OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
By Shelagh Whitley
Fossil fuel subsidies undermine international efforts to avert dangerous climate change and represent a drain on national budgets. They also fail in one of their core objectives: to benefit the poorest. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies would create a win-win scenario. It would eliminate the perverse incentives that drive up carbon emissions, create price signals for investment in a low-carbon transition and reduce pressure on public finances.
Archive for the ‘Climate Change’ Category
Time to Change the Game: Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Climate
Tuesday, November 12th, 2013Toxic Trash Exposed: Coal Ash in Michigan
Friday, November 8th, 2013CLEAN WATER FUND
Water defines, and is central, to Michigan’s economy. Major tourism, agriculture, and fishing industries depend on the health of rivers, lakes, and streams. The Great Lakes contain over 20% of the world’s usable fresh surface water. Unfortunately unmitigated coal ash pollution is a major threat to the health of the state’s water and economy.
Resilient Against What?
Monday, October 21st, 2013POST CARBON INSTITUTE
This study explored how some municipalities that are already leading the way on sustainability are now understanding and applying the concept of resilience. Senior staff at fourteen selected municipalities of various regions and sizes were surveyed on their communities’ perceived risks and vulnerabilities, and how these were being addressed.
Interactive Map: EV Charging Stations From Coast to Coast
Friday, October 18th, 2013Worried that there’s not enough charging infrastructure to keep your EV going? PlugShare’s user-updated, interactive map serves a dual purpose: to help drivers plan their trips by locating residential and commercial charging stations, and to help us improve our EV infra by serving as a visual guide to where more stations are needed. A quick glance at the map establishes the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest as EV hotspots, while trips around non-mainland states or rural plains states like Wyoming and Montana would still be best accomplished in an old-fashioned gas-guzzler.
View this complete post...After Hurricane Sandy: Strategies for Long-Term Resilience
Monday, October 14th, 2013URBAN LAND INSTITUTE
Hurricane Sandy was the worst natural disaster ever to hit the New York−New Jersey region. When it landed on October 29, 2012, the region was unprepared for its impact despite years of reports and warnings that an event like Sandy was a probability in the near future. Climate experts are now saying that although many aspects of Sandy were unique, the region will likely experience events of its magnitude with increasing frequency in the decades ahead…In short, climate change is here to stay, though how severe it may become depends on our ability as humans to mitigate its causes and to create resilient communities that can absorb its impact and continue to thrive and grow. Most urban regions around the world are especially vulnerable to these changes. That vulnerability makes the need for evaluating and implementing longer-term strategies for resilience and preparedness in those regions critical today. This need is all the more true given their growing economic, social, and environmental value as the world becomes more urbanized.
Beyond Renewable Portfolio Standards
Friday, September 13th, 2013NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY Executive Summary Several Western states have renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requirements that have driven significant expansion of wind, solar, and geothermal power. This study examines the renewable energy resources likely to remain undeveloped in the West by the time all these requirements have culminated in 2025. Development beyond that point will […]
View this complete post...Infographic: Pedal Power
Thursday, September 12th, 2013on Visua.ly Biking has increased dramatically in popularity over the past decade. From 1999 to 2009, there was a 64% increase in bike commuters. A whopping 54% of all bike trips were solely for transportation. With such a huge increase in demand for bike-friendly areas, 47% of Americans are volleying for more bicycle friendly areas […]
View this complete post...Lincoln, NE: Importance of an Energy Evaluation
Friday, August 16th, 2013Who Pays the Cost of Fracking?
Wednesday, August 7th, 2013ENVIRONMENT AMERICA Introduction America is in the midst of a fracking boom … and a fracking bust. In North Dakota, times are booming. The state has rapidly become the nation’s second-largest oil producer due to the use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (the combination of technologies used in fracking) to tap oil supplies from […]
View this complete post...Effects of U.S. Tax Policy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Thursday, July 18th, 2013NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Chapter 1: Overview and Scope of the Study Legislative Background to the StudyIn 2008, Congress directed the U.S. Department of the Treasury to work with the National Academies to undertake “a comprehensive review of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to identify the types of and specific tax provisions that have […]
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