| FEATURES |
|
| | Results per page: |
|
| The New CAFE Standards: Are They Enough on Their Own? |
| The new CAFE standards may require complementary policies to meet the ambitious goals of reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In a new RFF discussion paper, RFF Senior Fellow Virginia D. McConnell examines the new footprint standards, their implications for changes to the size mix of vehicles, and the role of credit policies on compliance and cost-effectiveness of the rule. |
| Resources Magazine: Ensuring Competitiveness under a US Carbon Tax |
| Tax exemptions, industry rebates, and border tax adjustments can help protect the competitiveness of industries affected by a carbon tax, but they are not equally efficient at achieving economic and environmental goals. In the latest issue of Resources, RFF scholars Carolyn Fischer, Richard Morgenstern, and Nathan Richardson examine the issues. |
| Resources Magazine: The Limits to Ingenuity |
| When is ingenuity likely to help solve ecological problems? Is humanity’s ability to innovate its way around environmental problems relevant to how we think about conservation? RFF Senior Fellow and Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth Co-Director Jim Boyd tackles these questions and contemplates the limits to ingenuity in a piece for the latest issue of Resources. |
| Policy Options for Addressing Carbon Tax Impacts to Households |
| Carbon pricing remains the strongest option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. But such a policy still faces serious political hurdles in part because of the perception that a carbon tax would most negatively impact the poor. Clayton Munnings and Daniel Morris address the potential of a carbon tax to actually be progressive in a new RFF issue brief. |
| Resources Magazine: How a Clean Energy Standard Works |
| A clean energy standard, a policy that imposes a minimum level of electricity generation that comes from clean energy, has been proposed in various forms since 2010. In an interview for Resources magazine, Center Fellow Anthony Paul and Resident Scholar Nathan Richardson discuss the details and viability of such a policy. |
| US Shale Gas Development in Review |
| The United States has seen rapid recent development of shale gas. What are the factors behind the notable growth in the past decade? And what does it mean for shale gas development elsewhere in the world? RFF scholars Alan Krupnick and Zhongmin Wang examine the history of the US shale gas boom in a new RFF discussion paper. |
| Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Analysis Deconstructed: Changing Assumptions, Changing Results |
| EPA regulations on mercury and other air pollutants currently under review are the subject of much debate for their potential costs and impacts on the electricity industry. In a new discussion paper, a team of RFF experts examines the assumptions behind several studies that have analyzed the potential effects of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, finding that the impacts may be less rigid and less uncertain than suggested by some models. |
| Resources Magazine: Population and Sustainability |
| Pennsylvania State University professor Warren C. Robinson explains how changes in the demographic processes — fertility, mortality, and migration — affect the prospect of sustainable global economic development in the latest Resources magazine. |
| Aligning Carbon Markets: The Case of California and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative |
| Incrementally aligning policies in distinct carbon markets—linking by degrees—can allow programs to experience immediate benefits of sharing best practices in program design. A team of experts from RFF and Yale have examined the details and prospects for the cap-and-trade programs in California and the Northeast in this new feature. |
| Thinking Like an Economist Within the Complex Climate Policy Regime |
| Building on recent work that highlights the need to account for institutions in crafting economic solutions to environmental problems, RFF scholars Matt Woerman and Dallas Burtraw look specifically to the implementation of climate policy—and how incentive-based thinking can help. |
| Press Release: Impacts of Shale Gas Development on Rivers and Streams |
| In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of RFF researchers analyzed more than 20,000 surface water quality observations to estimate the effects of shale gas development on downstream water quality. |
| Agricultural Biotechnology and the Environment |
| Video is now available for RFF’s recent seminar “Agricultural Biotechnology and the Environment: Perspectives on the Next 10 Years,” part of the Resources 2020 series. Hear panelists discuss the widespread use of genetically modified (GM) crops and the regulatory debate over the labeling of GM foods. |
| Policy Insights for Narrowing the Energy Efficiency Gap |
| A new RFF discussion paper explores the “energy efficiency gap” and what it means for policy by bringing in the latest insights from behavioral economics. |
| What the Experts Say about the Environmental Risks of Shale Gas Development |
| A new RFF report highlights a high degree of consensus among experts from government, industry, academia, and nongovernmental organizations about the key risks associated with shale gas production and development. |
| Valuing Climate Amenities in the United States |
| The value of climate amenities to households may have significant implications for estimates of the costs of climate change. A new RFF discussion paper examines the possibilities in the United States. |
| Evaluating Approaches for Financing State Parks |
| In new research, RFF’s Margaret Walls finds that financially struggling state park systems are in need of a fresh approach—but that there is no “one size fits all.” |
| The Past, Present, and Future of Carbon Markets |
| New research explores lessons learned to date from carbon markets around the world and presents new issues to be examined in the future, such as the linking of existing markets. |
| Answering Questions about a Carbon Tax: How New Natural Gas Supplies Impact the Electricity Sector |
| Resources magazine: This infographic illustrates the potential revenue of a carbon tax and looks at the role natural gas plays in electricity generation. |
| Will Natural Gas Vehicles Be in Our Future? |
| Resources magazine: RFF Senior Fellow Alan Krupnick considers whether natural gas in the transportation sector will extend beyond heavy-duty vehicles in the United States. |
| Policy Options for Encouraging Home Energy Efficiency Improvements |
| New research by RFF’s Margaret Walls identifies the tradeoffs associated with choosing among loans, subsidies, and standards as policies to encourage energy efficiency improvements in homes. |
|