Climate Change

Sarah Moffitt recently published two research papers on climate change in ocean systems, both with a significant media splash. On the other side of that experience, she has some hard-won perspective about what worked for her — and what she still needs to practice.

As the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, China has made a number moves in the past year to reduce emissions and clean up its environment.

When you ask Switzer Fellow Sue Chiang (2007) about what drives her passion to expose the hidden dangers of fracking, her answer is straight and to the point. “We’re looking at a new California Gold Rush, only this time the frenzy is nationwide, and now we have technology that’s capable of leaving an environmental footprint exponentially more harmful than what was possible in the past," says Chiang.

Where are we heading now in our quest for more "cheap energy"? North, to the Arctic! Despite the Obama Administration's jawboning about the dangers of climate change and the Administration's Climate Action Plan, it has recently given conditional approval to Shell Oil to drill for oil in the perilous waters of the Chukchi Sea. Experts who know the risks of drilling in those cold and remote waters say there is a high probability of an oil spill and that Shell has no credible means of cleaning it up. The company's record scarcely inspires confidence.

Ethiopia has made an ambitious commitment to curb its greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2030. As one of Africa’s most vulnerable nations, and the first least developed country to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the UNFCCC, Ethiopia communicated its plans to cut emissions below 2010 levels from 150 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) in 2010 to 145 MtCO2e in 2030. This represents a major shift, since conventional economic growth would more than double Ethiopia’s greenhouse emissions by 2030.

It’s raining money! Or so Gov. Jerry Brown would have us believe. The new state budget assumes $2.2 billion in new revenue from California’s pioneering cap-and-trade program designed to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

During his two years leading the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis has washed the feet of inmates, proposed larger roles for women in the church, and famously shifted the institutional tone toward gay acceptance, saying, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

This week’s G7 leaders declaration struck some strong messages in speaking to the need to address climate and energy challenges and in supporting developing countries as they transition to low carbon economies. This is especially true in regards to language on the necessary phase out of fossil fuels over the course of the century. Yet the leading global economies missed some important details in mapping actions that would benefit the poor.

From WRI: Putting a Price on Carbon: A Handbook for U.S. Policymakers is the first in a series of papers that the World Resources Institute will produce with the aim of providing a clear and comprehensive understanding of the key issues that will need to be addressed if the United States ultimately imposes a national price on carbon. The Handbook lays out what is already known about the design and effects of different approaches to pricing carbon, with a focus on carbon taxes and cap-and-trade programs.