Publications

Building an EV Workforce: A Review of Southeast Transportation Electrification Workforce Development Training Programs

With the advancement of the electric vehicle (EV) industry in the southeastern United States, from vehicle and battery manufacturing, to on-road EVs and accelerated deployment of charging stations, there is a substantial need for a skilled workforce to build and service these vehicles as well as install and maintain charging infrastructure. This study seeks to understand existing EV-specific workforce development efforts across ten states in the Southeast, and provide policy and program options for State Energy Offices, State Departments of Transportation, and other state agencies.

Evidence Library for Mangrove Degradation and Recovery

Mangrove ecosystems provide numerous benefits to both people and nature, including providing important habitat for wildlife species, nursery habitat for fish and shellfish, recreational opportunities, and protection for coastal communities. This evidence library synthesizes the scientific literature and expert knowledge to share information on what is known—and not known—about how storm-induced changes to mangrove ecosystems might impact mangrove ecosystem services.

Applying the Illuminating Hidden Harvests Approach

This document has been adapted from the research protocol used to compile country case study data and to produce the results summarized in the 2023 report Illuminating Hidden Harvests: The Contributions of Small-Scale Fisheries to Sustainable Development, coproduced by FAO, Duke University, and WorldFish.

Transdisciplinary Doctoral Training to Address Global Sustainability Challenges

Global sustainability challenges, such as climate change and the plastics crisis, converge across disciplines and involve diverse stakeholders. Given the magnitude and interconnected nature of sustainability challenges, problem-solvers must be trained across disciplines.

Department of the Interior Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap

This comprehensive resource, created in collaboration with the US Department of the Interior, is a first-of-its-kind reference for implementing nature-based solutions. Nature-based solutions are actions to protect, sustainably manage or restore natural or modified ecosystems to address societal challenges—including climate change—in ways that help people and the environment. Examples cited in the Roadmap range from urban stormwater and runoff management to prescribed burns to living shorelines to restoration of various ecosystems.

Projecting Electricity-Sector Investments Under the Inflation Reduction Act: New Cost Assumptions and Interactions with EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Proposal

Energy Pathways USA, an initiative of the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University, has released a report that offers new insights into US energy transition investments. This report comprehensively models the intersecting effects of the Inflation Reduction Act, clean electricity development cost increases, and the impacts of proposed US Environmental Protection Agency greenhouse gas regulations for fossil fuels.

Expanding Finance for Nature-Based Solutions to Achieve Climate, Environment, and Community Goals: An Introduction for Green Banks and Community Lenders

There has been unprecedented recent government investment in nature-based solutions. This document lays out a vision that describes why nature-based solutions are relevant and important to green banks' and community development financial institutions' climate- and community-driven missions, and what types of projects these institutions might support.

Financing Nature-Based Solutions via the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

The $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) in the Inflation Reduction Act—particularly the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund and $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator—represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage private capital for investments in environmental infrastructure and nature-based solutions, but the groundwork needs to be laid now. This document summarizes the relevant GGRF funds and their applicability for nature-based solutions.

The State of Blended Finance 2023: Climate Edition

This year’s edition of the State of Blended Finance published by Convergence once again focuses on climate. Climate change continues to be central to the blended finance market and to sustainable development more broadly. Jackson Ewing, director of energy and climate policy at the Nicholas Institute, and Jonathan Phillips, director of the James E. Rogers Energy Access Project at Duke, were among the experts and stakeholders interviewed for the report. Ewing and Phillips offered insights on Just Energy Transition Partnerships as a partnership model for mobilizing climate blended finance.

Carbon Pricing Leadership Report 2022/23

The annual Carbon Pricing Leadership Report complements the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition’s advocacy and networking activities by elevating thought leadership in the mitigation arena and sharing how partners across all sectors are putting a price on carbon and engaging in carbon markets to reduce their emissions. Jackson Ewing, director of energy and climate policy at the Nicholas Institute, contributed to the report with an opinion piece titled "Stakes Increase as Voluntary Carbon Markets and Climate Finance Converge."