In The News

Global Consensus on Climate Change Is a Good Start

Scott Barrett December 15, 2015
The world has reached consensus: Climate change is a serious threat, and each nation can play a role in reducing fossil fuel emissions. The Paris Agreement relies on a voluntary approach for developing policies for transitioning away from fossil fuels. “The biggest challenge with voluntary agreement to limit countries’ emissions is enforcement,” explains Scott Barrett, economist and Columbia...

Can Paris Reconcile Political and Economic Interests to Combat Climate Change?

David Dapice December 10, 2015
The scientific evidence is overwhelming that climate change threatens the global economy for future generations. Strategies to combat climate change are well known: increased reliance on renewable energies, decreased subsidies for fossil fuels, imposing a carbon tax, incentives for fuel efficiency and conservation, international transfers so poor countries avoid burning coal. Countries attending...

Biggest 2016 Risk May Be the One Just Behind Us: Oil

Mike Dolan December 9, 2015
Oil prices have remained stubbornly low – and could go even lower, suggests Mike Dolan for Reuters. The Brent crude oil price was above $100 per barrel and is now down to $40. “More than a trillion dollars of market capitalization has been wiped off oil stocks worldwide,” he writes. “Almost $2 trillion of debt sold by energy and mining companies since 2010, many of them high-yield or 'junk...

Filipina Entrepreneur Shines at APEC

Doris Dumlao-Abadilla November 23, 2015
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation regional group supports sustainable growth and prosperity among its 21 member states, both developed and emerging economies through trade, investment, sustainability and innovation. One individual may exemplify such goals. “A Filipina who co-founded Sustainable Alternative Lighting (SALT), a company that makes innovative lamps powered by saltwater, was thrust...

Diplomacy at the Top of the World

James F. Collins, Ross A. Virginia and Kenneth S. Yalowitz August 31, 2015
Foreign ministers will convene to discuss the Arctic region August 31. James Collins, Ross A. Virginia and Kenneth S. Yalowitz, writing for Project Syndicate, point out the common interests for Russia and the United States. While at odds over the former’s interventions in Ukraine, the two cooperated on negotiating a deal on Iran’s nuclear program. Russia, the United States along with Canada,...

High Costs of Cheap Oil

Deepak Gopinath May 7, 2015
Consumers are delighted by low oil prices and economists anticipate increased global growth. But the low prices are locking many industries into infrastructure that relies on fossil fuels. “High-carbon infrastructure – power plants, pipelines, factories, inefficient buildings, roads and transport vehicles – built now will last and pollute for decades to come,” writes Deepak Gopinath, a writer and...

Battery Powered: The Promise of Energy Storage

Steve LeVine March 18, 2015
Fortunes in the energy industry can shift overnight, with prices, alternative sources and progress in technology. Improving batteries’ capability to store energy would galvanize the renewables industry. “The key to unlocking renewables’ potential is thus stationary energy storage, batteries that would allow consumers to draw on electricity generated at an earlier time,” writes Steve LeVine,...