Climate Talks

This webinar by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solution's Climate and Energy Program offers an in-depth explanation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan, which the EPA proposed in June, to control carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. The presentation clearly describes the four "building blocks" used by the EPA to determine each state's unique emissions goal and provides an example calculation of state emissions goals. Nicholas Institute experts also discuss the significance of state emission goals given ongoing changes in the electricity sector, outline state compliance plan requirements, and summarize pivotal areas of flexibility available to states.

Video report created by Voice of America: http://www.voanews.com/media/video/us-china-climate-deal-analysis/2518422.html (Original Link)

This webinar was developed with a focus on the southeast but other stakeholders and state officials will find it useful. Many state regulators involved in developing responses to the Clean Power Plan have expressed an interest in learning more about market mechanisms as a potential compliance option. In response, Brian Murray--director of Economic Analysis at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions--offers a webinar on the topic for southeastern state officials and staff. The Nicholas Institute takes no position on whether or not states should choose a market-based approach but offers this webinar as part of a series of events exploring the potential tradeoffs of various compliance options.

Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions hosted a webinar on its energy and economic modeling results of Clean Power Plan (CPP) compliance pathways. Nicholas Institute Senior Research Economist Martin Ross explained the Nicholas Institute's CPP modeling project and describe its in-house electricity dispatch model: the Dynamic Integrated Economy/Energy/Emissions Model. He also presented findings related to: tradeoffs between rate-based and mass-based compliance plans; impacts of state-by-state versus regional compliance approaches; key elements of the CPP affecting policy responses in the model; consequences of policy choices for generation options, operating costs, capital investments, fuel use, renewable energy, and other factors.

Climate and Energy Program director Jonas Monast talks on air with WPTF about the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hearing on a set of cases challenging the U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to limit greenhouse gases from existing power plants under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act.

Billy Pizer, faculty fellow at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and associate professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy, comments in this Marketplace story tied to President Obama's recent speech at Georgetown University surrounding his climate change strategy.

Resources for the Future’s Center for Climate and Electricity Policy and the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund convened a panel of leading economic experts in fiscal and environmental policy to discuss the role a carbon tax might play in coming debates about how to reform the U.S. tax code. Billy Pizer, an associate professor of public policy, economics, and environment at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and a faculty fellow at Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, was among the panelists.

Brian Murray, director for economic analysis at Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, gives an update from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Doha.

Brian Murray, director for economic analysis at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, discusses the significance of the locale of this year's Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from Doha.

Shortly after a federal court of appeals ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could regulated carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act, Tim Profeta participated in an in-depth discussion on the ruling. Profeta, director of Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, was among four panelists to go over the landmark ruling, which acknowledged the agency is “unambiguously correct” in its use of the law concerning four greenhouse gas emissions rules—the Timing Rule, Tailoring Rule, The Endangerment Rule and the Tailpipe Rule.

A study by Duke University, the Environmental Defense Fund, and other entities suggests that a warmer California will likely be a drier California, making it harder for forests and rangelands and other ecosystems to develop as they have previously. The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions' Linwood Pendleton and his study co-author Rebecca Shaw were guests on an hour-long broadcast on the NPR affiliated radio program, Jefferson Exchange.

Dan Sperling, known widely for his work in transportation, spoke at Duke University November 7 regarding California's adoption of a mix of policies, regulations and incentives that together provide a coherent and durable framework for transforming vehicles, fuels and mobility. The lecture was sponsored by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Center on Global Change and the Nicholas School of the Environment.

Tim Profeta, director of Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, provides an update on where things stand with climate legislation before Congress, and introduces work by the Nicholas Institute on containing costs from climate legislation in this October 2009 lecture.

Tim Profeta, founding director of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, discusses the new environmental bill in the Senate on NewsRadio 680 WPTF.