Kelly Sims Gallagher

Photo by Sharon Wilke

June 3, 2009

A Joint Workshop on Promoting the Development and Deployment of IGCC/Co-Production/CCS Technologies in China and the United States

Report

By Lifeng Zhao, Former Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy Research Group/Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, 2006-2008, Yunhan Xiao and Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group

The workshop examined issues surrounding Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) coal plants, which turn coal into gas and remove impurities before the coal is combusted, and the related carbon capture and sequestration, in which the carbon dioxide emissions are captured and stored underground to avoid releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Though promising, advanced coal technologies face steep financial and legal hurdles, and almost certainly will need sustained support from governments to develop the technology and move it to a point where its costs are low enough for widespread use.

May 28, 2009

"Harvard's Gallagher Discusses New Report on Energy Policy Challenges Facing U.S."

Media Interview Transcripts

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group

Will the Obama administration's plan for vehicle emissions standards and auto efficiency affect consumer behavior? During today's OnPoint, Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, gives her take on the administration's recent auto emissions announcement and whether it will have any significant effects on the environment. Gallagher, editor of the new report, "Acting in Time on Energy Policy," explains why she believes Congress should consider a variable tax on the price of oil as part of the United States' energy policy.

May 20, 2009

"Acting in Time on Energy Policy"

Policy Brief

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group

This policy brief outlines urgent priorities for U.S. energy policy at the dawn of the Obama administration, and recommends specific steps that the U.S. government should take to address the numerous energy-related challenges facing the United States. It is based on the book, Acting in Time on Energy Policy (Brookings 2009), edited by Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center.

We concentrate on six topics: climate change policy, carbon capture and storage policy, oil security policy, energy-technology innovation policy, electricity market structure, and infrastructure policy. The United States cannot afford to wait any longer to enact long-term policies on these topics. In fact, acting early is clearly in the longer-term interest of the United States.

AP Photo

May 7, 2009

"China to the Rescue?"

Magazine or Newspaper Article, Foreign Policy

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group

"...[T]he Chinese may not buy GM's and Ford's assets today, but they could rescue the U.S. industry in another way: by setting an example  of good industrial policy for the United States to follow. Fuel efficiency standards in China, Japan, and even some European countries will push up demand for these sorts of cars. If U.S. firms are to remain internationally competitive, they will need to have more to offer in this regard. But Washington will also have to motivate American consumers to purchase efficient cars...."

May 2009

"Acting in Time on Climate Change"

Book Chapter

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group

"This chapter expolres a number of related questions: How much time do we have to act? How much climate change is virtually inevitable? What are the consequences of procrastination? And finally, what is the appropriate role for governments wishing to act in time to reduce the threat of climate change? In addition, the reality of current emissions and policy responses is explored in some detail for the two biggest emitters in the world: the United States and China."

May 2009

"Acting in Time on Energy Policy"

Book Chapter

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group

"The book's title—Acting in Time—refers to the persistent problem in U.S. energy policy that typically just enough is done to satisfy the short-term political imperatives, but not enough is done to actually solve the underlying problems themselves. As a result, many of the fundamental economic, environmental, and security-related challenges arising from patterns of U.S. energy production and consumption have become more intractable. Some now approach a point of crisis."

May 2009

Acting in Time on Energy Policy

Book

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group

Energy policy is on everyone's mind these days. The U.S. presidential campaign focused on energy independence and exploration ("Drill, baby, drill!"), climate change, alternative fuels, even nuclear energy. But there is a serious problem endemic to America's energy challenges. Policymakers tend to do just enough to satisfy political demands but not enough to solve the real problems, and they wait too long to act. The resulting policies are overly reactive, enacted once damage is already done, and they are too often incomplete, incoherent, and ineffectual. Given the gravity of current economic, geopolitical, and environmental concerns, this is more unacceptable than ever. This important volume details this problem, making clear the unfortunate results of such short-sighted thinking, and it proposes measures to overcome this counterproductive tendency.

Martha Stewart

Spring 2009

"Preliminary Policy Recommendations for Enhancing Energy Innovation in the U.S."

Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter

By Laura Diaz Anadon, Associate Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program; Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group; Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom, Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group and Charles Jones, Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group

The Obama administration and the 111th Congress face enormous challenges and opportunities in tackling the pressing security, economic, and environmental problems posed by the energy sector in the United States and worldwide. Improving the technologies of energy supply and end-use is a prerequisite for surmounting these challenges in a timely and cost-effective way. This article is adapted from the executive summary of the Belfer Center Energy Technology Innovation Policy (ETIP) report, "Tackling U.S. Energy Challenges and Opportunities," by Laura Diaz Anadon, Kelly Sims Gallagher, Matthew Bunn, and Charles Jones.

March 2009

"China's Fuel Economy Standards for Passenger Vehicles: Rationale, Policy Process, and Impacts"

Discussion Paper

By Hongyan He Oliver, Former Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, 2004-2009, Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, Donglian Tian and Jinhua Zhang

This paper describes the Chinese experience in adopting fuel economy standards for vehicles.  The lessons from China that are described in this paper can be highly relevant for countries that are experiencing or anticipating rapid growth in personal vehicles, those wishing to moderate an increase in oil demand, or those desirous of vehicle technology upgrades.

AP

February 18, 2009

Tackling U.S. Energy Challenges and Opportunities: Preliminary Policy Recommendations for Enhancing Energy Innovation in The United States

Report

By Laura Diaz Anadon, Associate Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program; Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group; Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom and Charles Jones, Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group

ETIP’s Energy Research, Development, Demonstration & Deployment (ERD3) Policy Project has developed recommendations for energy innovation in the United States. These recommendations lay out a comprehensive strategy for investment in energy innovation, new approaches to managing the effort, and policies for moving new technology into the marketplace.