The carbon footprint of household energy use in the United States

Residential energy use accounts for roughly 20% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. Using data on 93 million individual households, we estimate these GHGs across the contiguous United States and clarify the respective influence of climate, affluence, energy infrastructure, urban form, and building attributes (age, housing type, heating fuel) in driving these emissions. A ranking by state reveals that GHGs (per unit floor space) are lowest in Western US states and highest in Central states. Wealthier Americans have per capita footprints ∼25% higher than those of lower-income residents, primarily due to larger homes. In especially affluent suburbs, …

C40 Mayors Agenda for a Green and Just Recovery

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold and health concerns remain paramount, cities are already taking the first steps towards recovery. Through the Global Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task Force, leading city mayors have committed to providing the swiftest and strongest possible rebound for their citizens in line with the principles of the Global Green New Deal. Their collective vision is set out in a new report, C40 Mayors’ Agenda for a Green and Just Recovery. Alongside it, we’ve assembled expert views and ambitious ideas from around the world. Beyond simply underpinning the Agenda itself, these articles also provide guides for …

Planning for the Electric System of the Future: The Path to a More Resilient Energy Grid

The Critical Consumer Issues Forum (CCIF) today released a new report, “Planning for the Electric System of the Future: The Path to a More Resilient Energy Grid.” The report was released at a virtual event during which participants shared their insights and takeaways from CCIF’s year-long dialogue on the important topic of energy grid resilience. CCIF is a collaborative that includes members of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA), and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), who work together to develop solutions to meet customer needs.

CCIF’s latest report features …

Solar Under Storm for Policymakers

Following hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and more recently Dorian, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) sent teams to the Caribbean to evaluate the root failures of solar PV systems and key success factors of systems that survived. The teams then developed a list of recommendations to increase system resilience.

One of the key recommendations is to ensure inclusive multi-stakeholder collaboration. This entails communicating clear market signals to suppliers and upstream equipment providers and coordinating closely among practitioners and installers. In addition to collaboration, codes and regulations should be amended and performance standards created or revised for procurement. …

Decarbonizing Colorado: Evaluating Cap and Trade Programs to Meet Colorado’s Emissions Targets

Additional policies are required to achieve CO’s 2025 and 2030 targets, and an economy-wide cap-and-trade program is likely to cost significantly less than sector-specific strategies. Giving firms flexibility in determining when they reduce their emissions through a system of banking emission allowances will promote cost-effectiveness. Allowing the use of offsets can reduce the burden of achieving emissions on firms covered by the policy by allowing for emissions in uncovered sectors of the economy. Linking Colorado’s cap-and-trade program with the Western Climate Initiative would provide even greater program flexibility and significantly reduce the cost of meeting Colorado’s climate targets (though linking

Introduction to Hydropower

Harnessing water for beneficial uses has existed for centuries. Ancient Greeks and Romans used water in ways similar to industrial processes today – for grinding wheat, agriculture via aqueducts, and medicinal purposes. Modern hydropower or hydroelectric power has been utilized for over one hundred years and remains a clean, reliable electricity asset. As of 2019, hydropower generated roughly 6.6% of electricity for the United States (U.S.), while some states’ electricity mixes are dominated by hydropower. The Pacific Northwest relies heavily on hydropower, where the electricity mixes of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho have significant amounts of hydropower. While hydropower is generally …

Solar Climate Intervention: Options for International Assessment and Decision-Making

There is a growing risk that the global response to climate change will be inadequate to avoid an unsafe global climate. There is corresponding interest in exploring the potential need for, and feasibility of, rapid responses to avoid dangerous climate change – such as solar climate intervention (SCI). At the same time, there is concern that such intervention, if any, be implemented as safely as possible. This paper posits a scenario in which a group of countries seeks a cooperative, science-based approach to decision-making regarding the potential use of SCI, in the context of increasingly dangerous climate conditions, taking into …

Race to the Top: The Case for a New U.S. International Energy Policy

U.S. foreign policy has always thought about energy and, more recently, climate. In the last decade, however, the energy landscape has changed dramatically. These changes are occurring within broader geopolitical shifts, which redefine the context for U.S. foreign energy and climate policy.

In January 2021, a new administration, and maybe a new president, will be sworn in and the continued search for an international energy and climate strategy will go through another iteration.

To prepare for that moment, we spent much of that last year thinking about what that strategy should be; this document summarizes our results. There is an …

Update to the LifeCycle Analysis of GHG Emissions for US LNG Exports Analysis

A study released by API and conducted by researchers at ICF examines the environmental benefits of U.S. natural gas use in China, Germany, and India, finding that using U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) rather than coal for electricity generation produces on average 50.5 percent fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in all base case scenarios studied.…

Benefits to the Economy through the Direct Use of Natural Gas

Over 69 million American households rely on natural gas utilities to provide energy to appliances inside their homes. Another 5.7 million more commercial and industrial businesses are supplied through the same local gas utilities to meet their daily needs. This feat is made possible by hundreds of thousands of individuals employed by gas utilities and their extended supply chains. However, job creation and economic development don’t end with the actions of utilities or by producers. Through this service, job opportunities exist across the entire U.S. economy through the direct, indirect, and induced effects of supplying energy to homes and businesses.…