How newer research is building off Nordhaus’ past contributions Äntligen! (Swedish—my native tongue—for “Finally!”) Last week, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences to William Nordhaus for his pioneering work on “integrated assessment modeling” (IAM) – a framework which has made it possible to analyze the interplay between the […]

Written by Dominique Browning

Scientists are ringing the alarm bells to warn us that time is running out to slow down global warming. There is one thing we can do immediately to make a significant contribution to bring us to climate safety: cut methane emissions. Whether or not we have...

New Report Highlights Wide Availability of Advanced Clean Transportation Solutions

As the private sector adopts climate disclosure standards established by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the oil and gas industry faces increasing pressure from its investors to disclose how it is managing climate risk, including emissions of methane from oil and gas.

The most powerful force for fighting climate change – now

This was first published by the Wall Street Journal.

Last week gave the world a ghastly climate show-and-tell.

First came the new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, confirming that our climate is already changing rapidly and telling us we have a dozen years to act if we are to manage the risk of ecological and economic devastation. Then Hurricane Michael came ashore in Florida after growing from Category 2 to Category 4 in less than 24 hours – showing one reason scientists are so concerned.

Because of the problem’s severity, some say we need a command-and-control solution, with governments telling companies how to retool. Climate change is an urgent problem, but that’s not the right approach. The world instead should harness the marketplace – the most powerful force available.

Here are three policies that would help.

Slow deforestation and restore damaged forests. Properly managed woodlands help avoid emissions by not burning the trees and also draw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Forests could deliver a quarter or more of the carbon emissions reductions needed by 2030 – but only if rain forests are more valuable alive than dead.

California is considering a proposal to create incentives that enable this while setting the global standard for social and environmental safeguards. My organization, Environmental Defense Fund, is also working with landowners on strategies that allow them to contribute to the solution and profit from it.

Cut short-term climate pollutants such as methane. These gases stay in the atmosphere for less time than carbon dioxide but trap far more heat while there. Methane, the chief component of natural gas, is responsible for a quarter of all current warming.

The largest industrial source of methane pollution is the global oil-and-gas industry, so EDF is launching a satellite to measure and map these emissions world-wide. Our goal is a 45 percent reduction in methane pollution from oil and gas by 2025.

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This would deliver the same climate benefit over the next 20 years as closing about one-third of the world’s coal-fired power plants.

Stop letting companies pollute for free. In most of the world, there is no economic incentive for corporations to reduce pollution. But if they had to pay every time they put a ton of emissions into the atmosphere, they’d find creative ways to reduce pollution

By itself, a tax on pollution doesn’t guarantee reductions, so any carbon pricing policy must include enforceable limits to ensure emissions are cut as much as the science demands. As the work of the Nobel Prize-winning economist William Nordhaus makes clear, pricing carbon is a much cheaper way of hitting climate goals than command-and-control regulations.

Scientists, investors and philanthropists also are exploring ways to remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. It’s a challenge, but a system that pays a bounty for carbon soaked out of the sky would spur a race to develop and commercialize this promising concept.

Some people would get rich, and that’s OK. If videogames and iPhone apps can create wealth, so can saving the world.

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krives October 16, 2018 - 10:02

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Lindsay McCormick, is a Project Manager. Tom Neltner, J.D., is the Chemicals Policy Director. Earlier this month, EPA released its updated 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Toolkit, which provides guidance for schools and child care facilities seeking to ensure children are safe from lead in water.  The new 3Ts – an update to the agency’s […]

The post EPA Updates its 3Ts Guidance for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, is a Project Manager. Tom Neltner, J.D., is the Chemicals Policy Director. Earlier this month, EPA released its updated 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Toolkit, which provides guidance for schools and child care facilities seeking to ensure children are safe from lead in water.  The new 3Ts – an update to the agency’s […]

The post EPA Updates its 3Ts Guidance for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water first appeared on EDF Health.

There is one thing we can do immediately to make a significant contribution to bringing us to climate safety: cut methane emissions. MCAF. C3. Regional.

There is one thing we can do immediately to make a significant contribution to bringing us to climate safety: cut methane emissions. MCAF. C3. Regional.

This article originally appeared in GreenBiz and can be seen here.  When I was a kid, my dad told me that his favorite technological advancements were the automatic garage door and the automatic ice maker. I didn’t fully understand why at the time. But I get it now. When I leave my office today, I will […]

This article originally appeared in GreenBiz and can be seen here.  When I was a kid, my dad told me that his favorite technological advancements were the automatic garage door and the automatic ice maker. I didn’t fully understand why at the time. But I get it now. When I leave my office today, I will […]

This article originally appeared in GreenBiz and can be seen here.  When I was a kid, my dad told me that his favorite technological advancements were the automatic garage door and the automatic ice maker. I didn’t fully understand why at the time. But I get it now. When I leave my office today, I will […]

Changing the way manure is stored and handled is key to meeting California’s 40 percent dairy manure methane reduction goal and combating climate change.