Common Resources

Putting Politics Aside: The Consequences of the Keystone XL Rejection

On January 18, President Obama rejected TransCanada’s application for an extension—“Keystone XL”—to a pipeline system that would carry oil-sands-derived liquids to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Politics aside, what are the real consequences of this decision? In short, we think they will be modest in environmental, energy security, and economic terms. Environment The major environmental criticism [...]

Panama Climate Talks Signal What’s Ahead in Durban

The last major climate conference before UN Conference of the Parties 17 (COP17) begins next month wrapped up in Panama on Friday. Decisions and unresolved issues from the conference are indicators of what might be expected in Durban. The main concern is the extension of the Kyoto Protocol. Australia and Norway have drafted a plan [...]

The Cost of Climate Change in Canada

RFF experts have delved into domestic climate adaptation risks and recommendations in a comprehensive report, Reforming Institutions and Managing Extremes: U.S. Policy Approaches for Adapting to a Changing Climate. But what about our neighbors to the north? According to Paying the Price: The Economic Impacts of Climate Change for Canada—a report by The National Round [...]

Can Fossil Fuel Subsidies Transfer to International Climate Finance?

Last month, leaked World Bank documents (which will be presented to the G20 meeting of finance ministers in November) recommended that countries cut fossil fuel subsidies in order to boost funding to tackle climate change. I have discussed previously that securing public funding for climate finance will be difficult given fiscal constraints as governments tighten [...]

From the Floor of the UN General Assembly: Statements on Climate Policy

World leaders gathered in New York for the past two weeks to partake in the annual United Nations General Assembly. Just as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) may serve as an annual reminder that the global climate is changing, the General Assembly can also act as a reminder of similar issues. South [...]

Creating More ‘Bang for the Buck’ with a Clean Energy Standard

President Obama and Congress have expressed interest in establishing a clean energy standard (CES), and RFF experts have researched its potential economic impacts, but creating movement in Congress has been difficult. Can policymakers find ways to reduce costs for companies while increasing environmental benefits—and put a CES policy on a fast track to passage? A [...]

Democracy and China: Help or Hindrance to Growth?

Over the past several years, China’s economy has grown by about nine percent on average, while India’s has grown by about eight percent. Both countries are taking ambitious steps to reduce their carbon emissions. India has established a program called Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) that will set efficiency levels for the country’s top polluters, [...]

PODCAST: Compliance Flexibility Under The Clean Air Act

As the deadline approaches for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new greenhouse gas regulations on existing stationary sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA), one of the biggest objections is the added cost. How can compliance flexibility address these issues, and is there even room for flexible standards under the CAA? I sat down with [...]

WikiLeaks Before Durban: Annoyance Or Game Changer?

Last year a WikiLeaks cable emerged during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks in Cancun without much disturbance to the negotiating process. The information included alleged bribery in Copenhagen and accusations that the BASIC group (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) were trying to block the negotiations. Some of this information [...]

Will A Trans-Regional Carbon Market Go Global?

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced plans for the country’s carbon tax today in Parliament. While Australia’s price on carbon is still struggling to gain public support domestically, elsewhere countries are optimistic about its adoption. The European Union has expressed interest in linking its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) with Australia and will meet to discuss [...]