Resources Radio - Resources for the Future

Latest Episodes:

Illinois’s Illuminating and Ambitious Power Plan, with Gilbert Michaud Oct 03, 2021

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In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Gilbert Michaud, an assistant professor at Loyola University Chicago. Michaud is an expert on the power sector and economic development, and he discusses a new state law in Illinois called the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. The bill aims to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector by mid-century and includes other provisions to help make the state’s energy transition more equitable. References and recommendations: Captain Planet television show; https://captainplanetfoundation.org/about/captain-planet-the-planeteers-legacy/ The Energy Gang podcast; https://www.greentechmedia.com/podcast/the-energy-gang “Incorporating equity in the clean energy economic development landscape” with Gilbert Michaud on the Solar for All podcast; https://solarforall.show/podcast/gilbert-michaud “Illinois’s brilliant new climate, jobs, and justice bill” by David Roberts in the Volts newsletter; https://www.volts.wtf/p/illinois-brilliant-new-climate-jobs

Bridging the Data Gap in Oil and Gas Methane Emissions, with Arvind Ravikumar Sep 27, 2021

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In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Arvind Ravikumar, an associate professor at the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Ravikumar is a leading researcher on the topic of methane emissions from oil and gas systems; he recently coauthored a paper demonstrating how the US Environmental Protection Agency can better account for these emissions, which are notoriously hard to measure. Ravikumar and Raimi discuss federal policies that are designed to reduce methane emissions, along with the voluntary commitments made by some companies recently to do just that. References and recommendations: “Closing the methane gap in US oil and natural gas production emissions inventories” by Jeffrey S. Rutherford, Evan D. Sherwin, Arvind P. Ravikumar, Garvin A. Heath, Jacob Englander, Daniel Cooley, David Lyon, Mark Omara, Quinn Langfitt, and Adam R. Brandt; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25017-4 Comprehensive news coverage of Hurricane Ida in the Times-Picayune; https://www.nola.com/ “At least 350 oil and chemical spills reported in Louisiana waters after Hurricane Ida” by Tristan Baurick; https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_133c6d96-0f32-11ec-9642-0fb29acbbdba.html The India Energy Hour podcast; https://www.101reporters.com/podcast/The_India_Energy_Hour “What do we hope to find when we look for a snow leopard?” by Kathryne Schulz; https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/12/what-do-we-hope-to-find-when-we-look-for-a-snow-leopard

Financing the Energy Transition around the World, with Afsaneh Beschloss Sep 20, 2021

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In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Afsaneh Beschloss, founder and CEO of RockCreek Group. Before founding RockCreek, Beschloss worked with the World Bank and other financial institutions to develop energy projects around the world. As pressure mounts on banks to move away from fossil fuels, Beschloss and Raimi discuss the special role of multilateral development banks in the transition to clean energy. They also talk about recent guidance from the US Treasury Department that seeks to curb fossil fuel financing at these institutions, and what it all means for the future. References and recommendations: “They Knew: The US Federal Governments Fifty-Year Role in Causing the Climate Crisis” by James Gustave Speth; https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/they-knew

Border Tax Adjustments, with Brian Flannery Sep 12, 2021

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In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Brian Flannery, a visiting fellow at Resources for the Future and an expert on international climate policy. Flannery describes how border carbon adjustments—essentially taxes imposed on goods from countries with relatively less ambitious climate standards—are gaining traction, with proposals circulating in the United States and the European Union. However, Flannery cautions that these policy tools will confront a number of challenges before they can be implemented, including backlash from countries that could be negatively affected and the need to abide by World Trade Organization rules. References and recommendations: “Policy Guidance for US GHG Tax Legislation and Regulation: Border Tax Adjustments for Products of Energy-Intensive, Trade-Exposed and Other Industries” by Brian Flannery, Jennifer A. Hillman, Jan Mares, and Matthew C. Porterfield; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/policy-guidance-us-ghg-tax-legislation-and-regulation/ “Framework Proposal for a US Upstream GHG Tax with WTO-Compliant Border Adjustments: 2020 Update” by Brian Flannery, Jennifer A. Hillman, Jan Mares, and Matthew C. Porterfield; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/framework-proposal-us-upstream-ghg-tax-wto-compliant-border-adjustments-2020-update/ “Implementing a Framework for Border Tax Adjustments in US Greenhouse Gas Tax Legislation and Regulations” by Brian Flannery; https://www.resources.org/common-resources/implementing-framework-border-tax-adjustments-us-greenhouse-gas-tax-legislation-and-regulations/ Transcript of an oral evidence session in the House of Lords for the inquiry into Ofgem and net zero, with Sir Dieter Helm; https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/2601/pdf/

When Will the Sun Set on Fossil Fuel Subsidies?, with Joseph Aldy Sep 06, 2021

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In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Joseph E. Aldy about fossil fuel subsidies—an area that Aldy has researched extensively and a subject that has been rekindled in the policy dialogue after President Joe Biden suggested removing such subsidies when he released his American Jobs Plan in April this year. But this somewhat amorphous concept of fossil fuel subsidies has been notoriously difficult to define and equally difficult to take action on. Aldy and Hayes reflect on how the Biden administration is approaching these definitional questions and what they’re hoping to achieve, both in terms of policy action and emissions outcomes. References and recommendations: “Testimony on the Elimination of Fossil Fuel Subsidies to the US Subcommittee on the Environment” delivered by Joseph E. Aldy at an Earth Day hearing hosted by the US House Oversight Committee; https://www.rff.org/publications/testimony-and-public-comments/testimony-to-the-us-subcommittee-on-the-environment-on-the-elimination-of-fossil-fuel-subsidies/ “The Role of Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Preventing Action on the Climate Crisis,” a video of the testimony delivered by Joseph E. Aldy at the Earth Day hearing hosted by the US House Oversight Committee; https://youtu.be/yRUm8veLKlk?t=782 “Money for Nothing: The Case for Eliminating US Fossil Fuel Subsidies” by Joseph E. Aldy; https://www.resources.org/archives/money-for-nothing-the-case-for-eliminating-us-fossil-fuel-subsidies/ “Protection for Sale” by Gene M. Grossman and Elhanan Helpman; https://pages.uoregon.edu/bruceb/Andrea.pdf

Cracking the Case of the Vanishing Air Pollution Data, with Eric Zou Aug 29, 2021

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In this episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Eric Zou, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Oregon. Zou has published fascinating work on how air pollution monitors work—or don’t work, as the case may be—to detect harmful levels of air pollution in the United States. Using data from satellites and ground-based monitors, his work has uncovered how local actors, particularly local governments, may be manipulating air quality data to avoid penalties under the Clean Air Act. References and recommendations: “Unwatched Pollution: The Effect of Intermittent Monitoring on Air Quality” by Eric Zou; https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56034c20e4b047f1e0c1bfca/t/603afc5c6607da3e67640175/1614478432535/monitor_zou_202101.pdf Fort Lee lane closure scandal; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lee_lane_closure_scandal “Next-Generation Compliance: Environmental Regulation for the Modern Era” by Cynthia Giles; https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2020/09/next-generation-compliance-environmental-regulation-for-the-modern-era/ “Indians & Energy: Exploitation and Opportunity in the American Southwest” edited by Sherry L. Smith and Brian Frehner; https://sarweb.org/indians-energy/

How Much is a Tree Worth?, with Hannah Druckenmiller Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Hannah Druckenmiller, a new fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF). This is the second part of a two-part series that introduces new RFF fellows, and Druckenmiller is another welcome addition to RFF and to Resources Radio. Druckenmiller discusses her fascinating paper that estimates the value of forests—not just in the marketplace, but for society. She and Raimi also talk about a project she’s involved in that’s using millions of photographs from the 1950s through the 1990s to construct what are essentially satellite images of the developing world, but from before satellite images even existed. References and recommendations: “Estimating an Economic and Social Value for Healthy Forests: Evidence from Tree Mortality in the American West” by Hannah Druckenmiller; https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f60e3b9a38e910134a8aeab/t/5fb6df90721aae50818579d2/1605820322700/JMP_11.19.2020.pdf “Migrations” by Charlotte McConaghy; https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250204028 “The Lost Canyon Under Lake Powell” by Elizabeth Kolbert; https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/16/the-lost-canyon-under-lake-powell

Risks and Rewards in Homeownership and Flood Insurance, with Penny Liao Aug 15, 2021

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In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Penny Liao, a scholar of behavioral and market responses to environmental risk, who joined Resources for the Future as a fellow earlier this month. Liao elaborates on a new working paper she coauthored about how home equity shapes a household’s decision to purchase flood insurance. In the end, Liao finds that homeowners with more home equity are especially likely to purchase flood insurance because they do not want to default on their mortgage, while households with highly leveraged mortgages have less incentive to insure against flood risks. References and recommendations: “What’s at Stake? Understanding the Role of Home Equity in Flood Insurance Demand” by Penny Liao and Philip Mulder; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/whats-at-stake-understanding-the-role-of-home-equity-in-flood-insurance-demand/ “The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin; https://science.sciencemag.org/content/162/3859/1243 “The Problem of Social Cost” by Ronald Coase; https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230523210_6 “Bewilderment” by Richard Powers; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688002/bewilderment-by-richard-powers/ “The Overstory” by Richard Powers; http://www.richardpowers.net/the-overstory/

Wyoming’s Energy Economy in Transition, with Robert Godby Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Robert Godby, an associate professor of economics at the University of Wyoming. Wyoming is the subject of their conversation: It’s been a major energy-producing state for over a century and is the nation’s largest producer of coal by far. But energy production in Wyoming has declined substantially in recent years, raising major challenges for the state’s economy and public revenues. And with the need to reduce emissions much further, the outlook for Wyoming’s energy future is highly uncertain. References and recommendations: “The Grid: The Fraying Wires between Americans and Our Energy Future” by Gretchen Bakke; https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/grid-9781632865687 “Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States” by Leah Stokes; https://www.leahstokes.com/book “Decommissioning Orphaned and Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells: New Estimates and Cost Drivers” by Daniel Raimi, Alan Krupnick, Jhih-Shyang Shih, and Alexandra Thompson; https://www.rff.org/publications/journal-articles/decommissioning-orphaned-and-abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-new-estimates-and-cost-drivers/

Managing Wildfires to Combat Climate Change, with David Wear Aug 01, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with David Wear, a nonresident senior fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF). As anyone knows who’s recently breathed the air in the northeastern or midwestern United States, wildfires increasingly are posing risks to human health, the environment, and the climate. In a recent RFF issue brief, Wear analyzes how scaling up wildfire management in federal forests—specifically, through methods of clearing the forest undergrowth, collectively called “forest fuel treatments”—could reduce wildfires and the damage that wildfires cause. Wear discusses recent trends in wildfires, how forest fuel treatments can address this growing problem, and more. References and recommendations: “Wildfire Risk Reduction: Effects of the Draft Energy Infrastructure Act” by David N. Wear; https://www.rff.org/publications/issue-briefs/wildfire-risk-reduction-effects-of-the-draft-energy-infrastructure-act/ “The Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kim-stanley-robinson/the-ministry-for-the-future/9780316300162/

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