Security of Clean Energy Transitions

This report examines the evolving nature of energy security in the context of clean energy transitions in general and on the pathway to net-zero emissions in particular. It highlights emerging energy security concerns and provides recommendations to foster international collaboration, notably within the Group of Twenty (G20).

In the context of Italy’s G20 presidency, its Ministry of Economic Development requested the International Energy Agency (IEA) to undertake this Security of Clean Energy Transitions report. It aims to support discussions among the G20 countries and to provide insights and direction for the review and update of the G20 energy collaboration principles, …

Reaching Zero with Renewables: Biojet Fuels

With international travel increasing post COVID-19 and the world looking to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the aviation sector needs to make reductions in its carbon emissions. Although aviation will have to pursue multiple strategies, the large-scale production and use of aviation fuels derived from biomass (known as biojet fuels) could play a critical role in decarbonizing the sector.

Globally, the aviation sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases at 2% of total global emissions. The emission level is projected to double by 2050 if business continues as usual. To achieve early reductions in emissions …

Empowering Cities for a Net Zero Future: Unlocking resilient, smart, sustainable urban energy systems

Climate action in cities is essential for achieving ambitious net-zero emissions goals. Cities account for more than 50% of the global population, 80% of global GDP, two-thirds of global energy consumption and more than 70% of annual global carbon emissions. These factors are expected to grow significantly in the coming decades: it is anticipated that by 2050 more than 70% of the world’s population will live in cities, resulting in massive growth in demand for urban energy infrastructure.

Smart cities represent an important opportunity to reduce energy consumption while meeting service demand, improving grid stability and improving the quality of …

Economic Impact of Stimulus Investment in Advanced Energy: An Economic Assessment of Applying Stimulus Funds to Advanced Energy Technologies, Products, and Services in Ohio

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, states will need to make decisions about where and how to invest potential stimulus funding from the federal government to get their economies moving again.

Focusing stimulus spending on deployment and manufacturing of advanced energy technologies can generate economic activity and create good jobs for Ohioans.

This report focuses on one way in which government stimulus dollars could be put to work in the state of Ohio – investment in advanced energy technologies.…

A Hot Fracking Mess: How the Lack of Regulation of Oil and Gas Production Leads to Radioactive Waste in Our Water, Air, and Communities

Oil and gas extraction activities, including fracking, drilling, and production, can release radioactive materials that endanger workers, nearby communities, and the environment. The United States has known about these dangers for at least 30 years, ever since an EPA report revealed the health risks of unregulated radioactive oil and gas waste. Since then, additional research has confirmed those findings. Yet, even as oil and gas exploration and production have boomed across the United States, the country continues to lack any specific federal regulations governing the handling and disposal of radioactive waste and materials generated from these activities, leaving Americans reliant …

The Economic Benefits of the New Climate Economy in Rural America

Rural US communities can reap significant benefits from investments in the new climate economy, including measures to advance clean energy systems, remediate abandoned fossil fuel production sites, restore trees to the landscape and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. Collectively, these measures can create new economic opportunities in rural places while addressing climate change. This working paper presents a detailed analysis of the rural economic impact from federal policies that invest in the new climate economy, including information about the geographic and sectoral distribution of those investments. This analysis finds that with a total annual federal investment of $55 billion, …

LNG Industry Plans to Capture Carbon

In recent months, the US natural gas industry has begun announcing plans to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at facilities that export liquefied natural gas (LNG), loading it onto tankers that ship it thousands of miles away, typically to Europe or Asia.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has become a key part of industry claims for “green LNG,” “carbon neutral LNG,” and “net-zero LNG.” With such claims, the industry has portrayed LNG as environmentally friendly, and consistent with the Paris Agreement that aims to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

However, gas industry plans for CCS at LNG export terminals often …

Global Investors Move Into Renewable Infrastructure: Reviewing the World’s Top Renewable Energy Financiers

Low carbon energy transition assets are creating investment opportunities, and they have also demonstrated significant resilience, consistently attracting capital despite the COVID–19–induced global economic crisis.

In financial year (FY) 2020, the clean energy sector received record investment commitments totaling US$501 billion –9% more than the previous year. The renewable energy segment led with US$303bn in 2020, which is 60% of total investment committed into the overall low carbon energy transition sector.

In addition to the inherent advantages of investment in the clean energy sector such as relatively higher risk–adjusted returns and …

Tracking and Reporting Finance for Locally Led Adaptation to Climate Change

This working paper discusses how governments can use practical, flexible approaches to determine if and how finance is supporting locally led adaptation (LLA) to climate change. As national governments invest in building resilience to climate impacts, many are recognizing the importance of LLA. LLA recognizes that people closest to the effects of climate change are often best placed to identify adaptation solutions and must have financing and decision-making power to ensure that adaptation investments reflect their priorities.

The paper provides metrics for governments to track how much finance reaches the local level for adaptation, and how well that finance supports …

The Centralia Model for Economic Transition in Distressed Communities

If there are some industries in which immense amounts of investment and economic growth can fail to produce significant increases in jobs and prosperity, might there be other kinds of industries and activities in which much comparatively small investments can deliver disproportionately large gains in jobs and incomes as well as in other measures of prosperity, including quality of life? If the experience of the town of Centralia, Washington and surrounding Lewis County is an indication, the answer may be yes. And that experience may be instructive for local and state policymakers in Appalachia, where certain communities have been economically …