Resources Radio - Resources for the Future

Latest Episodes:

Adding Subtraction to the Climate Toolkit: Discussing Carbon Dioxide Removal with Wil Burns Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Wil Burns, co-director of the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at American University. Raimi and Burns discuss the approaches and technologies that might be helpful in removing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, what governments and companies are doing to encourage the deployment of these options, and some of the risks and challenges that each approach brings. References and recommendations: "Dam Breaches in Michigan Raise Questions for Dam Maintenance Across the Nation," a Q&A with RFF's Margaret Walls; https://www.resourcesmag.org/common-resources/dam-breaches-michigan-raise-questions-dam-maintenance-across-nation/

Decarbonizing Global Industry, with Jeffrey Rissman May 25, 2020

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This week, host Kristin Hayes talks with Jeffrey Rissman, the industry program director and head of modeling at Energy Innovation, a research firm focused on accelerating clean energy. He leads modeling efforts for the firm’s energy policy solutions focus area, to determine the policies that most effectively help meet climate and energy goals. Rissman is the lead author on a new paper released recently in the journal "Applied Energy," which dives deep into the technologies and policies that might drive decarbonization across global industry. This sector is notoriously difficult to decarbonize, but it's critical to meeting long-term emissions reduction goals. References and recommendations: "Technologies and policies to decarbonize global industry: Review and assessment of mitigation drivers through 2070" by Jeffrey Rissman, Chris Bataille, Eric Masanet, Nate Aden, William R. Morrow III, Nan Zhou, Neal Elliott, Rebecca Dell, Niko Heeren, Brigitta Huckestein, Joe Cresko, Sabbie Miller, Joyashree Roy, Paul Fennel, Betty Cremmins, Thomas Koch Blank, David Hone, Ellen D. Williams, Stephane de la Rue du Can, Bill Sisson, Mike Williams, John Katzenberger, Dallas Burtraw, Girish Sethi, He Ping, David Danielson, Hongyou Lu, Tom Lorber, Jens Dinkel, and Jonas Helseth; https://www.rff.org/publications/journal-articles/technologies-and-policies-decarbonize-global-industry/ Energy Policy Simulator; www.energypolicy.solutions "Sustainable Materials without the Hot Air" by Julian M. Allwood and Jonathan M. Cullen; https://www.ipgbook.com/sustainable-materials-without-the-hot-air-products-9781906860301.php

China's Emerging Policies for Emissions Reductions, with Dick Morgenstern May 19, 2020

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Along with several co-authors, Resources for the Future (RFF) Senior Fellow Dick Morgenstern has recently released an RFF working paper on China’s new emissions trading program: a “tradable performance standard,” which sets a ratio of emissions to output that individual firms have to meet. Host Daniel Raimi talks with Morgenstern in this episode about the goals of the trading program, how it's designed, some of its strengths and weaknesses, and how the policy fits into the framework of international negotiations on climate change. While the standard is not as efficient as more typical models, it stands to significantly reduce emissions once it expands beyond the power sector—without necessarily curbing China’s economic growth. References and recommendations: "China's Unconventional Nationwide CO2 Emissions Trading System: The Wide-Ranging Impacts of an Implicit Output Subsidy" by Lawrence H. Goulder, Xianling Long, Jieyi Lu, and Richard D. Morgenstern; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/chinas-unconventional-nationwide-co2-emissions-trading-system/ "The Wizard and the Prophet" by Charles C. Mann; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/220698/the-wizard-and-the-prophet-by-charles-c-mann/ "Alaskan glaciers melting 100 times faster than previously thought" by Jenny Howard; https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/07/alaskan-glaciers-melting-faster-than-previously-thought/ (and other "National Geographic" glacier coverage) "The Big Thaw" by Daniel Glick; https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/big-thaw/ (and other "National Geographic" glacier coverage)

Reflecting on Solar Geoengineering, with David Keith May 12, 2020

Show notes

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Harvard University Professor David Keith about solar geoengineering. Keith describes the variety of ways that solar geoengineering could work; some of its risks at local, regional, and global scales; recent small-scale experiments; and what might be needed to deploy a larger-scale research program. Raimi and Keith also discuss public policies related to potential deployment technologies, including the substantial issues surrounding governance and geopolitics. References and recommendations: "Inner Ranges" by Geoff Powter; https://rmbooks.com/book/inner-ranges/ "Pilgrims of the Vertical" by Joseph E. Taylor III; https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674052871 "Environmental Insights" podcast with Robert Stavins; https://scholar.harvard.edu/stavins/environmental-insights-podcast

Going Deep on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), with Julio Friedmann May 05, 2020

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This week, host Daniel Raimi talks about carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) with Julio Friedmann, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. Friedmann gives an overview of the status of CCUS deployment worldwide, describes the costs of CCUS relative to other approaches for reducing emissions, and notes some emerging federal policies that aim to increase deployment of CCUS in the United States. References and recommendations: "Capturing Investment: Policy Design to Finance CCUS Projects in the US Power Sector" by Julio Friedmann, Emeka Ochu, and Jeffrey D. Brown; https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/research/report/capturing-investment-policy-design-finance-ccus-projects-us-power-sector "To Tackle Climate Change, the (Industrial) Heat Is On" by Julio Friedmann; https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-10-21/amid-climate-change-the-heat-is-on-heavy-industry-to-decarbonize "Low-Carbon Heat Solutions for Heavy Industry: Sources, Options, and Costs Today" by Julio Friedmann, Zhiyuan Fan, and Ke Tang; https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/research/report/low-carbon-heat-solutions-heavy-industry-sources-options-and-costs-today "Engineers of Victory" by Paul Kennedy; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/91616/engineers-of-victory-by-paul-kennedy/ "Innovation and Its Enemies" by Calestous Juma; https://global.oup.com/academic/product/innovation-and-its-enemies-9780190467036?cc=us&lang=en& "45Q&A" blog series about the 45Q tax credit for CCUS; https://www.resourcesmag.org/common-resources/45q-series-comments-45q-tax-credit-carbon-capture-utilization-and-storage-ccus/

Is the Trump Administration Ditching WOTUS?, with Ellen Gilinsky Apr 25, 2020

Show notes

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Ellen Gilinsky about Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, which refers to the 2015 Clean Water Rule that defined the scope of federal water protection, particularly for streams and wetlands that share a hydrologic system with "navigable waters." Gilinsky was the associate deputy assistant administrator for water at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); she is an expert on all things WOTUS. Raimi and Gilinsky discuss why WOTUS is so important for federal regulation of surface waters; why the waters that fall under regulation are so tricky to define; and how the Trump administration has sought to change the definitions, with implications that reduce regulation. Just last week, EPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers published their Navigable Waters Protection Rule to change the definition of WOTUS and "navigable waters," demarcating four categories for waters under jurisdiction. The new rule becomes effective on June 22 this year, although lawsuits already are challenging it. References and recommendations: "Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity" by Sandra Postel; https://islandpress.org/books/replenish "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/567281/where-the-crawdads-sing-deluxe-edition-by-delia-owens/ "Cadillac Desert" by Marc Reisner; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/323685/cadillac-desert-by-marc-reisner/

Lessons from 50 Years of the Clean Air Act, with Maureen Cropper Apr 19, 2020

Show notes

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Maureen Cropper, an economics professor at the University of Maryland and senior fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF). Raimi asks Maureen about a paper she recently coauthored, which takes a retrospective look at the Clean Air Act, as this year we mark the 50th anniversary of its 1970 amendments. With more than 50 years of data since the original Clean Air Act came into existence in 1963, Cropper et al.'s new paper reviews how the law has been implemented, drawing out key lessons and research questions that we may be able to apply to good effect in the next 50 years. References and recommendations: "Looking Back at Fifty Years of the Clean Air Act" by Joseph E. Aldy, Maximilian Auffhammer, Maureen L. Cropper, Arthur G. Fraas, and Richard D. Morgenstern; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/looking-back-at-fifty-years-of-the-clean-air-act/ Fall 2019 issue of the Journal of Economic Perspectives (vol. 33, no. 4), which focuses in part on the fiftieth anniversary of the Clean Air and Water Acts; https://www.aeaweb.org/issues/568 "What Do Economists Have to Say about the Clean Air Act 50 Years after the Establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency?" by Janet Currie and Reed Walker; https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.33.4.3 "Policy Evolution under the Clean Air Act" by Richard Schmalensee and Robert N. Stavins; https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.33.4.27 "US Water Pollution Regulation over the Past Half Century: Burning Waters to Crystal Springs?" by David A. Keiser and Joseph S. Shapiro; https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.33.4.51 Purple Air, a personal monitor for real-time air-quality assessments; https://www2.purpleair.com/

Has Good Benefit-Cost Analysis Been Swept under the MATS?, with Mary Evans And Matthew Kotchen Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

In this week's episode, Kristin Hayes talks with Mary Evans and Matthew Kotchen, two of the authors on a new study published in the journal "Science" last week, which takes a critical look at how the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently updated the benefit-cost analysis of its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS. At the risk of skipping to the punchline, the paper's authors suggest that EPA’s analysis is seriously flawed. Evans and Kotchen discuss why they and their colleagues reached this conclusion, what the perceived flaws in the analysis could mean for human health and the environment, and how EPA and the Trump administration should proceed from here. References and recommendations: "Deep flaws in a mercury regulatory analysis" by Joseph Aldy, Matthew Kotchen, Mary Evans, Meredith Fowlie, Arik Levinson, and Karen Palmer; https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/04/08/science.aba7932 "Lead pollution tracks the rise and fall of medieval kings" by Ann Gibbons; https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6486/19 DJ D-Nice spinning on Instagram Live with Club Quarantine; https://www.instagram.com/dnice

The Value of a Statistical Life and Coronavirus, with Alan Krupnick Apr 05, 2020

Show notes

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with RFF Senior Fellow Alan Krupnick about the value of a statistical life, or VSL. As we all try to stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic, some analysts have started to ask the question, How much economic pain is appropriate to withstand to protect public health? The question is studded with ethical and moral land mines that, to some extent, VSL helps to address. In today’s episode, Krupnick takes us through the history of the VSL concept, different methods for calculating VSL, and how VSL might (or might not) be applied in today’s rapidly changing world. References and recommendations: "Mengele: Unmasking the 'Angel of Death'" by David G. Marwell; https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393609530

A Status Report on Global Emissions Trading, with Stephanie La Hoz Theuer Mar 27, 2020

Show notes

This week, Daniel Raimi talks with Stephanie La Hoz Theuer, a senior project manager at adelphi, an environmental think tank, as well as a member of the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) Secretariat. Each year, ICAP releases a valuable report on the status of emissions trading around the world, and the 2020 report was released just last week. In this episode, La Hoz Theuer provides updates on emissions trading policies around the world, including Europe, North America, Asia, and elsewhere. She and Raimi also discuss other policies that countries are deploying to reduce emissions, including in non-energy sectors such as agriculture. References and recommendations: "Emissions Trading Worldwide: Status Report 2020" by the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP); https://icapcarbonaction.com/en/icap-status-report-2020 "An amateur Chinese marathon runner under coronavirus lockdown ran 31 miles in his living room to pass the time"; https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-man-under-coronavirus-lockdown-runs-31-miles-living-room-2020-2 "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman; https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374533557 "Collapse" by Jared Diamond; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/288954/collapse-by-jared-diamond/

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