ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
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November 7, 2012
"Five Things Obama Must Do"
Op-Ed, CNN.com
By Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Now that the campaign is over and Barack Obama has won a second term, the hard business of governing begins again. There's a presidential inbox waiting and it's not too hard to figure out what's in it. Problems don't have Democrat or Republican stamped on them: they just are."
November 6, 2012
"The Coming Oil Glut"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Leonardo Maugeri, Roy Family Fellow, Geopolitics of Energy Project
"The price of oil continues to be set by fear, not by supply and demand," writes Leonard Maugeri. "World-wide oil production is growing quickly. By the end of the year, it will probably surpass 92 million barrels per day, with additional spare capacity of more than 3.5 million barrels. Thanks to the shale oil revolution, U.S. crude production could exceed 6.5 million barrels per day by the end of the year: around one million more barrels than the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in January."
November 5, 2012
Harvard Project to Conduct Side-Event at COP-18
Announcement
The event is titled "Market Mechanisms in a Post-Durban International Climate Regime" and will be held on Monday, December 3, 2012, in Side Event Room 7 from 3–4:30 PM in Doha, Qatar. We cordially invite all of our friends and colleagues attending COP-18 to join us.
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November 5, 2012
"After Sandy, Environmentalists, Military Find Common Cause"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Today, one hurricane (or tornado or fire or drought) does not constitute proof of climate change, but to deny the cumulative impact of extreme weather on geopolitics is no longer tenable. Changes in the environment will exacerbate destabilization in areas of deep strategic importance to the United States, including Asia, the Middle East, the Arctic, and Latin America. Facing increased temperatures, people will have to move to avoid rising sea water, tidal infiltrations, or arid soil; they will be searching for water, food, and space. The movement of people, and the fights between them over commodities, have been the causes of many wars."
Oct 31, 2012
"Securing China’s Weapon-Usable Fissile Materials and Nuclear Facilities"
Presentation
By Hui Zhang, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Presentation at the 13th PIIC Beijing Seminar on International Security: Building a World of Sustainable Peace and Stability, Oct.31 – Nov.3, 2012, Beijing, China
October 30, 2012
"Obama's Message of Tough Love"
Op-Ed, CNN.com
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"If storms like Sandy are likely in the future, we will begin to see a move toward a more resilient infrastructure, starting with projects that are already under way. Local and state governments are likely to require that primary power cables are underground and protected."
AP Photo
November 2012
"The Energy Technology Innovation System"
Journal Article, Annual Review of Environment and Resources, volume 37
By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, Arnulf Grubler, Laura Kuhl, Gregory Nemet, Former Visiting Scholar, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program/Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, January–June 2011 and Charlie Wilson
This article reviews the concept of an energy technology innovation system (ETIS). The ETIS is a systemic perspective on innovation comprising all aspects of energy transformations (supply and demand); all stages of the technology development cycle; as well as all the major innovation processes, feedbacks, actors, institutions, and networks.
October 2012
"The Role of Border Carbon Adjustment in Unilateral Climate Policy: Insights from a Model-Comparison Study"
Discussion Paper
By Christoph Böhringer, Edward J. Balistreri and Thomas F. Rutherford
A new Harvard-Project Discussion Paper examines the relationships between domestic climate policy and trade. The study compares the output of a range of economic models, using the methodology of the Energy Modeling Forum (EMF).
September 2012
"Climate Negotiations Open a Window: Key Implications of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action"
Policy Brief
By Joseph E. Aldy, Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements and Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
The Durban Platform for Enhanced Action represents an important milestone in the history of climate negotiations. The challenge is to find a way to include all key countries in a structure that brings about meaningful emission reduction on an appropriate timetable at acceptable cost, while recognizing the different circumstances of countries in a way that is more subtle, more sophisticated, and more effective than the dichotomous distinction of years past. This policy brief expands upon the authors' Science article, "Climate Negotiators Create an Opportunity for Scholars."
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August 31, 2012
"Climate Negotiators Create an Opportunity for Scholars"
Journal Article, Science, issue 6098, volume 337
By Joseph E. Aldy, Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements and Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) launched a process to confront risks posed by global climate change. It has led to a dichotomy between countries with serious emission-reduction responsibilities and others with no responsibilities whatsoever. This has prevented progress, but the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action suggests the prospect for a better way forward and an openness to outside-the-box thinking. Scholars and practitioners have a new opportunity to contribute innovative proposals for a future international climate policy architecture.
