-
What Can California Teach the Federal Government on Air Pollution? A Conversation With Richard Corey
›In August 2022, California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a new regulation requiring all new vehicles sold in California to be zero emission by 2035, paving the way for an emission-free future. But what exactly is CARB—and why do its decisions carry such weight? To answer those questions and more, the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program partnered with Climate Break (with support from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation) for a joint podcast featuring CARB’s former Executive Officer, Richard Corey. The conversation ranged from the agency’s history, to what Corey has learned about how to implement effective policy, and his view of lessons for the federal government as it moves more aggressively on climate action.
-
Retiring Coal? The Prospects Are Brighter Than They Appear
›As COP27 draws to a close, the conference is proving to be a disappointment for environmental advocates focused on eliminating the planet’s number one emitter: coal-fired power.
Yet only a year ago, at the UN climate talks in Glasgow, it felt different. At that time, one could be forgiven for getting excited about the prospects for phasing out coal fired power. Countries had committed to ending its use. Tantalizingly, coalitions of international partners and multilateral development institutions also introduced mechanisms that could help finance closures at scale.
-
Confronting Seismic Shocks: New WQ Article Looks at “Russia’s War on Natural Resources”
›July 29, 2022 // By Claire DoyleWhen Russia struck a deal with Ukraine on July 15, there was hope that millions of tons of food would once again be able to flow from the embattled country. Under the agreement, brokered by Turkey and the UN, Russia would lift naval blockades and allow large-scale shipments of grain to leave Ukraine’s ports.
-
System Shock: Russia’s War and Global Food, Energy, and Mineral Supply Chains
›Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is sending shockwaves through global systems for natural resources like food, oil and natural gas, and critical minerals. But a recent Wilson Center event assessing the fallout of the conflict also looked to the deeper implications and lessons from the crisis.
-
The Gasses That Will Make or Break Climate Change Mitigation
›New worldwide attention on methane has increased the potential for countries to implement methane policy in the energy sector. In November 2021, the countries gathered at COP 26 in Glasgow launched the Global Methane Pledge, an agreement that aims to reduce methane emissions at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030. If the 111 participating countries are successful, this endeavor could curb over 8 gigatons of carbon equivalent emissions and prevent more than 0.2 degrees Celsius in warming by 2050.
-
Tapping the Power in China’s Municipal Sludge
›In September 2018, the Jinghu District People’s Court in Wuhu, Anhui Province sentenced 12 people from the Pol Shin Fastener Company between four months and six years in prison for committing serious interprovincial environmental crimes in Jiangsu and Anhui in 2016 and 2017. The court also fined the automobile hardware manufacturer 10 million yuan ($1.48 million). The crime? Dispatching ships and trucks to illegally dump 2500+ metric tons of highly acidic pickling sludge from steel production. Sludge—semi-solid waste emissions from industries and municipal water treatment plants—is yet another tough water and solid waste pollution challenge China faces.
-
Sandra Ruckstuhl on Capturing Practical Lessons on Water, Conflict, and Cooperation
›Friday Podcasts // Water Stories (Podcast Series) // December 14, 2018 // By Kathryn Gardner & Truett SparkmanWe realized “there was a need for a toolkit on water,” says Sandra Ruckstuhl in this week’s Water Stories podcast, “with a focus of conflict and conflict mitigation, but also peacebuilding.” Ruckstuhl, a consultant for the World Bank who has researched water programs in Yemen and the Middle East, helped the Wilson Center produce USAID’s Water and Conflict toolkit, which documents examples of successful development interventions focused on water and peacebuilding.
-
Like Water and Oil: Fish as a Geostrategic Resource
›Access to and competition over natural resources has been one of the most common triggers for conflict. Throughout the centuries, countries and communities have fought over productive agricultural land, trade routes, spices, textiles, opium, and oil, to name just a few. But the battle over one natural resource—fish—has long been overlooked. As trends in the global fish industry increasingly mirror the conflict-ridden oil sector, fish may become the newest addition to the list of resources driving geopolitical competition. There are five parallels between oil and fish that call for increasing the sustainability of the fishing industry, or we might find ourselves facing what U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jay Caputo has called “a global fish war.”
Showing posts from category natural gas.