Projects:Recent
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Recent Projects from the Nicholas Institute
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  • Greenhouse Gas Allowance Allocation: Cost Pass-Through, Sector Differentiation and Economic Implications“Greenhouse Gas Allowance Allocation: Cost Pass-Through, Sector Differentiation and Economic Implications” - February 2008

    One of the most important decisions to resolve in implementing a cap-and-trade system is the question of how emission allowances initially are allocated to participants. As long as allowances can be traded freely, they can, in theory, be allocated to anyone and will find their way through the market to trading-system participants willing to pay for them. They can be given to participants and non-participants, or auctioned to the highest bidders. Because allowances have significant monetary value, decisions regarding allocation methodologies are important for trading-system participants and their customers. This paper provides a framework for policymakers to understand the options regarding allowance allocation and some tradeoffs to consider in choosing among these options.
       
    read working paper >

  • Balancing U.S. Interests in the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention“Balancing U.S. Interests in the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention” - October 2007

    This policy brief provides guidance from an interdisciplinary panel of experts about whether the United States should accede to the United Nations’ Law of the Sea Convention.  Rather than offer a complete summary of the convention’s provisions, the brief highlights how the convention addresses three important considerations: Emerging territorial disputes over expanding Arctic waters; concerns about the role of international tribunals in making decisions that affect U.S. military, economic and environmental protection interests; and how the United States would benefit from convention provisions which help member nations balance the need to navigate freely for security and commerce with its need to protect its vast coastal natural resources.
       
    read policy brief >

  • Iron Fertilization in the Ocean for Climate Mitigation: Legal, Economic and Environmental Challenges“Iron Fertilization in the Ocean for Climate Mitigation: Legal, Economic and Environmental Challenges” - October 2007

    Iron fertilization of the oceans is one of many new ideas being considered to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Earth’s atmosphere and curb global climate change.  This paper provides lawmakers, NGOs, the public, investors and business interests with a brief overview of the process and its potential benefits and risks.
       
    read working paper >

  • The Lieberman-Warner America's Climate Security Act: A Preliminary Assessment of Potential Economic Impacts “The Lieberman-Warner America's Climate Security Act: A Preliminary Assessment of Potential Economic Impacts” - October 2007

    On August 2, 2007, Senators Lieberman and Warner introduced a framework for Lieberman-Warner America’s Climate Security Act of 2007.  The proposal calls for the United States to cut greenhouse gas emissions below current levels by 2050. Analysts from the Nicholas Institute and RTI International summarize how the actions necessary to meet the requirements of the proposed bill might affect general and specific economic indicators using a model of the U.S. economy.
       
    read policy brief >
  • A Path to Greenhouse Gas Reductions in the U.S.: Economic Modeling of Interim National Targets “A Path to Greenhouse Gas Reductions in the U.S.: Economic Modeling of Interim National Targets” - September 2007

    Momentum is building in the United States to consider mandatory caps for greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Senate has expressed support for such action if it will not cause significant economic harm. Toward that end, this study employs a computable general equilibrium model of the United States integrated into the global economy (ADAGE) and a detailed model of the U.S. energy sector (NI-NEMS) to examine the broad and deep economic implications of interim-term GHG cap-and-trade programs across sectors and regions of the U.S. economy over time. In addition, the paper discusses implications for longer term and deeper cuts.
       
    read working paper >
  • G8 Leadership is Critical to Curbing Energy-Related CO2 Emissions “G8 Leadership is Critical to Curbing Energy-Related CO2 Emissions” - September 2007

    The “Heiligendamm Process” conceived at the recent Group of Eight (G8) summit calls for the G8 countries plus the five largest developing nations to negotiate commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mid-century levels that would avoid dangerous climate change. This analysis demonstrates that commitments from these 13 nations, particularly the United States and China, can be an important first step to keeping atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the “safe zone” below 450 ppm, even with a ten-year lag between developed and developing nations.
       
    read policy brief >
  • 10K Ton “Size Thresholds for Greenhouse Gas Regulation: Who Would be Affected by a 10,000-ton CO2 Emissions Rule?” - September 2007

    Opponents of action on climate change have warned that jobs will be lost to a cap and trade system that encompasses small businesses. This report addresses this concern by seeking to identify what type and size of businesses will be, and won’t be, regulated under various legislative proposals that target facilities that emit at least 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide or its greenhouse gas equivalent per year.  Understanding this will help design policy to assist those who would be most affected.
       
    read policy brief >
  • realoceans.orgrealoceans.org  - September 2007
      
    RealOceans.org is an online tool for policymakers, stakeholders, and real people like you.  This new website provides policy relevant synopses of the latest ocean research as well as customizable forums dealing with ocean policy in real time. First person synopses allow scientists to quickly share timely findings and relate their research to the real world. The "On the Waterfront" section allows industry professionals to share on the ground accounts of how ocean policy affects them.  The Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) Knowledge Base provides easy to read summaries of EBM research for Congressional and agency staff, activists and researchers.  Come visit, learn, and share at RealOceans.org
       
    visit realoceans.org >
  • Water Report"Adaptive Implementation of Water Quality Improvement Plans: Opportunities and Challenges"  - September 2007
      
    This 101-page report includes an executive summary for policymakers, along with the detailed conclusions from an expert panel that was convened to explore the expanded use of adaptive implemention for the EPA's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program, especially in the face of uncertainty in TMDL forecasts.
       
    read report >
  • Water Report"The Future of Water in North Carolina: Strategies for Sustaining Abundant and Clean Water"  - September 2007
      
    At a time when all counties in North Carolina are experiencing some degree of drought, this new report from the Nicholas Institute identifies six long-term strategies for improving the management and conservation of water resources in the Tarheel State.
       
    read report >
  • Convenient Guide “A New Opportunity to Help Mitigate Climate Change, Save Forests, and Reach Development Goals” - August 2007

    A proposal to include avoided emissions from deforestation in the next phase of the global climate agreements has been moving forward rapidly. This paper provides an overview of the state of this proposal, what its implementation might look like and what this could mean for climate,  forests, and nations that might participate.  It also provides an discussion of the undecided issues in the proposal and recommendations for next steps to move thing forward.
       
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  • Convenient Guide “Convenient Guide for Climate Change Policy and Technology” - August 2007

    Scientific consensus, growing public awareness and political change may soon drive the United States to a mandatory climate policy. Fossil fuel-generated electricity accounts for one-third of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States; electric utility companies can therefore provide leadership in technology and policy development through careful investment decisions for future generation capacity. This 420-page guide from the Nicholas Institute and Duke’s Center on Global Change examines technology options for reducing utility-generated greenhouse gas emissions and reviews policies to achieve reductions.
       
    learn more >
  • Balancing U.S. Interests in the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention“Data and Methods to Estimate National Historical Deforestation Baselines in Support of UNFCCC REDD” - July 2007

    Global climate policy initiatives are now being proposed to compensate tropical forest nations for reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). This working paper by a panel of experts from the Nicholas Institute, Conservational International and the University of Wisconsin-Madison reviews existing data and methods that could be used to measure historical deforestation and degradation baselines, including FAO national statistics and various remote-sensing sources, and thus aid in the creation of a credible benchmark against which future emissions reductions can be measured.
       
    read working paper >

  • Economic Protection Plan for Carbon Trading Markets - July 2007

    A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators considered critical to the passage of legislation to limit U.S. greenhouse gas emissions offered a proposal to reduce costs and provide oversight to the new emissions permit trading market. The plan was developed jointly with the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions of Duke University.

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  • Security report"Harnessing Farms and Forests in the Low-Carbon Economy: How to Create, Measure and Verify Greenhouse Gas Offsets" - June 2007

As the United States moves to a low-carbon economy to help combat global warming, credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions will increasingly become a commodity that is bought and sold on the open market. This 229-page guide is the first comprehensive technical manual that explains to farmers, foresters, landowners and investors how they can take part in, and benefit from, this market.

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  • Security report“For Security’s Sake: Can the United States help petroleum rich nations avoid the resource curse?” - April 2007

    A report from a round table of 30 experts hosted by the Nicholas Institute in Washington, D.C. in September 2006.  The 27-page report includes consensus recommendations; an overview of the geopolitics of energy; case studies of the resource curse in four regions nationwide; and an executive-style conclusion for decision makers.

    download the report >

  • “International Trade LawU.S. Federal Climate Policy and Competitiveness Concerns: The Limits and Options of International Trade Law” - April 2007

    A working paper by Joost Pauwelyn of Duke Law School. One of the major obstacles toward mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is the impact of such limits on the international competitiveness of U.S. firms. This 45-paper paper examines the extent to which U.S. federal climate policy could alleviate this competitiveness concern.

    download the paper >

  • Carbon Capture“Carbon Capture, Pipeline and Storage: A Viable Option for North Carolina” - March 2007

    A working paper prepared by the Nicholas Institute and the Center on Global Change at Duke that examines whether the capture of CO2 emissions from N.C. coal utilities may be economically feasible if the emissions are piped out of state to underground storage reservoirs. The 30-page paper includes lifetime cost analyses for carbon capture through supercritical pulverized coal versus integrated gasification combined cycle technologies.

    download the paper >
    learn more >

  • BEST BUS Model - November 2006
       
    BEST BUS is a decision support model for fleet managers and other transit specialists interested in finding best cost alternatives for reducing fleet emissions, enabling comparisons between current and replacement buses.
       
    BEST BUS was developed by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and Dana Lowell from MJ Bradley and Associates for the purposes of evaluating a new bus fleet for trips between Duke University, Durham and UNC-Chapel Hill. The model yielded useful results on this project and offers great potential for other groups interested in exploring the costs and benefits of upgrading buses to new technology.
       
    learn more >
    download the model >
  • ocean reportPathway to Ocean Ecosystem-Based Management: Design Principles for Regional Ocean Governance in the United States - April 2006

    A Consensus Document from the October 2005 Symposium of the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum.

    Ocean governance in the U.S. today is fragmented and, in many cases, ineffective.  This 18-page report reviews design principles for switching to regional ecosystem-based management of the ocean that would reduce duplication of effort, maximize limited resources, and facilitate assessment and management of cumulative impacts.

    read report >
    read event summary >
    view event webcast >
  • methane reportDo Recent Scientific Findings Undermine the Climate Benefits of Carbon Sequestration in Forests? - April 2006

    An Expert Review of Recent Studies on Methane Emissions and Water Tradeoffs

    Recent scientific papers document previously unknown or under-reported methane emissions and water trade-offs that could reduce the benefits from terrestrial carbon sink practices such as reforestation and plantations. This Nicholas Institute report examines the policy implications of these findings.  The report is a consensus document from a roundtable of top experts convened at the Institute earlier this year. Recent scientific papers document previously unknown or under-reported methane emissions and water trade-offs that could reduce the benefits from terrestrial carbon sink practices such as reforestation and plantations. This Nicholas Institute report examines the policy implications of these findings.  The report is a consensus document from a roundtable of top experts convened at the Institute earlier this year.

    read report >
    read event summary >
  • California Cap and Trade A Cap and Trade System for Greenhouse Gases - 2005

    In a new report for California policymakers, the Nicholas Institute identifies the basic design principles of an effective cap and trade system for regulating greenhouse gas emissions at the state level, with emphasis on principles that promote greater environmental certainty, business certainty, flexibility and administrative ease.

    read policy brief >
  • Slow FuseThe Conference on Journalism and the Environment - 2006

    Fast-paced, deadline-driven journalism has difficulty covering complicated environmental issues that are slow to develop but likely to have serious long-term public consequences. The Conference on Journalism and the Environment is a forum for executives, editors, news directors, and reporters from leading news organizations to examine journalistic coverage of the environment and, by extension, other important issues that are slow to develop but likely to have serious long-term consequences.

    read event summary >
    read report >

  • SurveyHart-McInturff Environmental Survey - 2005

    Eight-in-10 Americans say they support pro-environmental policies, but a new national survey by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University finds their support often stops short of the ballot box. The survey suggests opportunities for how to address this disconnect.

    The research was conducted for the Nicholas Institute by Hart Associates and Public Opinion Strategies. They surveyed 800 registered voters nationwide and conducted focus groups of voters in Columbus, Ohio, and Knoxville, Tenn. The survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percent.

    read national presentation >
    read policy brief >
    read Duke news release >
    view presentation of survey and response at Environmental Summit >

 

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