Each week, we review the papers, studies, reports, and briefings posted at the “indispensable” RFF Library Blog, curated by RFF Librarian Chris Clotworthy. Check out this week’s highlights below:
Changing Climate for Carbon Taxes: Who’s Afraid of the WTO?
Carbon taxes have recently become a major source of discussion in the Washington, DC policy community. Supporters contend that they offer an efficient way to simultaneously create incentives to emit less carbon dioxide and reduce the budget deficit. Should such a carbon tax be enacted, it will in all likelihood be accompanied by measures to ensure that the U.S. industries that would be most heavily affected... — via Climate Advisors, et. al.
Rapid Accumulation of Committed Sea-level Rise from Global Warming
Measurements tell us that global average sea level is currently rising by about 1 inch per decade. But in an invisible shadow process, our long-term sea level rise commitment or “lock-in” — the sea level rise we don’t see now, but which carbon emissions and warming have locked in for later years — is growing 10 times faster, and this growth rate is accelerating. — via Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
...a research paper produced by the National Ground Water Association suggests this widespread image may be a mirage. The paper, published in the May/June issue of the journal Groundwater, details the results of a study of 1,701 water quality analyses from drinking water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania. — via Evaluation of Methane Sources in Groundwater in Northeastern Pennsylvania
BC’s Carbon Tax Shift After Five Years: An Environmental (and Economic) Success Story
British Columbia’s (BC) introduction of a revenue-neutral carbon tax shift in 2008 was controversial. This analysis compares changes in fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and GDP between BC and the rest of Canada. It finds that in the four years since the tax was introduced, BC’s per capita consumption of fuels subject to the tax has declined by 19% compared to the rest of Canada. At the same time, its economy has kept pace... — via Sustainable Prosperity
International Energy Outlook 2013
World energy consumption will increase by 56% over the next 3 decades, driven by surging demand in developing countries, the US Energy Information Administration forecasts in its International Energy Outlook 2013 (IEO 2013), released July 25. In its outlook, EIA said it expects the world’s real gross domestic product to rise by 3.6%/year through 2040... — via US Department of Energy, EIA
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