Energy Policy Now

As net zero carbon targets become commonplace, strong governance will be needed to ensure climate benefits.--- This is the second episode in a three-part series exploring governance challenges surrounding the transition to clean energy. In recent years a flood of net zero emissions targets have been set by companies, municipalities, and countries around the world. In fact, over-two thirds of the global economy is now covered by net zero targets that aim to zero out greenhouse gas emissions and slow and ideally halt the process of climate change. Yet, while the quantity of net zero targets has multiplied, the quality of many of these targets is questionable. Many targets are voluntary and, too frequently, not subject to reliable oversight. At the same time, political realities can present steep hurdles to governments that might seek to establish robust, enforceable net zero targets at the national level. Thomas Hale, associate professor in global public policy at the University of Oxford discusses the need for strong governance structures to ensure that net zero targets deliver the carbon neutrality that they promise. Hale explores what, exactly, constitutes a robust net zero target, governance frameworks for credible and enforceable targets and the hurdles, political and otherwise, to achieving robust governance. Thomas Hale is an associate professor in global public policy at the University of Oxford and visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. His work focuses on the management of transnational problems, with a focus on environmental, economic and health issues. Related Content Net-Zero Nevada: From Pledge to Action https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/net-zero-nevada-from-pledge-to-action/  Guidelines for Successful, Sustainable Nature-Based Solutions https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/guidelines-for-successful-sustainable-nature-based-solutions/  For Solar Geoengineering, Daunting Policy Questions Await https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/for-solar-geoengineering-daunting-policy-questions-await/  Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shuchi Talati, former chief of staff of the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy & Carbon Management, discusses the need for strong governance to balance the potential benefits of carbon dioxide removal technologies with environmental and social risks. --- This episode is the first in a three-part series that will explore governance challenges surrounding the transition to clean energy.  In early April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest assessment report, which warned that the global carbon budget to keep climate warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius is quickly being exhausted, and that the use of technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has become “unavoidable” if climate damages are to be limited. The report has been followed by announcements from leading technology companies of more than $2 billion dollars in commitments to commercialize carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.  The IPCC report, and financing commitments, point to increasing acceptance of emerging climate technologies that were once viewed as options of last resort to address climate change. In the podcast Shuchi Talati, scholar in residence with the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment at American University, discusses the governance of these emerging climate technologies which, despite their promise, raise concerns around their potential impacts on ecosystems, economies and issues of social equity, and even over the pace of decarbonization itself.  Shuchi Talati is scholar in residence with the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment at American University, and former chief of staff for the Office of Fossil Energy & Carbon Management at the Department of Energy. Related Content For Solar Geoengineering, Daunting Policy Questions Await https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/for-solar-geoengineering-daunting-policy-questions-await/ Guidelines for Successful, Sustainable, Nature-Based Solutions. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/guidelines-for-successful-sustainable-nature-based-solutions/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economist Lord Nicholas Stern discusses why traditional economics fail to capture the magnitude of threat presented by climate change, and how the discipline must adapt. --- In 2006 climate economist Nicholas Stern published the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, a report that offered the first systematic examination of the costs of addressing climate change and impacts on the global economy. The report marked a fundamental shift away from climate change being viewed primarily as an issue of science, to also being one of economics. Fifteen years later Stern looks back on that seminal report to examine how economics, and markets, have failed to grapple with the unprecedented risks posed by a changing climate, and how the profession must change to guide policy toward rapid decarbonization on a global scale. Stern’s recording took place during his visit to the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy on April 19, where he received the center’s Carnot Prize for distinguished contributions to energy policy. Nicholas Stern is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the London School of Economics, and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.  Related Content Guidelines for Successful, Sustainable, Nature-Based Solutions https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/guidelines-for-successful-sustainable-nature-based-solutions/ Supply and Demand Evolution in the Voluntary Carbon Credit Market https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/supply-and-demand-evolution-in-the-voluntary-carbon-credit-market/ The Role of Negative Emissions in Getting to Carbon Neutral https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-essential-role-of-negative-emissions-in-getting-to-carbon-neutral/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An expert in energy geopolitics discusses the war in Ukraine and its implications for European energy security and decarbonization. The episode was recorded in front of a live audience. --- Anna Mikulska, lecturer in Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert in European energy geopolitics, discusses the history of escalating energy tensions between Russia, Ukraine and the EU prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24. In the episode, which was recorded in front of a live audience at UPenn’s Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, Mikulska explores the EU’s dependency on Russian natural gas and options for alternative sources of energy supply including LNG. She also considers the prospects for an extended period of high energy prices going forward, and how the war may alter Europe’s path toward its aggressive decarbonization targets for the end of this decade. Anna Mikulska is a lecturer in Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and a nonresident fellow in Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Related Content Climate Leader Germany Faces Challenging Exit from Coal https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/climate-leader-germany-faces-challenging-exit-from-coal/ Net-Zero Nevada: From Pledge to Action  https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/net-zero-nevada-from-pledge-to-action/ Barriers to Energy Efficiency Adoption in Low-Income Communities   https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/barriers-to-energy-efficiency-adoption-in-low-income-communities/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An energy activist highlights the opportunities, and challenges on the way to clean and equitable energy in the United States. --- The energy transition that is now underway in the United States holds the promise of delivering carbon free energy by the middle of this century. Yet often overlooked is a second critical opportunity to ensure that our future energy system delivers benefits, and shares burdens, much more equitably than has been true to date.  Chandra Farley, chair of the Atlanta NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, discusses the disproportionate environmental, social and economic burdens of our fossil energy system that have fallen on communities of color and the economically disadvantaged, and efforts to ensure that the benefits and costs of clean energy are equitably shared. Chandra Farley is Chief Executive of ReSolve, a consultancy that works to strengthen the organizational foundations of grassroots advocacy, and founder of the Good Energy Project, which engages Black women in the effort to expand clean energy. She is running for a seat as a commissioner with the Georgia Public Service Commission. Related Content Barriers to Energy Efficiency Adoption in Low-Income Communities https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/barriers-to-energy-efficiency-adoption-in-low-income-communities/ Aligning Historic Preservation and Energy Efficiency https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/aligning-historic-preservation-and-energy-efficiency/   The Best Local Response to Climate Change Is a Comprehensive Efficiency Plan https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-best-local-response-to-climate-change-is-a-comprehensive-efficiency-plan/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The transition to a clean energy economy will generate millions of new jobs. Unions are working to ensure that those jobs provide a living wage. --- Dramatic changes are underway in the ways that the United States produces and consumes energy, with major implications for the country’s workforce. Along the Atlantic shore, states are racing to establish large offshore wind farms and the manufacturing supply chains to support them. Automakers in the middle of the country have committed to shifting production to electric vehicles and the federal government to supporting a nationwide EV charging network. Opportunity will continue to grow in clean energy manufacturing, infrastructure and services. A central challenge that lies ahead is to ensure that these new jobs provide secure, living wages to support families and communities as they propel the energy transition. Guest Lara Skinner is Director of the Labor Leading on Climate Initiative at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, which works with labor unions to actively engage in decision making around clean energy and climate policy. She discusses efforts to ensure that new jobs in the clean energy economy address both economic inequality and the need to rapidly decarbonize. Lara Skinner is Director of the Labor Leading on Climate Initiative at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. For a transcript of this episode and more information, go to our website. Related Content Barriers to Energy Efficiency Adoption in Low-Income Communities https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/barriers-to-energy-efficiency-adoption-in-low-income-communities/ Leveraging Clean Energy to Alleviate Regional Water Stress https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/leveraging-clean-energy-to-alleviate-regional-water-stress/ Guidelines for Successful, Sustainable, Nature-Based Solutions https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/guidelines-for-successful-sustainable-nature-based-solutions/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ProPublica's Alec MacGillis discusses his recent New Yorker magazine article on Germany’s protracted struggle to wean itself off of coal.---Germany has earned a reputation as a leader in the effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and today counts some of the highest rates of renewable energy in the world.Yet one of the continuing ironies of Germany’s energy transition is that the country remains very much dependent on coal-fired generation, which last year provided over a quarter of its electricity. In fact, as Germany pursues steep reductions in emissions, it also plans to continue mining and burning coal nearly to the end of the 2030s.ProPublica reporter Alec MacGillis discusses his recent New Yorker magazine article on Germany’s challenging exit from coal, and the fuel’s sustaining, and uniquely destructive relationship with German communities.MacGillis’ article, “Can Germany Show Us How to Leave Coal Behind?”, was published in the January 31, 2022 issue of The New Yorker, and on ProPublica.org.Alec MacGillis is a reporter with ProPublica. Related ContentNuclear Energy Meets Climate Change https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/nuclear-energy-meets-climate-change/ Electricity Storage and Renewables: How Investments Change as Technology Improves https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/electricity-storage-and-renewables-how-investments-change-as-technology-improves/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rising global LNG demand points to a strong future for U.S. LNG exports. But ESG concerns loom. ---Over the past decade, fracking technology has driven unprecedented growth in American natural gas production. Gas now powers 40% of U.S. electricity generation, and is also the most important fuel for home heating. And the U.S. is on track to become the world’s number one exporter of liquified natural gas in 2022, as Asia and Europe compete to pay top dollar for shipments of LNG. On the face of things, the outlook couldn’t be better for U.S. gas producers. Yet, the industry’s dramatic growth coincides with an accelerating shift toward clean energy technology, growing investor ESG concerns around the use of natural gas, and political division over gas exports. Gas producers must now weigh near term market opportunity against these longer term risks. Robert Johnston, managing director of Eurasia Group’s Energy, Climate and Resources practice, and a research scholar at Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy, discusses the complex range of domestic and global dynamics that are shaping the future of the U.S. natural gas industry. Related ContentLeveraging Clean Energy to Alleviate Regional Water Stress https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/leveraging-clean-energy-to-alleviate-regional-water-stress/ Nuclear Energy Meets Climate Change https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/nuclear-energy-meets-climate-change/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A financier discusses the challenge of managing clean energy investment risk.---The transition to a clean U.S. energy system, including carbon-free electricity by the middle of the next decade, will be fueled by massive investment from government and industry and through the provision of green finance from banks and investors. Brian Lehman, the Head of Green Economy Banking at JP Morgan Chase, discusses the challenge of defining clean and sustainable investment in an age where uniform sustainability standards don’t yet exist. He also looks at how government policy might accelerate clean energy finance, and at the types of energy projects and technologies that are attracting attention from green financiers. The Carbon Shock: Investor Response to the British Columbia Carbon Taxhttps://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-carbon-shock-investor-response-to-the-british-columbia-carbon-tax/ Related ContentBeyond Prices and Quantities: Greening Policies Under Sectoral Reforms in Argentina https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/beyond-prices-and-quantities-greening-policies-under-sectoral-reforms-in-argentina/Climate Tech for Real Estate: The Elephant in the Room. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-tech-for-real-estate-the-elephant-in-the-room/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A climate economist discusses why efforts to cool earth’s climate through solar geoengineering appear all but inevitable, and considers the policy questions and political battles to come.---There is no overarching, national debate into the merits of solar geoengineering, which is process to artificially cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight back into space. The technology sounds fanciful, the stuff of science fiction. Yet earlier this year the National Academies of Sciences issued an urgent request to Washington to begin a federal research program into geoengineering. That request has, so far, largely fallen on deaf ears.Climate economist Gernot Wagner believes solar geoengineering is inevitable despite the relative lack of attention the technology has attracted to date. In a recently published book he makes the case for this inevitability, and also presents a compelling argument for why much more research into geoengineering’s risks must be completed if is to be put into practice. In the podcast, he explores why solar geoengineering is fundamentally different from other strategies that address climate change, and why research programs into the technology must be tightly governed. He also discusses concern that solar geoengineering’s implementation, if inevitable, is likely to stoke fierce policy debate and, quite possibly, geopolitical tensions.Gernot Wagner is a climate economist at New York University and author of the recently published book Geoengineering: the Gamble. He is also co-author of Climate Shock, which was chosen by the Financial Times as a best book in economics in 2015.Related Content Can We Measure Successful Climate Adaptation? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/news-insights/can-we-measure-successful-climate-adaptation/ Guidelines for Successful, Sustainable, Nature-Based Solutionshttps://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/guidelines-for-successful-sustainable-nature-based-solutions/ Harvesting the Sun: On-Farm Opportunities and Challenges for Solar Development https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/harvesting-the-sun-on-farm-opportunities-and-challenges-for-solar-development/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who will pay for the electric grid of the future? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission explores options to incentivize and finance a vast transmission network to support clean energy.---Much of the fossil fuel generation fleet in the United States will be replaced by renewable energy resources as the country’s electricity system is decarbonized. Yet it remains unclear how the vast network of high-voltage transmission lines needed to connect clean energy resources will be planned and paid for. Marc Montalvo, president and CEO of Daymark Energy Advisors and former director of risk management and market development at ISO New England, looks at why existing means of planning electric transmission are not up to the task of delivering a low-carbon grid. He also discusses recent action by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the nation’s electric grid regulator, to explore ways to incentivize the construction of new transmission and support the expansion of renewable energy. Marc Montalvo is president and CEO of Daymark Energy Advisors. Marc has 25 years of market and regulatory experience in the electricity industry, including in senior roles at ISO New England. Related ContentMassive Shift toward Solar Power Begins in Largest U.S. Electricity Market https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/massive-shift-toward-solar-power-begins-in-largest-u-s-electricity-market/The Opportunities and Limitations of Seasonal Energy Storage https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-opportunities-and-limitations-of-seasonal-energy-storage/Why Is It So Hard to Build the Electric Grid of the Future? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/why-is-it-so-hard-to-build-the-electric-grid-of-the-future/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China’s leadership must navigate conflicting agendas, and threats to domestic political stability, as it seeks to rein in global warming emissions.---China has adopted a relatively low profile of late when it comes to addressing climate change. At the COP 26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, the most notable headline concerning China may in fact have been the failure of its President, Chi Jinping, to attend or address the conference directly. The Chinese leader’s absence was remarkable given the country’s position as the top global emitter of greenhouse gasses, and also in light of the leadership role that China has taken at other global climate conferences over the past few years.Scott Moore, Director of China Programs and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, looks at factors that have contributed to China’s recent avoidance of the climate spotlight, including an ongoing energy crisis that threatens the nation’s economic growth. More broadly, he discusses the political vulnerabilities that the pursuit of a low carbon energy system presents for China’s governing powers, and how these considerations may shape the country’s future climate action, and the pace of its energy transition.Scott Moore is a political scientist and Director of China Programs and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania.Related ContentLeveraging Clean Energy to Alleviate Regional Water Stress https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/leveraging-clean-energy-to-alleviate-regional-water-stress/ The Not-So-Rare Earth Elements: A Question of Supply and Demand https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-not-so-rare-earth-elements-a-question-of-supply-and-demand/ The Essential Role of Negative Emissions in Getting to Carbon Neutral https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-essential-role-of-negative-emissions-in-getting-to-carbon-neutral/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An unprecedented backlog of clean energy projects is in line to join PJM Interconnection, an electricity market serving one in five Americans. ---PJM Interconnection, the largest wholesale electricity market in the U.S., is on the verge of going solar in a big way. The market, which encompasses 13 states from the mid-Atlantic shore, through fossil fuel-rich Pennsylvania and Ohio and as far West as Illinois, has a massive backlog of clean energy projects of all types that are waiting to be built, with solar foremost among them. In fact, the amount of clean energy in line to join PJM totals more than all of the generation capacity that exists in the market today.Mike Borgatti, Vice President of RTO Services and Regulatory Affairs at Gabel Associates, discusses the unprecedented number of new clean energy projects that are lined up in PJM’s interconnection queue, and the policy and economic factors that are driving the shift to solar, wind and storage. He also takes a look at the decline in the number of natural gas projects waiting to enter the market, and what all of these developments may mean for the future power mix.Mike Borgatti is Vice President of RTO Services and Regulatory Affairs at Gabel Associates, an energy, environmental and public utility consulting company.Related Content The Opportunities and Limitations of Seasonal Energy Storage. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-opportunities-and-limitations-of-seasonal-energy-storage/ Electricity Storage and Renewables: How Investments Change as Technology Improves. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/electricity-storage-and-renewables-how-investments-change-as-technology-improves/As Climate Concerns Rise, What Role Will Natural Gas Play? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/as-climate-concerns-rise-what-role-will-natural-gas-play/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A climate economist looks at the impact that the stranding of fossil fuel assets may have on communities, and at policies that might mitigate economic hardship. ---As pressure builds to decarbonize the global energy system, much of today’s energy infrastructure is becoming obsolete. Over the past decade more than half of the coal fired power plants in the United States have closed as coal generation has been replaced by natural gas and renewables, while coal plants elsewhere, such as in China, increasingly operate at a financial loss. The value of certain fossil energy reserves has fallen too. The stock market decline of major energy companies such as ExxonMobil, once the most valuable company in the world, has come as expectations for future oil demand have fallen, making these companies’ vast underground oil reserves look less valuable today. And the natural gas industry faces an uncertain future as the role that gas can, and should play in tomorrow’s clean system is debated. What all of this means is that some portion of fossil fuel companies’ investments in reserves and infrastructure will lose its value, and become what economists call stranded assets. The prospect of stranded energy assets raises concern among investors, and policymakers who must juggle near term economic interests with essential climate goals. University of Southern California economist Matthew Kahn discusses the growing concern over stranded energy assets, and looks at some of the people and places that may suffer when the value of assets drops. He also explores policy solutions to address the problem of stranded assets while taking vulnerable communities into account.Matthew Kahn is the Provost Professor of Economics and Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California. Related ContentThe Carbon Shock: Investor Response to the British Columbia Carbon Tax https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-carbon-shock-investor-response-to-the-british-columbia-carbon-tax/Balancing Act: Can Petrochemicals Be Both Emissions Free and Zero-Waste? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-act-can-petrochemicals-be-both-emissions-free-and-zero-waste/Electricity Storage and Renewables: How Investments Change as Technology Improves https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/electricity-storage-and-renewables-how-investments-change-as-technology-improves/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hurricane Ida was the most recent storm to wreak havoc on Louisiana’s electric grid. A legal expert discusses the struggle to provide resilient power in the state as weather and climate risks grow.---The year 2021 has seen an unprecedented number of large-scale electric grid failures driven by extreme weather. Over the winter, severe cold led to the collapse of Texas’ electricity system, while in California an aging electric grid has sparked wildfires in a state that has endured two decades of drought. Most recently, Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas knocked out electric lines along the Gulf Coast, leaving tens of thousands of residents without power, many for weeks.What all of these electricity system failures have in common, apart from the lives that they have cost, is that they are likely to be repeated unless the electric grid can be made more resilient.Robert Verchick, a professor of environmental law at Loyola University in New Orleans, discusses the challenge of making the electric grid resilient in Louisiana, a state that arguably has the longest record of combating climate-related natural disasters and the electric grid destruction they cause.Verchick explores why Louisiana has so far failed to adequately address the threat to its electric grid, and discusses recent initiatives in the state to develop a more robust, and greener grid even as resistance to such efforts continues.Robert Verchick is the Gauthier-St. Martin Chair in Environmental Law at Loyola University New Orleans and president of the Center for Progressive Reform. He is also a member of Louisiana Governor John Bel Edward’s Climate Initiatives Task Force. Related ContentThe Carbon Shock: Investor Response to the British Columbia Carbon Tax https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-carbon-shock-investor-response-to-the-british-columbia-carbon-tax/ Electricity Storage and Renewables: How Investments Change as Technology Improves https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/electricity-storage-and-renewables-how-investments-change-as-technology-improves/ Balancing Act: Can Petrochemicals Be Both Emissions Free and Zero-Waste? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-act-can-petrochemicals-be-both-emissions-free-and-zero-waste/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A leading energy economist explores the cost of electrifying home heating, the top source of energy demand and carbon emissions in American homes.---Residential homes account for one fifth of America’s energy consumption, with the largest part of that consumption going toward home heating. In the U.S., more homes are heated with natural gas than any other fuel, a fact that has drawn the attention of policymakers as momentum builds to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Recently, a number of cities have sought to curtail residential gas use by introducing policies to promote home electrification and, more controversially, through bans that prohibit gas hookups in new homes. While it’s still too early to tell how politically viable, and ultimately effective these efforts will be, what is clear is that the urgency to electrify everything will only intensify as more municipalities, states, and the federal government set ambitious decarbonization goals for the years to come.Lucas Davis, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, offers a look at the drive to electrify home heating. His recent research examines what motivates households to choose to electrify, how much Americans may be willing to pay in the process, and how this understanding could be used to focus policies that drive rapid and equitable electrification of American homes. Lucas Davis is an economist at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. His research focuses on energy and environmental markets. Related ContentElectricity Storage and Renewables: How Investments Change as Technology Improves https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/electricity-storage-and-renewables-how-investments-change-as-technology-improves/ Climate Tech for Real Estate: The Elephant in the Room https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-tech-for-real-estate-the-elephant-in-the-room/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rare earth elements are essential to many clean energy technologies, yet their production can bring severe environmental impacts. A new report grapples with rare earths' environmental negatives and efforts to diversify supply beyond China. —- In 2010 China withheld shipment of rare earth elements to Japan during a territorial dispute between the two countries. Rare earths, a grouping of 17 difficult to mine elements, are essential in the manufacture of goods such as cell phones and computer hard drives. They’re also a critical element in wind turbines and electric vehicle motors. Today, China is the source of 85% of the world’s supply of refined rare earths, a fact that has raised concern in the United States given the growth of Chinese-American diplomatic tensions and rising demand for clean energy technologies. Any future disruption in the supply of the metals, similar to that experienced by Japan a decade ago, could have a crippling effect on clean energy development in the U.S. and elsewhere. In the podcast, authors of the recent Kleinman Center report, Rare Earth Elements: A Resource Constraint of the Energy Transition, discuss the market for rare earths, explain why they are so important to clean energy, and examine growing calls to diversify global supply. The authors, Amy Chu of Mills College, and Oscar Serpell of the Kleinman Center, also talk about the high environmental impact of rare earths production, a reality that is at odds with the environmental promise of clean energy. Amy Chu is an assistant professor of chemistry at Mills College. Oscar Serpell is Associate Director of Academic Programming here at the Kleinman Center. Their report, Rare Earth Elements: A Resource Constraint of the Energy Transition, was funded by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. Related ContentRare Earth Elements: A Resource Constraint of the Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/rare-earth-elements-a-resource-constraint-of-the-energy-transition/ Electricity Storage and Renewables: How Investments Change as Technology Improves. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/electricity-storage-and-renewables-how-investments-change-as-technology-improves/ Electric Vehicles in the City https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/electric-vehicles-in-the-city-the-relationship-of-ev-infrastructure-and-spatial-development-in-beijing/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The head of the International Energy Agency’s gas division discusses the outlook for natural gas as global efforts to address carbon emissions intensify.---Natural gas may be the most controversial of all fossil fuels. It has been heralded as a lower carbon alternative to coal as a fuel for electricity generation. At the same time, natural gas-fired generators have proven themselves to be a reliable backup for intermittent wind and solar power, and gas is viewed as an enabler of an increasingly renewables-based electric grid. Yet natural gas is nonetheless a fossil fuel whose global consumption is on the rise even as a growing number of countries have set out to zero out carbon emissions from their energy systems within the coming two decades. Peter Fraser, head of the Gas, Coal and Power Markets Division at the International Energy Agency, examines present and future demand for natural gas, and the growing perception of risk that accompanies investment in major natural gas infrastructure projects should demand for gas soften. He also discusses the technologies that must be developed to ensure the cleanest possible gas supply, and to enable a shift to non-gas alternatives. Peter Fraser heads the Gas, Coal and Power Markets Division at the International Energy Agency. His work includes the IEA Outlooks used by governments and industry to understand the direction of the global energy sector.Related ContentThe Opportunities and Limitations of Seasonal Energy Storagehttps://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-opportunities-and-limitations-of-seasonal-energy-storage/Have We Reached Peak Carbon Emissions? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/have-we-reached-peak-carbon-emissions/The Essential Role of Negative Emissions in Getting to Carbon Neutral https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-essential-role-of-negative-emissions-in-getting-to-carbon-neutral/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

America’s electric grid is ill-equipped to enable the low carbon energy system of the future. A grid policy expert explores the policy and economic changes that will be needed to bring the grid up to date. ---There is little doubt that the electricity system of the future will look very different from the system that we have today. In the U.S., a growing number of states and the federal government have set 100% clean energy goals for the middle of this century or earlier. The growing demand for clean energy is already evident in fact that wind and solar power now account for the overwhelming majority of new additions to the nation’s power generation fleet. Yet building an electricity grid to accommodate large amounts of renewable energy raises a host of challenges. The most important of these will be to manage the intermittent nature of wind and solar energy to ensure that reliable power is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Rob Gramlich, President of Grid Strategies and a former economic advisor to the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, discusses strategies to manage all that clean energy, and the hurdles that will need to be overcome to expand the nation’s electric grid and allow wind and solar power to be reliably transmitted, often over hundreds of miles of power lines, to markets throughout the country. To reach this goal, existing frameworks used to plan and pay for electric transmission may need to be fundamentally reworked. Rob Gramlich is President of Grid Strategies, which provides engineering, economic, and policy analysis for the electric power system. Rob is also Director of Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, the Watt Coalition, and he is a former economic advisor to the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Electricity Storage and Renewables: How Investments Change as Technology Improves https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/electricity-storage-and-renewables-how-investments-change-as-technology-improves/Related ContentHave We Reached Peak Carbon Emissions?https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/have-we-reached-peak-carbon-emissions/The Opportunities and Limitations of Seasonal Energy Storage https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-opportunities-and-limitations-of-seasonal-energy-storage/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Congress has directed the nation’s regulator for natural gas and electricity infrastructure to be more responsive to community and environmental concerns. Will FERC’s new Office of Public Participation deliver on the promise of public inclusion?---The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission increasingly finds itself at the center of controversy as momentum in the United States builds for a cleaner and more sustainable energy system. As the regulator of the nation’s natural gas and electricity networks, the FERC’s job includes the review of applications for new gas pipelines and electric transmission, and FERC commissioners spend a great deal of time assessing the arguments of energy industry legal teams in favor of a given project.Yet, some argue that the FERC has lost sight of what may be its most important role, which is to guard the public interest, including that of communities and landowners who are most directly affected by the development of energy infrastructure. In fact, community and environmental concerns often find it frustratingly complex, and expensive, to navigate the highly technocratic agency, with the result that public voices may not be adequately heard before the agency.In response, in December Congress mandated that the FERC present a plan to establish an Office of Public Participation, with the goal to assist the public in taking part in complex FERC proceedings and ensuring that community and landowner concerns are taken into full account. Details of the plan are due to lawmakers by the end of June.In the podcast Shelly Welton, associate professor at the University of South Carolina Law School, discusses the mandate of the Office of Public Participation, and the challenge of designing the office in a way that ensures that public views are not just voiced, but actively taken into FERC’s decision making process. She also explores why the public can find the FERC such a difficult agency to engage.Shelley Welton is an associate professor of Law at the University of South Carolina Law School. Her work focuses on the impact of climate change on energy and environmental law.Related ContentBalancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-with-community-interests/U.S. Electricity Regulator Takes A Hard Look at Carbon Pricing https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/u-s-electricity-regulator-takes-a-hard-look-at-carbon-pricing/What’s the FERC, and How is it Shaping Our Energy Future? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/whats-the-ferc-and-how-is-it-shaping-our-energy-future-part-1/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heidi Binko, Executive Director of the Just Transition Fund, discusses the challenges coal communities face in adapting to a post-coal future, and strategies for economic transition.---Over the past decade the number of workers directly employed in the U.S. coal industry has fallen by half, as coal has been replaced by cheaper sources of energy such as natural gas and renewable power. From the Appalachian mountains in the East, to the Powder River Basin and tribal communities in the West, the continued decline of the coal industry has been devastating, depriving workers of livelihoods, and towns of revenue to support essential services.Yet coal communities often have a deep sense of place, and the drive to remain, reinvent, and rebuild is strong.Heidi Binko, Executive Director of the Just Transition Fund, discusses the impact on coal-dependent communities when the industries that sustain them leave, and looks at efforts of the same communities to find new paths of development and create economically diverse and sustainable futures. She also offers a view of strategies that may help communities facing transition.Heidi Binko is Executive Director of the Just Transition Fund, an organization that provides access to funding and technical assistance for coal communities.Related ContentEfficiency and Diversification: A Framework for Sustainably Transitioning to a Carbon-Neutral Economy https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/efficiency-and-diversification-a-framework-for-sustainably-transitioning-to-a-carbon-neutral-economy/Rebalancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-with-community-interests/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sheila Oparaocha of the International Network on Gender and Sustainability discusses the global effort to ensure gender equality in energy access, as an essential foundation for economic development and public health. ---One billion people around the world lack access to electricity, and three times as many do not have access to fuel and appliances that allow for clean and safe cooking inside the home. The lack of clean and reliable energy is a major barrier to economic development and an ongoing threat to human health in some of the poorest parts of the globe.Sheila Oparaocha, the recipient of the Kleinman Center’s 2021 Carnot Prize for outstanding contributions in energy policy, discusses efforts to bring access to reliable, affordable and clean energy to areas in need, and ensure that energy becomes a foundation of economic development that is available to women and men alike.Oparaocha is the International Coordinator of ENERGIA, the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy. ENERGIA partners with governments and industry to provide women with access to finance, training and technical skills to build energy-based businesses. It also works with governments and other key actors to integrate gender-responsive approaches in energy policies, programs and projects.Sheila Oparaocha is the International Coordinator of ENERGIA, the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy.Related ContentPowering the Slum: Meeting SDG7 in Accra’s Informal Settlements https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/powering-the-slum-meeting-sdg7-in-accras-informal-settlements/Mongolian Energy Futures: Repowering Ulaanbaatar https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/mongolian-energy-futures-repowering-ulaanbaatar-challenges-of-radical-energy-sector-decarbonization/ Balancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-with-community-interests/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nature-based climate solutions can play a major role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. But biodiversity risks, and community impacts, loom large.---Technology often seems to be the focus when conversation turns to solutions to address climate change. Clean energy, carbon capture and even geoengineering dominate headlines and attract the attention of climate-focused investors. When it comes to protecting coastal communities, infrastructure projects like sea walls and raised roads likewise grab attention, particularly after extreme weather events.Yet, nature itself is likely to play just as important a role as engineered solutions in our efforts to slow climate change and navigate its worst impacts. Today, scientists and some policymakers are aggressively exploring the potential of nature-based solutions to help us slow and adapt to climate change.Nathalie Seddon, a professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford, discusses the promise, challenges and potential moral hazards of nature-based climate solutions. Seddon explains what qualifies as a nature based-solution, and looks at the community and biodiversity impacts that need to be taken into account when putting nature-based solutions into action. She also looks at efforts to quantify the benefits of natural climate solutions as a means to accelerate investment.Nathalie Seddon is a professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford and founding director of the Nature-based Solutions Initiative.Related ContentClimate Adaptation Strategies: How Do We “Manage” Managed Retreat? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-adaptation-strategies-how-do-we-manage-managed-retreat/ The Best Local Response to Climate Change is a Comprehensive Efficiency Plan. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-best-local-response-to-climate-change-is-a-comprehensive-efficiency-plan/Balancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-with-community-interests/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One-third of American households struggle to afford basic energy needs. The University of Michigan’s Tony Reames explores the role of policy in overcoming energy poverty.---Energy justice and poverty have come to the forefront of public dialogue, and are part of long-standing inequities that continue to persist in the United States. In this country, one-third of households struggle pay for their basic energy needs. In response, federal and state agencies have turned increasing attention toward policies that might alleviate the energy cost burden.Yet the success of these policies has been mixed, and in many cases programs that might reduce energy burden, such as through increased energy efficiency, have been shown to provide least benefit to communities that need them most. Tony Reames, leader of the Urban Energy Justice Lab at the University of Michigan and visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, discusses energy poverty in the United States and the challenge of effectively addressing the problem through public policy solutions. Reames also looks at the socioeconomic, racial and geographic underpinnings of energy poverty, and some of the historic factors that have contributed to inequities.Tony Reames is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, leader of the Urban Energy Justice Lab, and a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. His work focuses on energy justice, and on disparities in residential energy generation, consumption and affordability.Related ContentAligning Historic Preservation and Energy Efficiency. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/aligning-historic-preservation-and-energy-efficiency/The Best Local Response to Climate Change is a Comprehensive Efficiency Plan https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-best-local-response-to-climate-change-is-a-comprehensive-efficiency-plan/Balancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-with-community-interests/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Biden will rely upon regulatory agencies like the EPA to push his ambitious clean energy and climate agenda. Yet increasingly conservative courts could stand in the way of Biden’s plans.---President Joe Biden has set an ambitious clean energy and environmental agenda that includes a $2 trillion infrastructure and climate plan, and a renewed commitment to the Paris Climate agreement. To achieve his climate goals, Biden is likely to rely on regulatory agencies, such as the EPA, to craft rules to limit the climate impact of the country’s energy, transportation and related industries. Yet Biden’s need for new, climate-focused rules arguably couldn’t come at a more inopportune time. New regulations often face legal challenge in the nation’s courts. The most prominent of those courts, the Supreme Court, has turned increasingly conservative, and many legal experts expect it to be generally less supportive of environmental regulations argued before it. On the podcast, Cary Coglianese, Director of the Penn Program on Regulation at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, explores the challenge that a conservative Supreme Court may pose for President Biden’s clean energy and climate agenda. Coglianese also looks at how the legal philosophies of the court’s newest conservative members might guide their decisions on climate-related issues. Cary Coglianese is the Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Director of the Penn Program on Regulation.Related Content Have We Reached Peak Carbon Emissions? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/have-we-reached-peak-carbon-emissions/ Balancing Renewable Energy Goals With Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-with-community-interests/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carbon Dioxide Removal is an industrial-scale strategy to hold climate change in check. Five experts weigh in on CDR’s potential, challenges and moral hazards.---The global effort to slow the pace of climate change will require that two basic strategies be implemented on a massive scale. The first strategy is well known, and involves shifting away from today’s fossil-fuel dependent energy system, and toward a future where nearly everything will run on electricity produced by zero-carbon resources.The second part of the effort to combat climate change has, until recently, attracted relatively less attention. Carbon dioxide removal is the process of removing carbon dioxide from Earth’s atmosphere. CDR can be used to offset some of today’s CO2 emissions, and might some day even be able to turn back the clock, by lowering the concentration of atmospheric carbon to levels that existed on an earlier, less hot Earth. CDR will be a key part of any plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by the middle of this century, as the United States, the European Union, and a growing number of countries have proposed to do.In the podcast, five experts discuss CDR in its many forms, from cutting edge technologies to fundamental nature-based processes, and explore the complex, industrial-scale undertaking that will be required to remove CO2 at scale. The guests, whose research is available in the newly published, online CDR Primer, also look at potential moral hazards, equity challenges and unforeseen consequences of carbon dioxide removal.Erica L. Belmont is Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wyoming.Jeremy Freeman is Executive Director at CarbonPlanNoah McQueen is a Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at the University of PennsylvaniaPeter Psarras is research assistant professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of PennsylvaniaToly Rinberg is an Applied Physics Ph.D. Student at Harvard UniversityRelated ContentHave We Reached Peak Carbon Emissions? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/have-we-reached-peak-carbon-emissions/The Essential Role of Negative Emissions in Getting to Carbon Neutral https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-essential-role-of-negative-emissions-in-getting-to-carbon-neutral/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Corporate renewable energy deals equaled a quarter of total U.S. electric power additions in 2020. The Renewable Energy Buyer’s Alliance talks policies to accelerate clean energy purchasing. ---Corporate America’s appetite for renewable energy is booming. In 2020, large businesses signed deals for over 10 GW of new clean generation, equal to a quarter of the total electric power capacity added in the United States for the year. The growth in corporate deals for clean power comes as the price of renewable energy has fallen, and as companies have increasingly felt pressure from the public, investors, and their own employees to address their climate impact. Miranda Ballentine, CEO of the Renewable Energy Buyer’s Alliance, and Bryn Baker, REBA’s director of policy innovation, discuss the factors that are driving American corporations to make more, and bigger bets on clean energy. The pair also talk about how state and federal policy influences the rate of clean energy procurement, and policy changes that might accelerate development. The Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance is an industry association that represents the U.S.’s largest corporate clean energy buyers.Miranda Ballentine is Chief Executive Officer of the Renewable Energy Buyer’s Alliance. Bryn Baker is REBA’s Director of Policy Innovation.Related ContentHave We Reached Peak Carbon Emissions? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/have-we-reached-peak-carbon-emissions/Balancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-with-community-interests/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. forfeited leadership in the global effort to combat climate change when it left the Paris Agreement. Now back, will the U.S. resume its former role?---On Friday, February the 19th, the United States officially rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, bringing to an end an extended period of national disengagement from the global effort to address climate change. As the largest historic emitter of greenhouse gasses, and today’s second largest emitter behind China, U.S. engagement is critical to the global effort to address climate change.Yet the climate framework that the U.S. abandoned under the Trump administration looks different today. The U.S., rather than being a clear leader on climate issues, is embarking on an effort to rebuild trust and reassure the world that it will remain committed to addressing climate change, while the relative influence in of China, Europe and other regions has grown in global climate dialogue.Joanna Lewis, Director of the Science, Technology and International Affairs Program at Georgetown University, discusses how the Paris Climate framework, and the global hierarchy of climate leadership, has changed in recent years. She also looks at the barriers that U.S.-China trade tensions may present to climate cooperation as the U.S. rejoins the Paris process. Joanna Lewis is Director of the Science, Technology and International Affairs Program at Georgetown University. She is also a Strategic Advisor to the China Energy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.Related ContentInnovation in Isolation: Islands and the Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/innovation-in-isolation-islands-and-the-energy-transition/ It’s Ideology Stupid: Why Voters Still Shun Carbon Taxes https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/its-ideology-stupid-why-voters-still-shun-carbon-taxes/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research disproves the assumption that exposure to climate-related natural disasters motivates people to support climate policy. ---A common assumption is that direct exposure to climate-related disasters such as severe wildfires and flooding motivates people to support policy to address climate change. Yet new research proves that this assumption doesn’t hold up in reality.Matto Mildenberger, assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, discusses research, conducted in the aftermath of recent California wildfires, that dispels the notion that personal experience with climate-related disasters automatically drives support for policy-driven climate solutions. He also explores how efforts the inform people of personal climate risk can be counterproductive to climate action, and looks at alternate communications strategies that may prove more effective.Matto Mildenberger is an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His work focuses on the political drivers of policy inaction in the face of climate change Related ContentInnovation in Isolation: Islands and the Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/innovation-in-isolation-islands-and-the-energy-transition/Climate Adaptation Strategies: How Do We “Manage” Managed Retreat? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-adaptation-strategies-how-do-we-manage-managed-retreat/Balancing Renewable Energy Goals With Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-with-community-interests/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been tasked with combating climate change. What climate action is the Treasury likely to take under her leadership?---Joe Biden has made the fight against climate change a focus of his new administration. Consistent with that focus is his appointment of Janet Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chairman and an advocate for climate action, to the role of Secretary of the Treasury.The Treasury Department is responsible for guarding the United States’ economic health. While much of its work during the early months of the Biden Administration will be to help the country to navigate the ongoing economic impacts of the COVID pandemic, economic damages due to climate change have become more apparent in recent years, and the need for the Treasury to take action on the climate front has also become clear.Joseph Aldy, an energy and climate economist at Harvard University, explores the steps that the new Treasury Secretary can take to address climate change, including the tools that the economic agency might employ to set its own climate policies, and influence climate action in other areas of government. Aldy also discusses the Treasury’s power to influence global climate action as the country’s chief economic diplomat.Related Content A More Effective Approach To Carbon-Zero Real Estate https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/news-insights/a-more-effective-approach-to-carbon-zero-real-estate/Green Energy & National Security: A Fresh Perspective https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/news-insights/green-energy-national-security-a-fresh-perspective/Innovation In Isolation: Islands And The Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/?exposed_related_research_area%5B%5D=331See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hydrogen energy is a key part of Europe’s plan to zero out carbon emissions by mid-century. But can the bloc build hydrogen capacity, and demand, in time to reach its goal?---In August the European Commission introduced its strategy to aggressively expand the market for hydrogen energy as part of its plan to go carbon neutral by the year 2050. The plan envisions using green hydrogen, produced mainly with wind and solar power, as an energy resource in a broad array of industries. In particular, the EU hopes that hydrogen will help it reduce carbon emissions in industries that are deeply dependent on fossil fuels, such as steel production and air travel, and for which there are few other decarbonization options.Kirsten Westphal, a member of Germany’s National Hydrogen Council, discusses the challenge of growing clean hydrogen supply and demand quickly enough to create a carbon-neutral economy in just 30 years. Westphal also talks about Germany’s plans, as Europe’s largest economy, to finance and build hydrogen infrastructure, as well as the prospects for a truly international hydrogen market.Kirsten Westphal is a senior associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, and a member of Germany’s National Hydrogen Council.Related ContentThe Opportunities and Limitations of Seasonal Energy Storage https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-opportunities-and-limitations-of-seasonal-energy-storage/Efficiency and Diversification: A Framework for Sustainably Transitioning to a Carbon-Neutral Economy https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/efficiency-and-diversification-a-framework-for-sustainably-transitioning-to-a-carbon-neutral-economy/The Essential Role of Negative Emissions in Getting to Carbon Neutral https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-essential-role-of-negative-emissions-in-getting-to-carbon-neutral/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Electricity storage technologies have proven their worth in balancing daily fluctuations in wind and solar power output. But can storage address the challenges presented by the decarbonized grid of the future?---President-Elect Joe Biden’s clean energy plan aims to make America’s electricity system carbon neutral by the year 2035. To reach its goal, the plan will seek to develop the nation’s clean energy infrastructure, and expand the role of wind and solar power. Yet renewable energy presents certain challenges, one of which is to ensure that electricity is available even when wind and sunshine are scarce.In recent years, grid-scale batteries have emerged as an increasingly economic way to address the variability problem, or intermittency, of wind and solar output. In fact, over the last two years demand for grid-scale energy storage has accelerated, particularly in the Southwest, where batteries are increasingly used to balance daily ebbs in solar generation.Yet as renewables become a larger part of America’s energy mix, the challenge of balancing intermittency will grow exponentially. Eventually, storage could be called upon not only to even out daily fluctuations in energy output, but seasonal variation as well.Kleinman Center research associate Oscar Serpell explores the potential for grid electricity storage, in its many forms, to meet the seasonal balancing demands of a low-carbon electric grid. He also looks at the limitations of today’s energy storage technologies, and at the advances that may be needed to enable dramatic reductions in carbon emissions from the electricity industry.Oscar Serpell is research associate with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.Related Content The Opportunities and Limitations of Seasonal Energy Storage https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-opportunities-and-limitations-of-seasonal-energy-storage/ Feasibility of Seasonal Storage for a Fully Electrified Economy https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/feasibility-of-seasonal-storage-for-a-fully-electrified-economy/ Balancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-with-community-interests/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia’s runoff election will determine the balance of power in the Senate, and the degree to which Joe Biden will count on Congress to back his ambitious clean energy agenda.---On January 5th a special runoff election in the state of Georgia will determine who will fill the state’s two seats in the United States Senate and which political party, Republican or Democrat, will control the upper chamber of Congress. The runoff election will be the final act in a tumultuous election season, in which the parties have offered starkly different visions for the role of government, the future direction of America’s energy system, and how that system will impact our environment.Crucially, the outcome of Georgia’s runoff election will determine the degree to which President-Elect Joe Biden may be able to count on the Senate’s support in enacting his energy platform, which aims for a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035. Bethany Davis Noll and Richard Revesz, regulatory experts whose work focuses on the legal tools available to presidents to pursue their agendas, take a look at the options available to Biden to pursue his energy agenda with, or without, help from the Senate.Bethany Davis Noll is litigation director at the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law. Richard Revesz is Dean Emeritus at the NYU School of Law and Director of the Institute for Policy Integrity.Related Content Will Trump’s Regulatory Rollbacks Survive? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/will-trumps-regulatory-rollbacks-surviveHow to Combat the Corona-Recession and Climate Change https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/08/07/how-combat-corona-recession-and-climate-changeBalancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-community-interestsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Large scale offshore wind development will require a rethink of how America’s electric grid is designed, and paid for. ---Over the coming decade, a number of states along the East Coast of the U.S. will deploy massive offshore windfarms in the Atlantic Ocean as part of their efforts to meet clean energy goals and reduce global warming emissions. Planning for the wind farms is well underway, and the first projects sponsored by New York, New Jersey and other coastal states are expected to begin generating electricity by 2025.Yet reaching long term, aggressive offshore wind power targets presents numerous challenges. The most pressing may be the need to build out the electric grid to reliably and economically deliver vast quantities of offshore wind power to market. This is an issue that the states, offshore wind developers, and operators of the country’s electric grid are now grappling with. Solutions may require a fundamental reworking of how the electric grid is planned and financed.Brandon Burke, Policy and Outreach Director with the Business Network for Offshore Wind, discusses the challenge of transforming the electric grid to enable offshore wind power.Brandon Burke is an attorney and Policy and Outreach Director with the Business Network for Offshore Wind. Brandon is a 2018 graduate of the Kleinman Center’s Certificate in Energy Management and Policy program.Related Content U.S. Electricity Regulator Takes a Hard Look at Carbon Pricing https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/us-electricity-regulator-takes-hard-look-carbon-pricingDeveloping Our Renewable Energy Futurehttps://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/04/21/developing-our-renewable-energy-future Developing the Electric Grid for Carbon Free Energy https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/developing-electric-grid-carbon-free-energySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Electricity market deregulation promised to bring more affordable and reliable electricity to consumers. A quarter of a century after deregulation began, has its promise delivered for all Americans?---The process of deregulating electricity markets began a quarter of a century ago, with the aim of leveraging competitive market forces to provide consumers with abundant and reliable electricity more economically than ever before. As experience has shown, however, deregulation has brought both benefits and challengesIn the early years of deregulation, an ill-conceived strategy to introduce competition to California’s electricity market led to market manipulation, high energy prices, and ultimately to utility bankruptcies. Yet over the last decade, deregulation has provided generally better outcomes. Competitive markets have been able to efficiently pass cost savings from the shale gas revolution to consumers, and competition has created a dynamic platform for the entry of new forms of clean and distributed energy.Yet the question remains. On the whole, has deregulation delivered on its promise to give consumers abundant and reliable electricity more economically than before?This special episode of Energy Policy Now was recorded live at Grid Forward 2020, an annual event that brings together leading insights from a range of stakeholders to address opportunities for electric grid modernization. Debaters Mark Kolesar and Bruce Edelston square off around the question of whether deregulation has ultimately led to better community outcomes which, in today’s context, means more than just cheap and reliable service, but also equitable access to clean energy options, and the environmental and public health benefits that a cleaner electricity system promises.Mark Kolesar is Managing Principal at Kolesar Buchanan and Associates, and former Chairman of the Alberta Utilities Commission.Bruce Edelston is President of the Energy Policy Group and former Vice President for Energy Policy at the Southern Company.Grid Forward is an industry association defining pathways for electric grid modernization via advanced technology, policy progress and business innovation.Related ContentBalancing Renewable Energy Goals With Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-community-interestsEnergy Transitions Are Brown Before They Go Green. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/energy-transitions-are-brown-they-go-greenZoning Rules Stifle Clean Energy. Can The Rules Be Rewritten? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/zoning-rules-stifle-urban-clean-energy-can-rules-be-rewritten See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In September the U.S. electricity regulator, the FERC, held its first conference to explore carbon pricing in the nation’s electricity markets. Is a carbon price finally on the way?---In late September the regulator of America’s electricity markets, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, took the unusual step of convening a conference at which it, and members of the electricity industry, considered putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions. The meeting came as wholesale electricity markets, which supply power for two-thirds of Americans, have entered into a period of turmoil that, at the extreme, threatens to break those very markets apart, and which is based in the challenge of addressing climate change.Mike Borgatti, Vice President for RTO Services and Regulatory Affairs at energy consultancy Gabel Associates, explains the debate over carbon pricing in electricity markets, and the FERC’s recent, contentious efforts to balance conflicting state and national climate agendas.Mike Borgatti is Vice President for RTO Services and Regulatory Affairs at Gabel Associates, an energy and public utility consultancy. He advises energy industry clients that participate in the nation’s electricity markets, and has been at the forefront of efforts to explore carbon pricing in the world’s largest power market, PJM Interconnection.Mike Borgatti is Vice President for RTO Services and Regulatory Affairs at Gabel Associates, an energy and public utility consultancy. He advises energy industry clients that participate in the nation’s electricity markets, and has been at the forefront of efforts to explore carbon pricing in the world’s largest power market, PJM Interconnection.Related ContentWhat’s the FERC, and How Is It Shaping Our Energy Future? (Part 1). https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/whats-ferc-and-how-it-shaping-our-energy-future-part-1The Rise of Partisan Politics in Energy Regulation https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/rise-partisan-politics-energy-regulation FERC’s Order Redesigning PJM’s Capacity Market https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2018/07/12/fercs-order-redesigning-pjms-capacity-marketSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Outmoded and often discriminatory zoning laws block clean energy development in low-income urban neighborhoods. An effort is underway to update rules, and enable clean energy equity.---An energy transformation is underway in the United States, with clean energy and energy efficiency reducing our dependency on fossil fuels. Yet the advantages of clean energy aren’t enjoyed equally throughout the country. Clean energy development has lagged in older, densely built urban areas. Low-income neighborhoods, in particular, have seen relatively less investment in renewables, and can find it hard to take advantage of technologies like rooftop solar that can lower electricity bills. And, while there are many efforts underway to address these equity challenges, for example through community energy programs, fundamental barriers to energy transformation remain.Sara Bronin, professor of law at the University of Connecticut and former chair of Hartford, Connecticut’s Planning and Zoning Commission, explores the impact that one such hurdle, outmoded and often discriminatory community zoning rules, can have on access to clean energy. Progressive rules can ease the adoption of clean infrastructure, yet many zoning regulations date back decades and fail to take modern energy into account. Bronin discusses the interplay of zoning and energy, and efforts to reform zoning regulations for greater clean energy access.Sara Bronin is Faculty Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Law at the University of Connecticut. Related ContentBalancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-community-interestsThe Best Local Response to Climate Change is a Comprehensive Efficiency Plan https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/best-local-response-climate-change-comprehensive-efficiency-planElectric Vehicles in the City: The Relationship of EV Infrastructure and Spatial Development in Beijing https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/electric-vehicles-city See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An environmental lawyer examines the legal and social challenges that could complicate managed retreat from areas at risk to climate-related disaster.---When policymakers talk about adapting to climate change, they often focus on measures to reinforce towns and cities against natural disasters, such as the wildfires and flooding that have become more severe across the United States in recent years. Yet what is often more difficult to contemplate is the idea that some places may inevitably need to be abandoned. This idea of abandonment, or retreat from areas that are at great risk due to climate change, is understandably very difficult to think about. Retreat means leaving behind homes, and the possible disruption of communities and livelihoods. Mark Nevitt, associate professor of law at Syracuse University and a former legal counsel with the Department of Defense Regional Environmental Counsel in Norfolk, Virginia, explores how managed retreat ahead of likely disaster is itself a key climate adaptation strategy, and one which may ease, though not eliminate, the burden on impacted communities. Mark discusses his recent Kleinman Center-funded research into legal issues associated with climate adaptation, and how existing laws may present barriers to efforts to manage retreat from high risk areas.Mark Nevitt is an associate professor of law at Syracuse University. Related Content Climate Adaptation Strategies: How Do We “Manage” Managed Retreat? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/climate-adaptation-strategiesIt’s Time to Rethink Flood Insurancehttps://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/06/29/its-time-rethink-flood-insurance Rising Seas and the Future of Coastal Cities https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/rising-seas-and-future-coastal-citiesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Much attention has been paid to the ways we humans are changing our climate. Yet, how has an ever-evolving climate changed us? ---Climate change is one of the monumental challenges of our day, but the reality of climate change is nothing new. In recent decades, scientific advances have expanded our understanding of prehistory, and brought into ever sharper focus the connection between historic variations in climate and the development of humanity and society.By taking a look at the history of climate change, we might see more clearly why today’s warming is so different from periods of change that came before, and how climate change can amplify economic and societal pressures that are already in place.University of Pennsylvania economist Jesus Fernandez Villaverde looks back through time to discuss how climate change may have forced our primate ancestors down the road of evolution, contributed to the fall of empires and, more recently, helped to spur great migrations of people, including those that led to the building of the United States.Related Content 200 Years of Energy History in 30 Minutes https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/200-years-energy-history-30-minutesEnergy Transitions Are Brown Before They Go Green. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/energy-transitions-are-brown-they-go-green The Essential Role of Negative Emissions in Getting to Carbon Neutral https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/essential-role-negative-emissions-getting-carbon-neutral See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most carbon tax proposals include a border adjustment to protect American industry from foreign competition. Yet research suggests that benefits won't extend to consumers.---Most economists agree that the best way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming is by implementing a carbon tax, and making it more expensive to buy products and services with a high carbon content. Yet by putting a price on carbon, countries may drive up costs for domestic businesses, putting them at a competitive disadvantage to foreign competitors from countries where no carbon price exists.Two experts in climate law and economics look at the most commonly proposed solution to protect American businesses from the competitive impacts of a carbon tax. The solution, known as a border adjustment, would ensure that American and imported goods are subject to the same carbon price.The tool seems simple enough, and in fact every carbon tax proposal in Congress this year features a border adjustment. Yet research suggests that the economic protections promised by border adjustments may not be as great as commonly assumed.David Weisbach is a professor of law at the University of Chicago. Sam Kortum is an economics professor at Yale University. Their work has focused on the role of taxation in addressing climate change, and potential competitive implications of a carbon tax.Related ContentThe Essential Role of Negative Emissions in Getting to Carbon Neutral https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/essential-role-negative-emissions-getting-carbon-neutralWill COVID-19 Permanently Change the Energy Sector https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/05/29/will-covid-19-permanently-change-energy-sectorRobust Carbon Markets: Rethinking Quantities and Prices in Carbon Pricing https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/robust-carbon-marketsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump has gone to great lengths to undo the regulatory accomplishments of his predecessor. But the President’s methods could come back to haunt him, dooming his deregulatory energy and environmental agendas.---The Trump Administration has taken aggressive steps to undo the regulatory accomplishments of former president Obama, with some of the highest profile rollbacks taking place in the energy and environmental arenas. In his three years in office, President Trump has repealed the Clean Power Plan, rolled back restrictions on methane leaks and, most recently, repealed limits on automotive tailpipe emissions. Yet, it’s possible that the same tools that Trump has used to undo the regulatory achievements of his predecessor could be turned against him. A pair of regulatory experts take a look at President Trump’s unprecedented use of three legal tools to pursue his deregulatory agenda, and at how a new administration could use these same tools to roll back Trump-era rules. They also discuss how the very nature of future presidencies may be altered as the deregulatory gloves have been taken off, limiting the ability of presidents to enact important rules on any front. Bethany Davis Noll is Litigation Director at the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law. Richard Revesz is Dean Emeritus at NYU School of Law, and directs the Institute for Policy Integrity. Related ContentBalancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-community-interests Whither the Regulatory War on Coal: Scapegoats, Saviors, and Stock Market Reactions https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/working-paper-whither-regulatory-war-coal The Rise of Partisan Politics in Energy Regulation https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/rise-partisan-politics-energy-regulationSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The social cost of carbon provides an estimate of the economic damage caused by carbon emissions. A climate economist tells how it's calculated.---One of the most hotly debated issues in climate policy is the value of the social cost of carbon, which is an estimate of the damage that will come from releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The social cost of carbon is a useful measure to help us understand the price that should be placed on carbon today to limit carbon dioxide emissions, and minimize the climate-related damages that future generations will face.Climate economist Gilbert Metcalf explains how the social cost of carbon is calculated, and looks at the factors that economists take into account in arriving at a value. He also discusses why the value of the social cost of carbon is so contentious, and why the cost estimates accepted by the Trump and Obama administrations diverge so widely.Gilbert Metcalf is a professor of economics at Tufts University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His work focuses on taxation, energy, and environmental economics.Related ContentThe Essential Role of Negative Emissions in Getting to Carbon Neutral https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/essential-role-negative-emissions-getting-carbon-neutralRobust Carbon Markets: Rethinking Quantities and Prices in Carbon Pricing https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/robust-carbon-marketsWhy Americans Want a Carbon Tax, But Won’t Support One at the Polls https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/why-americans-want-carbon-tax-wont-support-one-polls See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climate change, and policies to address it, will change where Americans live and work, and produce energy and food. Two environmental designers discuss an atlas of the country’s future.---A year ago, Democratic members of Congress introduced a resolution to address climate change and economic inequality, with a plan that promises to fundamentally alter Americans’ relationship to their natural and built environments. That vision, the Green New Deal, recalls an earlier bold plan of action for the country at a time of crisis.Nearly 90 years ago the original New Deal created vast public works projects to create jobs during the Great Depression. But its legacy transcends economic recovery. Public works projects realized the goal of universal electrification, built highways to speed future growth, and paved the way for migration to the suburbs and from old industrial centers to new. Along the way, the New Deal fundamentally altered the human map of the United States.Today’s Green New Deal proposes to do something similar. If it comes to pass, it’s likely to change where many Americans live, and how they make their living.Guests Alexandra Lillehei and Billy Fleming of the University of Pennsylvania’s Ian L. McHarg Center for Urbanism and Design talk about what a future map of America, shaped by climate change and a Green New Deal, might look like. The two have been instrumental in a new initiative called The 2100 Project: An Atlas for the Green New Deal. Through maps, the project envisions changes in population distribution, energy production and agricultural activity over the course of this century.Related Content De-Abstracting Climate Change https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/05/19/de-abstracting-climate-changeBalancing Renewable Energy Goals with Community Interests https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/balancing-renewable-energy-goals-community-interests Changing Tides: Public Attitudes on Climate Change and Climate Migration https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/changing-tidesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An economist looks at how economic worries, and political ideology, have made carbon taxes a tough sell.---Economists generally agree that the most efficient way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming is by putting a price on carbon in the form of a carbon tax. Consumers, though, can tend see things differently. The idea of taxing the fuels that run our cars, and power our homes and jobs, has given Americans pause and, as a result, no carbon tax has been levied to date in the United States.Nevertheless, calls for a carbon tax have become more frequent as concern over climate change has intensified. On Capitol Hill, there are half a dozen carbon fee proposals in circulation, with backing from liberals and conservatives. States have also explored carbon pricing, most notably the state of Washington, where two recent carbon tax ballot initiatives were defeated at the polls.Ioana Marinescu, an economist at the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the challenge of enacting a carbon tax. She also explores policymakers’ efforts to develop carbon tax legislation to appeal to the broad public, and what might be required for these efforts to ultimately succeed.Ioana Marinescu is assistant professor of public policy with the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.Related ContentThe COVID Carbon Crunch. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/05/12/covid-carbon-crunchRobust Carbon Markets: Rethinking Quantities and Prices Carbon Pricing https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/robust-carbon-marketsIt’s Ideology, Stupid: Why Voters Still Shun Carbon Taxes https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/its-ideology-stupidSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More states are targeting 100% clean energy, but is the electric grid ready? An expert in energy policy and economics looks at the policy challenges to creating a robust, carbon-free electricity system.---Across the U.S., a growing number of states have adopted ambitious clean energy goals that will require the bulk of their electricity to come from carbon-free sources by the middle of this century. Yet clean energy will place new demands on the electricity system, which will need to accommodate intermittent wind and solar power, and distributed energy from rooftop solar and electric vehicles. This is a tall order for a grid that was built around large, central power plants fueled by a predictable supply of fossil and nuclear fuel.Judy Chang, an energy economist and engineer with the Brattle Group, explores the policy challenges to updating the electric grid to economically and reliably deliver clean energy. She looks at the cost of building a more flexible grid, and at the political opportunities, and hurdles to its development.Judy Chang is an energy economist and engineer with the Brattle Group who has served as an expert witness before energy regulators in the United States and Canada. Her work focuses on renewable energy, transmission networks, and electricity market design.Related ContentFeasibility of Seasonal Storage for a Fully Electrified Economy https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/feasibility-seasonal-storage-fully-electrified-economyEnergy Transition Challenges for the 2020s https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/energy-transition-challenges-2020sPreparing PGW for a low-carbon future. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/preparing-pgw-low-carbon-futureSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political scientist Leah Stokes examines interest groups’ power to shape, and resist, progressive energy policy.---Interest groups play a central role in American politics, and nowhere has their influence been felt more acutely than in the areas of energy and environmental politics. Leah Stokes, assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, discusses the outsized role of special interests in shaping debate around clean energy and in defining policies to address the environmental and climate impacts of our energy system.In March, Stokes published her first book, Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the United States, the culmination of six years of research into special interest groups. Stokes shares her findings, including and strategies to overcome opposition to progressive energy policies, in conversation.Related Content When Emissions Reductions Aren’t Sustainable. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/04/15/when-emission-reductions-arent-sustainableEnergy Transitions Are Brown Before They Go Green https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/energy-transitions-are-brown-they-go-green Wind Developers Pressured by Pandemic Concerns and 2020 PTC Deadlines https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/04/09/wind-developers-pressured-pandemic-concerns-2020-ptc-deadlinesChanging Tides: Public Attitudes on Climate Change and Climate Migration https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/changing-tidesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The residential solar power industry faces the expiration of a key tax break and resistance to net-metering. But the addition of battery storage, and an emerging role in grid services, make solar a valuable tool for grid resiliency.---Last year, solar power accounted for 40 percent of new electric generating capacity additions in the U.S. Yet the industry faces a number of challenges, including the ending of federal incentives for solar projects and an uncertain future for net metering, both of which have been instrumental in the industry’s growth. The coronavirus will also impact solar adoption as consumers and businesses focus their attention elsewhere. Anne Hoskins, head of federal and state policy at Sunrun, the nation’s largest residential solar power company, discusses the industry’s challenges and grounds for optimism, including solar power’s role in addressing the challenge of grid resiliency, particularly where emerging climate impacts are placing unprecedented demands on the electricity system.Anne Hoskins is chief policy officer at Sunrun.Related ContentEnergy Transitions are Brown Before They Go Green https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/energy-transitions-are-brown-they-go-greenWind Developers Pressured by Pandemic Concerns & 2020 PTC Deadlines https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/04/09/wind-developers-pressured-pandemic-concerns-2020-ptc-deadlinesThe Path Forward for Grid Electricity Storage https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/path-forward-grid-electricity-storageOne Year Later: Solar Energy in Philadelphia is Still on the Rise. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/02/06/one-year-later-solar-energy-philadelphia-still-riseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Energy projects bring economic opportunity, but host communities often suffer disproportionate health and environmental impacts. An expert in environmental regulation looks at community efforts to exert control over energy development.---Communities across the United States are coming into conflict with their state governments over where and how energy projects may be built. The issue has drawn attention in energy-rich states like Texas, where a half decade ago the state government introduced a law that prevented towns from limiting fracking within their jurisdiction. Conversely, last year in Colorado cities and towns gained power to regulate local energy development after a number of previous efforts to assert local authority had failed.The challenge isn’t confined to fossil fuels. On the renewable energy front, communities have opposed wind, solar and other projects that residents say could bring their own set of environmental problems.Hannah Wiseman, Dean for Environmental Programs at the Florida State University College of Law, discusses energy development turf wars and the often conflicting priorities of states and the cities and towns within their borders. She also discusses strategies that may help strike a balance between local health and environmental concerns and the larger economic and climate benefits that the development of new energy projects can bring.Hannah Wiseman is Professor and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs at the Florida State University College of Law. Her work focuses on the role that regulation plays in balancing energy development and environmental quality.Related Content Energy Transitions Are Brown Before They Go Green. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/energy-transitions-are-brown-they-go-greenA Preview of Key Energy Challenges for the 2020shttps://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/03/06/preview-key-energy-challenges-2020sSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nobel Laureate Daniel Kammen, head of U.C. Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, discusses efforts to build clean energy solutions that meet the social and developmental needs of the communities they serve.---Discussions around today’s clean energy transition tend to focus on technological challenges, and the costs and climate benefits of renewable energy. Yet the social and cultural implications of a transition to clean energy are often overlooked.Nobel Prize laureate Daniel Kammen talks about his research into the ways that the adoption of clean energy may impact society and, by extension, guide political discourse. He also discusses how taking into account social, economic and developmental realities could accelerate the move away from fossil fuels, and speed electrification in some of the poorest regions of the globe.Daniel Kammen is Distinguished Professor of Energy in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also Director of Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, and a former Science Envoy for the U.S. State Department. Related ContentMongolian Energy Futures: Challenges of Radical Energy Sector Decarbonization https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/mongolian-energy-futures-repowering-ulaanbaatar Robust Carbon Markets: Rethinking Quantities and Prices in Carbon Pricing https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/robust-carbon-markets Energy Transition Challenges for the 2020s https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/energy-transition-challenges-2020s See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The author of the first text book on carbon capture looks at the potential for negative emissions technologies to limit global warming, and discusses the challenge to scaling solutions for positive climate impact.---Negative emissions technologies are a key part of the strategy to keep global warming within the 2 degree Celsius limit set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. In fact, its projected that we’ll need to remove dramatic quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year to keep within the Paris goal. Yet today negative emissions hardly exists in any practical sense, and major barriers to growth lie ahead in the form of high costs, environmental impacts and political support.Jennifer Wilcox, professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and author of the very first text book on carbon capture, talks about the challenge of scaling negative emissions technologies to the point at which they can meaningfully limit carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere. Along the way, she looks at how the challenge of scaling negative emissions recalls early barriers to growing the wind and solar industries, and at recent efforts to speed the deployment of negative emissions technologies including direct air capture.Jennifer Wilcox is professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She is a member of committees at the National Academies of Sciences and the American Physical Society charged with assessing carbon capture methods, their costs, and their climate impacts.Related Content Exploring a Tool to Curb Climate Change: Direct Air Capture https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/02/19/exploring-tool-curb-climate-change-direct-air-capture What’s Behind Poland’s Opposition to EU Climate Neutrality Agreement https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2019/12/13/whats-behind-polands-opposition-eu-climate-neutrality-agreement Robust Carbon Markets: Rethinking Quantities and Prices in Carbon Pricing https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/robust-carbon-marketsPreparing PGW for a Low-Carbon Future https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/preparing-pgw-low-carbon-futureBetting on Climate Solutions https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/betting-climate-solutionsA Hard Look at Negative Emissions (Podcast) https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/hard-look-negative-emissionsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.