Each week, we review the papers, studies, reports, and briefings posted at the “indispensable” RFF Library Blog, curated by RFF Librarian Chris Clotworthy.
How Clean Energy Works for the Military
[Cache Valley Daily] As America honors its veterans Tuesday, a new report concludes the military in Utah, and across the U.S., is leading the nation in the use of clean energy and energy efficiency. The study, titled How Clean Energy Works for the Military, was published by the nonprofit and nonpartisan organization Environmental Entrepreneurs. Bob Keefe, executive director at Environmental Entrepreneurs, says the military is quickly moving away from fossil fuels. – via Environmental Entrepreneurs
CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2014
In recognition of fundamental changes in the way governments approach energy-related environmental issues, the IEA has prepared this publication on CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. This annual publication was first published in 1997 and has become an essential tool for analysts and policy makers in many international fora such as the Conference of the Parties. The twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention (COP 20), in conjunction with the tenth meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 10), will be meeting in Lima, Peru from 1 to 12 December 2014. – via International Energy Agency
[BNA] Proposed carbon dioxide standards for existing power plants could achieve even greater emissions reductions than proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative said. The nine Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative states also said the EPA’s proposed carbon dioxide standards for existing power plants, known as the Clean Power Plan, may not give states sufficient credit for steps they already have taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to comments submitted Nov. 5… – via Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative States Submitting to the US EPA
Europe, Russia, and the Age of Gas Revolution
The 2014 Ukraine crisis once again exposed the mutually limiting knot—a web of commercial relationships and oil and gas pipelines—that historically tied the European Union and Russia closely. In this crisis, a familiar conundrum preoccupied minds in the corridors of power in Western capitals: how to compel Russia to respect the Western geopolitical preferences without harming European allies? The answer, as in the past, pointed to the lack of viable short-term solutions and the longer term need for gaining energy independence without sacrificing energy security in the EU. The case chronicles latest efforts, and its unintended consequences, by all-union authorities in Brussels to untie the Russian knot by implanting American inventions in the European soil: liberalized, transparent natural gas markets and shale gas production. Executives of European and Russian energy companies present their views. – via Belfer Center, Kennedy School, Harvard Univ. / by Leonardo Maugeri
FACT SHEET: U.S.-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change and Clean Energy Cooperation
…today President Obama announced a new target to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. At the same time, President Xi Jinping of China announced targets to peak CO2 emissions around 2030, with the intention to try to peak early, and to increase the non-fossil fuel share of all energy to around 20 percent by 2030…
The new U.S. goal will double the pace of carbon pollution reduction from 1.2 percent per year on average during the 2005-2020 period to 2.3-2.8 percent per year on average between 2020 and 2025. This ambitious target is grounded in intensive analysis of cost-effective carbon pollution reductions achievable under existing law and will keep the United States on the right trajectory to achieve deep economy-wide reductions on the order of 80 percent by 2050. – via Whitehouse.gov
