Critical Minerals in Africa

The United States Institute of Peace convened a senior study group to explore the role Africa plays in the United States’ efforts to diversify US critical mineral supply chains and how new investment in partnerships with African countries could help drive economic development and strengthen peace and security on the African continent. Based on meetings and interviews with relevant technical, operational, and policy experts, the study group developed multiple recommendations for the United States to support mutually beneficial public and private partnerships with African nations. These partnerships could help diversify critical mineral supply chains; strengthen the rule of law, transparency, …

The Energy Transition in Africa: Opportunities for International Collaboration with a Focus on the G7

Africa stands at a crucial crossroads in its developmental trajectory, and energy plays a pivotal role in shaping its future. Despite having abundant renewable resources, the continent faces a significant energy access deficit, with three-quarters of the population lacking access. Insufficient investment compounds this issue, with the continent receiving less than 2% of global investments in renewable energy over the last two decades.

The G7 has the opportunity to lead international collaboration in support of African-led initiatives to address these issues. G7 countries can meet the call to action from African leaders in the Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change, which …

Loss and Damage at COP28 and the Way Forward for 2024

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) and the fifth Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA5) in 2023 saw several significant decisions adopted. This included the conclusion of the Global Stocktake (GST), the agreement on the framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), and the operationalization of the loss and damage (L&D) funding arrangements, including a fund, for addressing and responding to the economic and noneconomic impacts of climate change for particularly vulnerable developing countries. The GST findings on L&D concluded that …

The 2035 Report: Reconductoring With Advanced Conductors Can Accelerate The Rapid Transmission Expansion Required For A Clean Grid

Plummeting costs of clean energy and growing power demand from electrification, manufacturing, and data processing have made grid capacity one of the primary constraints in the energy transition. In the United States (U.S.), achieving the federal goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035 will require the massive buildout of not only clean energy but also transmission capacity — both within each of today’s transmission planning regions and between regions as detailed in the recent Department of Energy National Transmission Needs Study. Far outpaced by the amount of new RE coming available, transmission capacity across the U.S. has grown only 1%/year …

Reconductoring With Advanced Conductors Can Accelerate The Rapid Transmission Expansion Required For A Clean Grid

Building new transmission can take over a decade, and our rate of grid expansion is falling woefully short. But there’s a way to keep making progress in the near-term. Retrofitting existing power lines with advanced conductors (aka reconductoring) is a ready-to-deploy technology that can help new clean energy projects come online. Stringing advanced conductors on existing transmission towers expands the grid without needing to secure new rights of way and can free up clean energy projects stuck waiting to connect. It also creates major benefits, including quadrupling the current pace of nationwide transmission build-out and cutting the cost of a …

The AAA Framework for Climate Policy Leadership: A Guide for Companies

Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to companies’ operations, value chains, employees and communities. The economic costs of climate change – from damage to facilities, disrupted operations and supply chains and lost productivity – are already in the hundreds of millions of dollars and expected to reach trillions. While voluntary actions to reduce emissions are important, only public policy can deliver reductions at the speed and scale needed to limit the worst impacts of climate change. That’s why climate policy advocacy is an essential element of corporate sustainability leadership.…

A Quantitative Analysis of Variables Affecting Power Transmission Infrastructure Projects in the US

Upgrading the US electric grid is vital to a successful energy transition. Transmission expansion lowers electricity costs for consumers; speeds deployment of new generation resources; provides economic opportunities for communities; increases system reliability, particularly in the face of extreme weather events; and enables large-scale transfers of power from areas of the country with high renewable energy potential to customers. But experience over the past twenty years has shown that new transmission projects often face extensive delays, impeding or even denying these potential benefits to consumers and communities. In response, policymakers at the state and federal level are considering reforms to …

Country-Specific Safety Culture Forum: Canada

One of the many lessons learnt about nuclear safety over the years has been that human aspects of nuclear safety are as important as any technical issue that may arise. The international nuclear community regularly works together to identify, discuss and address technical issues, but examining how behaviour affects safety from country to country remains less common. Yet practical experience has shown that there are important differences across borders and even within borders in how people work together and communicate.

The Country-Specific Safety Culture Forum was created to gain a better understanding of how the national context affects safety culture …

Meeting Growing Electricity Demand Without Gas

Electricity demand is spiking due to data centers, a manufacturing boom, and electrification. This is good news – federal policies like the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and CHIPS Act are working as intended to drive sustained economic growth through a clean energy economy. New Energy Innovation research finds we don’t need to fill the gap with more natural gas. Regulators and utilities can meet the need for more electricity, continue cleaning the grid, and maintain reliability by taking a holistic approach instead of just building more fossil generation or extending the life of fossil plants slated for retirement.…

Communities Conditionally Support Deployment of Direct Air Capture for Carbon Dioxide Removal in the United States

Direct air capture has gained traction as a method for carbon dioxide removal. How and whether direct air capture can be deployed requires securing social license to operate, and increasingly demands environmental justice and just transition principles. Here we use a nationally representative survey to evaluate public perceptions of direct air capture, paired with focus groups to assess community perceptions across four communities in the United States: Houston, Texas; Monaca, Pennsylvania; Bakersfield, California; and Rock Springs, Wyoming. We find conditional support for direct air capture deployment among focus group participants, and majority support for direct air capture deployment among national …