Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases: Issues for Congress

On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.) 13990, “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” It contains directives to update the social cost of greenhouse gases (SC-GHG), a tool that agencies have typically used to estimate the benefits of GHG reductions.

SC-GHG estimates have informed decision-making on federal actions, including GHG-related rules, since 2008. Members of Congress have taken divergent views on the adequacy and use of the SC-GHG. Some Members of Congress have questioned whether the SC-GHG methodology was consistent with federal guidance. Others have raised concerns that the …

Pricing Structures for Corporate Renewable PPAs

Interest in corporate renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) has soared in recent years, with companies wanting to gain greater visibility of their future electricity costs and decarbonize. While 2020 saw electricity demand decrease in many markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic, companies continued to procure electricity via PPAs, with capacity even increasing by 18% year on year compared to 2019 levels, according to BloombergNEF.

This report aims to help businesses benefit from PPAs by providing an outline of the various pricing structures available, and commentary on their respective risk impacts, regional variations and settlement considerations to help businesses understand feasible …

From Waste to Wealth – Renewable Natural Gas is a Win/Win

The phrase, “Renewable Natural Gas” (RNG), puts a positive face on the recovery and reuse of methane gas leaching out of landfills. One that is entirely justified, as RNG is every bit as green from a financial aspect as it is from an environmental one. This is particularly important today, as the United States has rejoined the Paris Accord with a renewed commitment to reducing greenhouse gases and is looking seriously at options including carbon credits and carbon taxes to drive down the use of fossil fuels and preserve a cleaner world for future generations.

In this paper, we will …

ExxonMobil: Permian Leader or Just Another Fracker?

ExxonMobil has suffered through a disappointing decade. Since 2010, the company’s profits have faltered, its free cash flow has regularly failed to cover payments to investors, and its stock price has fallen by more than 10 percent—even as the Standard & Poor’s 500–stock index almost quadrupled. Central to ExxonMobil’s woes was a string of disappointments in the company’s previously world–class global upstream portfolio, culminating in write–downs of Canadian oil sands projects, multibillion–dollar impairments of U.S. natural gas assets, and failed ventures in Russia.

The company has now placed …

US$41 billion since Paris Agreement

As they come together at a summit in Brussels on June 15, the EU and the US have the opportunity to commit to a concrete timetable for phasing out their international public finance support for fossil energy via export credit agencies and development finance institutions. In doing so, they can turn off the taps which have disbursed over US$41 billion in financing for the coal, oil, and gas sectors since the adoption of the Paris Agreement at the end of 2015.

Specific phase-out commitments for such fossil fuel financing can also establish benchmarks for other countries in the lead-up to …

Integrating Renewable Energy:What You Need to Consider in Rural Alaska

Many rural Alaska communities are interested in integrating locally available renewable energy resources into their electrical grids. This document provides general information to help communities understand the benefits and challenges of introducing renewable energy into an electrical grid, although communities will still need to consider their unique local factors when deciding whether renewable energy makes sense for them.

The cost of renewable energy generation devices has decreased significantly over the past decade, particularly solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, though wind turbine generators have seen cost reductions as well. This makes renewable energy systems an attractive option for consumers in remote areas …

Unlocking a Renewable Energy Future: How Government Action Can Drive Private Investment

A renewable energy future is within our grasp: the technology is now widely available and cost-effective in most places around the world. But the current rates of deployment remain well below what is required to avert the worst impacts of climate change. The private sector is poised to invest billions of dollars to massively speed up, scale and support the energy transition. However, many investors, particularly in the private sector, are deterred by some of the risks related to renewable energy investments. As the energy transition is likely to be financed largely by the private sector, governments must work with …

World Energy Investment 2021

This year’s edition of the World Energy Investment report presents the latest data and analysis of how energy investment flows are recovering from the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, including full-year estimates of the outlook for 2021. It examines how investors are assessing risks and opportunities across all areas of fuel and electricity supply, efficiency and research and development, against a backdrop of a recovery in global energy demand as well as strengthened pledges from governments and the private sector to address climate change.

The report focuses on two key questions: whether the growing momentum among governments and investors to …

Transparency of Action: Issues for COP26

At COP24 in Katowice, Poland, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) adopted a detailed set of modalities, procedures, and guidelines (MPGs) to operationalize the Paris Agreement’s enhanced transparency framework (ETF). The MPGs establish the methodologies to be used by Parties in their reporting and review under the ETF. The CMA decision laid out remaining technical work for Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) to develop for adoption by COP26 in Glasgow. While some of the technical work has progressed, other areas require further focused work. This brief …

Cascading Risks: Understanding the 2021 Winter Blackout in Texas

The Texas freeze of February 2021 left more than 4.5 million customers (more than 10 million people) without electricity at its peak, some for several days. The freeze had cascading effects on other services reliant upon electricity including drinking water treatment and medical services. Economic losses from lost output and damage are estimated to be $130 billion in Texas alone. In the wake of the freeze, there has been major fallout among regulators and utilities as actors sought to apportion blame and utilities and generators began to settle up accounts. This piece offers a retrospective on what caused the blackouts …