholder agriculture underpins livelihoods in Kenya, with more than 70% of the rural population relying on farming as their primary source of income. Most of these farmers rely on rainfed production in an environment marked by rising temperatures, increasingly variable rainfall, and frequent economic and climate shocks. Research led by Duke University and the University of Nairobi evaluated the SunCulture model—a Kenyan social enterprise providing small-scale solar irrigation systems bundled with financing and support services.

The study ends with three sets of implications:

Smallholder agriculture underpins livelihoods in Kenya, with more than 70% of the rural population relying on farming as their primary source of income. Most of these farmers rely on rainfed production in an environment marked by rising temperatures, increasingly variable rainfall, and frequent economic and climate shocks. Research led by Duke University and the University of Nairobi evaluated the SunCulture model—a Kenyan social enterprise providing small-scale solar irrigation systems bundled with financing and support services.

The global coal value chain is extensive and spans countries. Nearly 7,000 coal mines collectively produce over 8.5 billion tons of coal every year. More than 2,400 coal-fired power plants across the globe operate with a capacity of 2,175 GW. Then, there are numerous rail networks, trucks, and port terminals that constitute parts of the coal value chain. Yet in a net-zero world, this value chain will need to shrink rapidly, which could negatively impact the economies and communities that currently depend on it.

This policy report aims to support policymakers and practitioners in understanding and advancing the nexus between sustainable energy transitions and social inclusion in Eastern Africa, focusing on Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. This report is grounded in existing research and enriched by the experiences of policymakers and practitioners working in diverse local contexts. It identifies critical barriers to inclusive energy transitions and energy poverty’s disproportionate impacts on women. The report also highlights emerging opportunities and key recommendations.

Evidence assessment—identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing data and findings from previous studies—is important to inform environmental decision-making but can be slow and resource intensive. Users seeking efficiency have developed multiple definitions and methods for rapid evidence assessment (REA), raising concerns about consistency and rigor. To improve consistency and confidence in REA, the authors convened an international group of evidence users and researchers to define REA for environmental applications.

Pairing electric irrigation systems with mini-grids in communities that currently lack electricity has the potential to both increase the productivity and resilience of smallholder farms and contribute to rural electrification in Africa. This research develops a solar mini-grid irrigation viability model to assess the feasibility of such a technology setup.

Since fall 2024, the Clean Air Task Force and Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability have led in-person and virtual meetings and one-on-one dialogues with Southeastern energy and environmental regulators, utilities, consumer advocates, and businesses to discuss clean firm generation and how it could help meet electricity demand growth.