New Diesels, New Problems

The study, “New diesels, new problems” was published on Monday 13 January. If the results are confirmed, it would be a major blow to manufacturers, who are saying that diesels have never been as “clean” as they are now.

The particle filtration system, which is used to retain carcinogenic fine dust, has been installed in diesel vehicles for the past ten years. The system needs to regenerate about every 480 kilometres to remain effective. However, when it regenerates, the level of particles released can reach up to 1000 times the normal emission rate, resulting in the limits being exceeded.

This …

Advancing America’s Climate Leadership

In a new report released today, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) examines notable climate policy approaches for their impact on renewable energy growth and investment, including a federal high-penetration renewable energy standard or clean energy standard, a technology-neutral tax credit, and carbon pricing regimes.

The new report, Advancing America’s Climate Leadership: Policy Options That Most Effectively Put Renewable Energy to Work, helps lay the groundwork for implementation as ACORE offers policy design recommendations and identifies complementary measures to ready the electric grid for the higher levels of renewable energy penetration necessary to achieve ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emission …

Building a 100 Percent Clean Future Can Drive an Additional $8 Billion a Year to Rural Communities

Rural communities face many challenges, and climate change is only making matters worse. Flooding and drought are hitting rural communities hard, causing massive financial losses for farmers, who are also facing low commodity prices and bearing the brunt of an international trade war. And the rural landscape is changing as farmland is being lost to the same development pressures that are contributing to climate change. These challenges are creating a palpable sense among rural residents that their way of life is changing and under threat.

Shifting weather patterns are one of the most noticeable changes. For example, in Iowa, the …

Preliminary US Emissions Estimates for 2019

After a sharp uptick in 2018, we estimate that US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions fell by 2.1% last year based on preliminary energy and economic data. This decline was due almost entirely to a drop in coal consumption. Coal-fired power generation fell by a record 18% year-on-year to its lowest level since 1975. An increase in natural gas generation offset some of the climate gains from this coal decline, but overall power sector emissions still decreased by almost 10%. Unfortunately, far less progress was made in other sectors of the economy. Transportation emissions remained relatively flat. Emissions from buildings, industry …

The U.S. Coal Sector

The 40 percent decline in U.S. coal-fired power generation over the last decade accounted for 75 percent of the total reduction of 800 million metric tons in U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions between 2005 and 2017.[1] The shift away from coal was mainly driven by lower natural gas prices due to the shale revolution and stagnant U.S. electricity demand, and to a lesser extent by policy-supported growth in wind and solar generation. With power generation accounting for over 90 percent of U.S. coal use, there was a comparable reduction in U.S. coal production over the last decade.

Coal production …

Assessing California’s Climate Policies—Electricity Generation

Chapter 135 of 2017 (AB 398, E. Garcia) requires our office to report annually on the economic impacts and benefits of the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) limits. In this report, we assess the effects of some of the state’s major policies intended to reduce GHG emissions from the generation of electricity.…

2020 Renewable Energy Industry Outlook

The renewable energy industry is primed to enter a new phase of growth driven largely by increasing customer demand, cost competitiveness, innovation, and collaboration. But will challenges surrounding trade and tariff policy require the industry to prioritize risk mitigation tactics? Our 2020 renewable energy industry outlook explores what it will take for companies to thrive in the year ahead.…

The Green Swan

Climate change poses new challenges to central banks, regulators and supervisors. This book reviews ways
of addressing these new risks within central banks’ financial stability mandate. However, integrating
climate-related risk analysis into financial stability monitoring is particularly challenging because of the radical uncertainty associated with a physical, social and economic phenomenon that is constantly
changing and involves complex dynamics and chain reactions. Traditional backward-looking risk
assessments and existing climate-economic models cannot anticipate accurately enough the form that
climate-related risks will take. These include what we call “green swan” risks: potentially extremely
financially disruptive events that could be behind the next …

Farm & Forest Natural Carbon Solutions Initiative Working Papers

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Energy Project is focused on the development of pragmatic, evidence-based energy and climate policies that can make meaningful progress towards a low-carbon future. BPC’s Farm & Forest Natural Carbon Solutions Initiative aims to identify the most promising opportunities to enhance the economic and environmental well-being of our nation’s natural resources.

The BPC Energy Project has been working with a variety of technical experts to examine these opportunities and compiled a set of short working papers that create a foundation for a new federal initiative, geared toward the development of more targeted and ambitious natural carbon storage …

You and CO2: a Public Engagement Study to Engage Secondary School Students with the Issue of Climate Change

School students are growing up in a world with a rapidly changing climate, the effects of which will become increasingly apparent during their lifetimes. We designed and pilot tested “You and CO2”, a STEAM program designed to encourage students to reflect on their personal impact on the environment, while also appreciating their place within society to bring about positive societal change. Over three interlinked workshops, students analyzed the carbon footprints of some everyday activities, which they then explored in more detail through interacting with a bespoke piece of digital fiction, No World 4 Tomorrow. The program culminated with students producing …