Common Resources

Aiming Low: The Ambition Deficit in Global Emissions Reductions

As in Durban, a notable concern at this COP is the “ambition deficit”—that is, the significant gap between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recommended level of emissions reductions—those required to limit global temperature rise to 2°C—and the level of emissions reductions currently committed to by countries worldwide. In other words, everyone is aiming low […]

COP 18 Surreality

Every year during the Conference of the Parties (COP) for the UNFCCC, Saturday night is reserved for what’s called the NGO party, where negotiators and civil society participants blow off some stream after a week filled with excitement, frustration and trepidation, and mentally prepare themselves for another week of sleepless nights. This year’s party was […]

Does Eco-Certification Pay? Costa Rica’s Blue Flag Program

RFF Senior Fellow Allen Blackman and his colleagues present some of the first evidence that eco-certification programs in developing countries can have positive impacts for both the economy and environment. To read this piece in its entirety, click here.

RFF Feature: Tax Incentives for Developing Sewage Treatment Capacity in China

RFF’s Anthony Liu and coauthor Junjie Zhang examine the uneven development of sewage treatment plants throughout China and explore the relationship between tax incentives and investments in such infrastructure. To read the piece in its entirety, click here.

Recycling Debates on Energy Independence and Energy Security

As illustrated by the Presidential candidates’ perhaps unexpected diversion into discussion of energy independence during their first debate, energy remains a contentious political issue - as it has been for the last few decades. We seem to be making little progress, however - either on the pursuit of energy independence (as if that were even […]

China Losing Money on Solar - a Good Thing, But Not For the Reason You Think

The NYT reports (h/t Alex Tabarrok) that Chinese subsidies for solar panel production via state-owned banks have led to huge overcapacity, with up to 33% losses on panel sales. Tabarrok points out the parallels between Chinese officials’ reactions and the political fallout from failed U.S. government investments in solar. The rhetoric is similar but there […]

Senate Stares Down Europe on Aviation Carbon

Early last Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate stepped squarely into the debate over global aviation emissions, unanimously passing a bill that would give the Secretary of Transportation the power to prohibit U.S. airlines from complying with a new European law that require all airlines flying to or from Europe to participate in the European cap-and-trade […]

The Economist, Shale Gas, and Mideast Oil

In this week’s leader on violent protests in the Arab world, The Economist gets it wrong on shale gas again: With [American] troops mercifully out of Iraq, their efforts to push the Israeli-Palestinian peace process going nowhere, and shale gas reducing their dependence on Arab oil, surely it is time for them to leave the […]

The Party Platforms: International Climate Negotiations

This is part of a series of short posts in which RFF scholars will analyze the environmental plank of the Republican and Democratic Party platforms. This week we’re looking at the Democratic platform (though this post discusses both). Previous posts analyzed the Republican platform. As with all posts on Common Resources, this and other posts in this series reflect […]

Linking EU-Australia Carbon Markets Offers New Beginning and Challenges for Global Carbon Pricing

The EU’s announcement that it would link emissions markets with Australia beginning in 2015 brings a breath of fresh air to the prospect of a global price on carbon. In July, Australia introduced a tax that will transition into a cap and trade program in 2015. Currently the policy is under intense political attack. The […]