In The News

Trump Gives Carbon Price Foes New Line of Attack

Aaron Wherry November 17, 2016
US President-elect Donald Trump described climate change as a “hoax” for US businesses and promised to repeal environmental regulations and to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. China has since offered the reminder that the United States supported UN deliberations on a warming planet during the Reagan administration well before China knew such negotiations were underway. Canada and other...

Africa Unplugged

November 9, 2016
Two of three people in Africa lack access to electricity, and for the poor, connecting to an electricity grid is unfathomably expensive. Costs of solar panels have fallen dramatically in recent years, and off-grid solar systems are providing the sun-rich continent an inexpensive way to connect to power. New technologies allow residents of African communities the means to charge smartphones and...

UNICEF: 300 Million Children Breathe Toxic Air

November 4, 2016
Air pollution is an increasing danger for children’s health. One out of every seven children, 300 million in all, are exposed to toxic levels of outdoor air pollution, reports the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF. “The World Health Organization, WHO, says air pollution kills about seven million people a year, nearly 12 percent of all deaths worldwide,” reports the Environment News...

Climate Change and the Risks of Denying Inconvenient Truths

Martin Wolf November 2, 2016
Many industries – including agriculture and insurance – anticipate major disruptions from climate change. Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for Financial Times, is pessimistic about US leadership on the issue, expressing alarm that climate change was not discussed more during the presidential campaign. He points to two types of denial: Major denial from Donald Trump and the right stems...

In Your Phone, In Their Air

Peter Whoriskey October 28, 2016
Lithium batteries in smartphones and laptops include graphite. “The companies making those products promote the bright futuristic possibilities of the ‘clean’ technology,” reports Peter Whoriskey for the Washington Post. “But virtually all such batteries use graphite, and its cheap production in China, often under lax environmental controls, produces old-fashioned industrial pollution.” China...

The Ride to a Pollution-Free India

Nayan Chanda October 26, 2016
India has committed to reducing its carbon footprint from 2005 by at least 33 percent before 2030 through the Paris agreement to stem climate change. Innovations of emerging economies will contribute to combating climate change, and Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online, points to the battery-powered e-rickshaw in India: “the humble three-wheel vehicle that could help cities like...

Green Sovereign Bonds: Tactical Moves on an Emerging Market

October 20, 2016
France issued the first green sovereign bond in September and China may soon follow, joining the ranks of institutions like the World Bank and large companies. Green bonds fund programs aimed at stemming climate change and promoting alternative energies, energy efficiency, water treatment and other forms of sustainable development. So far, yearly issuances represent about 1 percent of the global...