NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Spring 2010
"México City Metrobús System Wins 2009 Roy Award"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Beth Maclin, Former Communications Assistant, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The México City Metrobús, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that reduces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while improving the quality of life and transportation options in one of the largest cities in the world, received the biannual 2009 Roy Family Award for Environmental Partnership in September."
January 13, 2010
"Certification Strategies, Industrial Development and a Global Market for Biofuels"
Discussion Paper
By Ricardo Hausmann and Rodrigo Wagner
In a discussion paper released by Harvard University's Sustainability Science Program and the Belfer Center's Environment and Natural Resources Program at the Harvard Kennedy School, Ricardo Hausmann and Rodrigo Wagner lay out five organizing principles for maximizing the development impact of a global biofuel market.
A disproportionately large amount of the world's agronomic potential for the production of bio-ethanol is concentrated in a subset of developing countries. To develop that potential, countries need both the existence of an appropriate local business ecosystem and reliable global demand. The creation of a global market for green biofuels, however, is affected by a constellation of diverse and sometimes conflicting policy goals, which tend to complicate policy discussion. In this paper we compile a set of principles to guide the design of a global market for green biofuels.
Winter 2009-10
"Agricultural Innovation in Africa: Addressing Climate-Smart Growth"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Beth Maclin, Former Communications Assistant, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The Belfer Center's new Agriculture Innovation in Africa project will work to address the dual challenges of climate change and food shortages with the help of a generous grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Winter 2009-10
"Biofuels: A Solution for the Developing World?"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Amanda Sardonis, Assistant Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program
What is the potential for biofuels to help meet the world's energy needs, protect the environment, and advance the livelihoods of farmers and other land users around the world? Participants of a workshop organized by the Belfer Center's Environment and Natural Resources Program (ENRP) and Harvard Kennedy School's Sustainability Science Program discussed these questions as they addressed the goals of a sustainable biofuel industry in developing countries and the role of certification processes in attaining these goals. The two-day event in late spring attracted more than 20 leading experts from around the world, representing academia, business, and government.
September 15, 2009
"Climate Change a Stumbling Block to Africa's Economies"
Op-Ed, The Daily Nation
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
According to the World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change, ... a two-degree Celsius warming above pre-industrial levels could permanently reduce Africa's annual per capita consumption by four to five per cent....The report calls on industrialised countries, which have released most of the greenhouse gases, to lead the way in charting a new low-carbon economic path. In addition, the report calls for financial support to enable developing countries adapt to climate change and lay the foundation for low-carbon economies.
August 7, 2009
"Climate change requires an energy technology revolution, Chu says"
News
By Beth Maclin, Former Communications Assistant, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu discussed the need for an aggressive national energy policy at a packed John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum event, “Laying the Foundation for the Next Generation of Clean Energy Jobs,” on August 6, 2009. He outlined challenges of global warming and potential strategies that could provide solutions.
May 13, 2009
"Robert Stavins Named to the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission"
Press Release
By Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
Robert Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School and a member of the Board of Directors at the school's Belfer Center, has been appointed to a new position in the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Winter 2008-09
"Laura Diaz Anadon Leads Research in Low-Carbon Energy Technologies"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
Laura Diaz Anadon, former chemical engineer and financial consultant, was named program manager of the Center’s Energy Technology Innovation Policy (ETIP) research group’s Energy Research Development & Deployment Policy (ERD3) this past summer. She heads the Center's efforts to produce and promote a comprehensive set of recommendations for the next U.S. administration to accelerate the development and deployment of low-carbon energy technologies.
Winter 2008-09
"Clark Joins Call for Congress to Adopt System to Evaluate U.S. Ecosystems"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development and member of the Belfer Center Board of Directors, joined the nonprofit Heinz Center this summer in calling on the next president and Congress to take up the reins of a system of U.S. environmental indicators that evaluates the condition of major ecosystems within the United States.
Winter 2008-09
"Report Urges Governments to Explore Benefits, Risks of Biolfuels"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
Governments should initiate an orderly, innovation-enhancing transition toward incentives that target multi-dimensional goals for biofuels development, according to the report "Biofuels and Sustainable Development," released by the Sustainability Science Program of Harvard Kennedy School in ollaboration with Italy’s Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, and Venice International University. Henry Lee, director of the Belfer Center's Environment and Natural Resources Program and co-author of the report with William Clark and Charan Devereaux, writes that if the potential of biofuels is to be realized, "governments must be clear about goals and constraints and the specific interventions to address each of them.”
