The Princeton Zero Lab (Zero-carbon Energy Systems Research and Optimization Laboratory) is well known for its Net-Zero America study, probably the most detailed roadmap for the US green energy transition. Published the month before President Biden took office, this comprehensive analysis describes five distinct technological pathways for the nation to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions … Read more
Last week, the Eugene, Oregon City Council unanimously voted to repeal an ordinance blocking installation of fossil fuel infrastructure in new one- to three-story residential buildings. The Council had adopted the ordinance only earlier this year, but it immediately became a target of the local natural gas utility, Northwest Natural, which funded an aggressive signature … Read more
Another spate of extreme weather has hit the US. This time we have a triple whammy consisting of last month’s smokeouts from Canadian wildfires (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest), torrential rain and flooding in Vermont and upstate New York, and a record-breaking heat wave that continues to impact the South and Southwest. Since warmer air holds more … Read more
Narratives can play a decisive role in determining action on climate change. An example is the green growth narrative, which offers an optimistic and empowering context for the clean energy transition. This narrative drives the Paris climate accords, in which individual countries set out win-win strategies for green economic growth and decarbonization. Another prominent narrative, though, … Read more
This week, executives of the European Union released a Joint Communication to the European Parliament, offering a new outlook on the connection between climate change and European security. Although the plan is very broad, covering a wide range of implications arising from global warming, the attention grabber is the EU’s decision to join international discussions … Read more
Today more than half of Americans profess to be alarmed or concerned about climate change, yet few do much to act on their beliefs. Detailed public opinion surveys show that about a third of the alarmed Americans identify as active alarmed, based on their responses to questions about their past political behavior, their willingness to engage in climate … Read more
If you have become concerned or alarmed about climate change, you are most certainly not alone. In fact, public opinion surveys are showing that today a majority of Americans hold these views. As one who advocates solutions and talks about climate change a lot, though, I have learned that many people experience a big hurdle between … Read more
Updated May 5, 2022 Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and industry are among the most challenging to mitigate, in part because electrification of many end uses in these sectors is not yet possible. For these applications, the environmentally responsible use of biofuels provides a robust and potentially rapid approach to reducing climate impacts. In particular, … Read more
K2P offers thorough explanations of federal climate policy (chapters 7-10), but given the book’s timetable its focus is necessarily on the 116th Congress (2019-2020) and earlier. This post provides an update at a critical moment, addressing the prospects for Congress and the executive branch to transform the energy economy and mandate quantitative emissions reductions. What happens … Read more
When I began writing K2P a few years ago, I grappled with the question of whether the world really needed another book on climate change, when so much information was already available. This issue should properly preoccupy any aspiring writer on the subject. As a research scientist by profession, the need for originality in my … Read more
