ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
April 2013
"The Role of Forests in a Future Climate Agreement"
Policy Brief
By Donna Lee
Forests can play a significant role in helping to avoid dangerous climate change, and a global agreement under the UNFCCC would be uniquely placed to support efforts in this regard. The rising global demand for agricultural and other land-based products means that pressures on land are increasingly cross-border, and there is an accelerating expansion of the deforestation frontier. Smart domestic policies are critical to solving the deforestation challenge, and recent private sector interest in "sustainable agriculture" is encouraging. However, global agreements that value standing forests and provide incentives that positively impact land use change decisions can be an equally important tool.
January 2013
Economics of Climate Change and Environmental Policy: Selected Papers of Robert N. Stavins, 2000–2011
Book
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Professor Robert Stavins, Harvard Project Director, recently published the second volume of his collected papers with Edward Elgar Publishing. The 26 essays in the volume cover a wide range of topics, including: environmental policy analysis; economic analysis of environmental policy instruments; economics and technical change; natural resource economics — land and water; and domestic and international climate change policy. The first volume of Professor Stavins' papers was published in 2000 — also by Edward Elgar — covering the period 1988–1999.
AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
Spring 2013
"Climate Change and Insecurity: Mapping Vulnerability in Africa"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 4, volume 37
By Joshua Busby, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2004-2005, Todd G. Smith, Kaiba L. White and Shawn M. Strange
Many experts argue that climate change will exacerbate the severity and number of extreme weather events. Such climate-related hazards will be important security concerns and sources of vulnerability in the future regardless of whether they contribute to conflict.
April 4, 2013
"Is it Time to Worry?"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"But today's scare is not just a matter of concern for China. The nation's insular government, dense population, and environmental ills have already combined to create several global pandemics. The 2003 SARS outbreak began in China, and, by its end, killed about 800 people and caused close to $50 billion in economic losses. China had originally prevented disclosure of the SARS outbreak, telling nervous global public health officials to take a hike."
Spring 2013
Belfer Center Newsletter Spring 2013
Newsletter
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications
The Spring 2013 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This edition highlights the Belfer Center’s deepening engagement with China.
(Jaimee Haddad Photo)
Spring 2013
"Climate Conference Moves Forward – Slowly"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Robert C. Stowe, Executive Director, Harvard Environmental Economics Program; Manager, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
In December, the member nations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change met in Doha, Qatar for the Eighteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-18) to discuss climate change on a global level. The Harvard Project on Climate Agreements co-hosted, with the government of Qatar, an event entitled "After Doha: Balancing Adaptation, Mitigation, and Economic Development."
Spring 2013
"Climate Reporting from the Inside"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Andrew Facini, Communications Assistant
Domestically, the issue of climate change is again heating up, following President Obama’s State of the Union speech, where he surprised many by discussing the issue more openly and at greater length than anticipated. An “insider’s viewpoint” of the political environment on climate change was presented by veteran Washington Post reporter Juliet Eilperin in January.
(DoD Photo)
Spring 2013
"Serving the Nation"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
Belfer Center “graduates” occupy some of the hottest seats in government as the second Obama administration confronts stressful policy choices in science and technology, national security, and domestic finances amid clashing party politics and volatile viewpoints.
March 2013
"The Next Frontier in United States Unconventional Shale Gas and Tight Oil Extraction: Strategic Reduction of Environmental Impact"
Discussion Paper
By Meagan Mauter, Visiting Scholar, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, Vanessa R. Palmer, Yiqiao Tang and A. Patrick Behrer
The unconventional fossil fuel extraction industry—in the U.S., primarily shale gas and tight oil—is expected to continue expanding dramatically in coming decades as conventionally recoverable reserves wane. At the global scale, a long-term domestic supply of natural gas is expected to yield environmental benefits over alternative sources of fossil energy. At the local level, however, the environmental impacts of shale gas and tight oil development may be significant. The development of technology, management practices, and regulatory policies that mitigate the associated environmental impacts of shale gas development is quickly becoming the next frontier in U.S. unconventional fossil resource extraction.
AP Photo
March 28, 2013
"China's Massive Water Problem"
Op-Ed, International Herald Tribune
By Scott Moore, Giorgio Ruffolo Doctoral Research Fellow, Sustainability Science Program/Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group
"Beijing needs to stop relying on technology to avoid making hard choices about scarce resources. The United States and the rest of the world need to push the Chinese government to make its development more sustainable through political reform, lest China's economy and social stability be endangered."
