View the latest CIERP Research Update here.

March 14, 2013

BP executive and Fletcher alum addresses energy challenges and opportunities

"Energy is essential to the most basic aspects of development. The energy industry brings heat, light and mobility to the world – the scooters that take people to work, the lights that enable homework to be done, the refrigerators that hold a village’s stocks of medicine. So while we must not shy away from the impacts of what we do, neither should we forget that energy has been central to development – and still is."

Dev Sanyal F'88, Executive Vice President and Group Chief of Staff at BP, spoke on March 14 to a packed room of Fletcher graduate students, faculty, and other members of the Tufts Community about Getting Energy Right, in an event hosted by CIERP's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program. Dev joined the BP Group in 1989 and has since held a variety of positions globally.

"In my view getting energy right means we must address three big issues...

• First, sufficiency – is there enough energy to go round? If there is, is it affordable?
• Second, security – can we rely on our energy supplies?
• Third, sustainability – can we use energy for our needs without an unacceptable impact on the planet?"

(Photo by Alonso Nichols/Tufts University)

March 7, 2013

Professor Moomaw on declining sea ice in the Arctic... and the resulting resource chase

CIERP Director William Moomaw was quoted in an article by Mike Eckel of the Christian Science Monitor about China's push for an Arctic foothold:

“The lure of riches in the Arctic draws ever more companies and nations... And so far it’s been relatively amicable jousting and jostling there.”

Professor Moomaw spoke on the topic of Arctic Anxiety at the Tufts Energy Conference on March 2-3, and CIERP is co-hosting with Fletcher's Edward R. Murrow Center for Public Diplomacy and the Consulate General of Canada a conference titled Deadly Dance: Arctic Warming and Global Climate Change, taking place on March 25-26.

Read the full article here.

February 25, 2013

New paper explores opportunities to regulate N₂O under the ozone regime

CIERP director William Moomaw recently co-authored (with Kanter D.R., Mauzerall D.L., Ravishankara A.R., Daniel J.S., Portmann R.W., Grabiel P., and Galloway J.N.) "A post-Kyoto partner: Considering the stratospheric ozone regime as a tool to manage nitrous oxide," published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Abstract (excerpt): Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is the largest known remaining anthropogenic threat to the stratospheric ozone layer. However, it is currently only regulated under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol because of its simultaneous ability to warm the climate. The threat N₂O poses to the stratospheric ozone layer, coupled with the uncertain future of the international climate regime, motivates our exploration of issues that could be relevant to the Parties to the ozone regime (the 1985 Vienna Convention and its 1987 Montreal Protocol) should they decide to take measures to manage N₂O in the future.

Access the paper here.

February 21, 2013

Professors Moomaw and Everett at it again

Every February, Fletcher students gather for an anticipated annual classic, the debate featuring Professors William Moomaw, CIERP Director, and Bruce Everett, Adjunct Associate Professor of International Business. The two “international energy heavyweights” discuss the year's most salient energy-related issues and debate topics ranging from renewable energy to the role of government in setting the course for technology development and the economics of climate change mitigation.

This year, they started the debate early. In the Fall 2012 edition of Issues in Science and Technology, Professor Everett published an article titled "Back to Basics on Energy Policy," in which he argues that cost and the market should decide what our energy supply mix should be, and the government should "refocus its efforts on what it has traditionally done best: supporting conceptual and technical research." Professor Moomaw issued a response to his article, published in the Winter 2013 issue, asserting that there is little evidence that the market will sufficiently take into account our national security and environmental interests.

Moomaw and Everett will continue the discussion at this year's debate on Thursday, February 28, from 6:30-8:00 PM in Fletcher's ASEAN Auditorium.

Read Professor Everett's article here.
Read Professor Moomaw's response here (scroll to the second response).
Read a summary of last year's debate here.

February 14, 2013

Extreme weather in a changing climate

What’s up with the weather?  New England has seen its share of extremes as of late, from the recent winter storm known as Nemo to Hurricane Sandy last fall. The climate is changing. That’s a fact. Figuring out how it is changing, why it is changing and what the consequences of that change will be requires a knack for science, a penchant for cross-disciplinary thinking, and the ability to explain complex subjects to a broad audience.

Enter Andrew Freedman, F10, senior science writer for Climate Central, an online publication dedicated to researching and reporting the fact of the changing climate and its effect on the United States. All weather is suspicious now, he told students and faculty at a February 14 presentation hosted by the CIERP at The Fletcher School of Law. And all weather is occurring in a changed climate.

Melding his Fletcher degree with a master’s degree in science from Columbia, Freedman is “a new breed at the intersection of climate science and journalism,” said William Moomaw, professor of international environmental and director of the CIERP. Extreme events such as record heat waves in Texas, record winter temperatures in the Northeast, and record high or low water in the Mississippi are described by experts as representative of “The New Abnormal,” Freedman said.

Read the complete event summary here.

February 6, 2013

CIERP Fellow co-authors chapter in Poverty Reduction in a Changing Climate

Rishikesh Ram Bhandary, CIERP Junior Research Fellow and a doctoral candidate at The Fletcher School, has co-authored a chapter (with Bryan Bushley) in Hari Bansha Dulal's new edited volume, Poverty Reduction in a Changing Climate. The book explores the nexus between development and climate change – how climate change will impact development outcomes, as well as how efforts to address climate change can have developmental outcomes. Bhandary and Bushley's chapter focuses on the role of carbon market instruments for forestry, in particular reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and the impact on poverty reduction. The fundamental question they examine is how the design of carbon offsets can enhance development outcomes like poverty reduction. 

Visit the publisher's website here. 

February 3, 2013

Can livestock bring back biodiversity?

The solution to a major challenge sometimes requires a paradigm-shifting discovery that dares to redefine and reshape conventional approaches. The endeavor to tackle desertification, maintain biodiversity, and improve grass cover is one such case in point where a counter intuitive practice called Holistic Management – using livestock to actually restore depleted grasslands – has been surprisingly effective.

Allan Savory, a rancher and restoration ecologist, the founder of the Savory Institute, and the originator of Holistic Management, shared his remarkable journey during a talk on January 25 at The Fletcher School titled Reversing Global Warming while Meeting Human Needs: An Urgently Needed Land-Based Option. Through his approach to reversing desertification, Savory has transformed large tracts of degraded land in Africa and four other continents.

The conventional view is that overgrazing by livestock is destructive to plants and soils and that removing them from the land heals desertification. In the early days, Savory himself was also skeptical of the usefulness of livestock and in his own words “condemned and hated” them. “I thought if we could get rid of livestock and learn to manage the wild population, we could solve the problem. I was wrong,” Savory told the audience.

Read the complete event summary here or watch Savory's full presentation below.

January 30, 2013

Tufts Now highlights link between "climate and calamity"

"Big changes in global weather mean rethinking how we respond to natural disasters—and we better think quickly." A new article in Tufts Now draws on interviews with CIERP Director William Moomaw, Peter Walker, director of Tufts' Feinstein International Center, and John Hammock, associate professor of public policy at Fletcher, to explore the links between climate change, natural disasters, and humanitarian crises, and emphasize the urgent need to anticipate and adapt to these changing conditions.

"Governments need to anticipate dangerous weather patterns and become more agile in responding when storms strike. Outside humanitarian organizations need to change the way they approach such crises—the standard tactic of parachuting in and taking charge just won’t work."

Access the complete article here.

January 28, 2013

Can the international treaty system address climate change?

While individual weather events may not be attributable to global warming, the prevailing climate does define weather patterns. Today’s climate is measurably warmer than that of fifty or one hundred years ago, causing a variety of changes that are consistent with the projected results of climate change and provide us with a preview of what might happen if global temperatures continue to rise. In his new article in the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs' Winter 2013 issue, CIERP Director William Moomaw argues that a reconfigured international approach is essential to achieving a global solution to climate change, but that it must be led by actions of both the G2: the United States and China.

Read the article here.

Access the complete Winter 2013 issue of the Fletcher Forum here.  

January 23, 2013

Professor Moomaw addresses the climate change governance challenge

WBUR's online opinion and ideas page, Cognoscenti, has featured CIERP Director William Moomaw in its series on "Climate Change. Challenges. Solutions." Professor Moomaw underscores "The Governance Challenge," lamenting the common misconception that reducing greenhouse gas emissions negatively impacts economic growth and advocating for an alternative strategy that re-frames the overall approach to addressing climate change so that it reflects the development needs of all countries and links climate protection goals to the development structure of the treaty. He argues that the current deadlock over emissions reductions could be overcome by directing international cooperation towards providing clean energy services for development. The feature also includes perspectives from Sonia Hamel, an adviser to governments and foundations on energy, transportation, and climate change policy. 

Access the WBUR feature here. 

Read Professor Moomaw's related discussion paper here: "Creating a Mutual Gains Climate Regime through Universal Clean Energy Services."

January 16, 2013

Why do governments support renewable energy?

In her new article in Daedalus, the Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher explores the motivations behind government policy on renewable energy and identifies factors that lead some countries to be much more supportive of renewables than others. This issue of Daedalus is the second volume of a two-issue focus on the alternative energy future in the United States from the point of view of social scientists.

Professor Gallagher is director of CIERP's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program.

Access the article here.

January 7, 2013

Professor Gallagher discusses energy security at Fletcher's 10th Annual London Symposium

On December 8, The Fletcher School held its 10th Annual London Symposium on the topic of “The Global Energy Security Landscape." The event included presentations by CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher (F00, F03), director of the Center's Energy, Climate and Innovation Research Program, and Anita Orban (F01, F07), Hungary’s ambassador-at-large for energy security. 

Participants included alumni working in leadership positions in the private, non-profit and public sectors; members of Fletcher’s European Advisory Group; and members of Tufts’ International Board of Advisors. Tufts University Provost David Harris provided the introductions.

Read the complete event coverage here and watch Professor Gallagher's presentation below.

December 19, 2012

Professor Gallagher explores barriers to electric vehicle deployment

CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of the Center's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program, has been appointed to the National Research Council Committee on Overcoming Barriers to Electric Vehicle Deployment. The ad hoc committee will conduct a study identifying the market barriers slowing the purchase of electric vehicles and hindering the deployment of supporting infrastructure in the United States. The committee concluded their second meeting today, which focused on charging infrastructure needs, barriers, and deployment.

Read more about the committee's membership and mandate here.

December 14, 2012

The role of science in environmental compliance: the Ramsar Convention in Central Asia

Lesley Pories, Fletcher MALD candidate (2013), attended in November “The Conference on Wetlands and the Ramsar Convention in Central Asia: Celebrating the 10th year of the Kyrgyz Republic after joining the Ramsar Convention,” which was held in Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic. The conference was followed by a three-day “Regional Technical Meeting on the Implementation of the Ramsar Convention in the Central Asia Region.” The conference sought to highlight and address a wide variety of issues at stake, from governmental policy to local problems with implementation. Lesley's trip was funded by CIERP, with additional funding from MIT. 

Follow the link below to read more about Lesley and her assessment of the role of science in the implementation and enforcement of environmental agreements, following on her experiences in Central Asia.

Read more...

November 30, 2012

CIERP Professors of Practice blog from COP18 

CIERP Professors of Practice Patrick Verkooijen, World Bank Special Representative for Climate Change, and Rachel Kyte, Vice President of Sustainable Development at the World Bank, share their thoughts on the 2012 UN Conference on Climate Change (COP18), which began November 26 in Doha and will continue through this week. Links to their posts are below.

Patrick Verkooijen, turning down the heat: "How would life be in a 4°C warmer world?" 
Read a related World Bank Report, "Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided" here and follow more World Bank expert posts from Doha here.

Rachel Kyte, on the lack of action: "A Wake Up Call."
Follow her posts here.

October 30, 2012

Professor Gallagher finds end-use technologies marginalized in energy innovation

CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of the Center's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program, has co-authored a new article in Nature Climate Change that finds that efficient end-use technologies contribute large potential emission reductions and provide higher social returns on investment than energy-supply technologies. Yet, public institutions, policies, and financial resources pervasively privilege energy-supply technologies. The article, titled “Marginalization of end-use technologies in energy innovation for climate protection,” was co-authored with Charlie Wilson, Arnulf Grubler, and Greg Nemet.

Access the article here.

October 23, 2012

Ned Spang wins Global Water Forum's Emerging Scholar Award for his Fletcher doctoral research

Recent Fletcher Ph.D. graduate and former CIERP Research Fellow Edward Spang won first prize in the Global Water Forum's Emerging Scholar Award competition for a summary of his Fletcher dissertation, "A thirst for power: A global analysis of water consumption for energy production." Ned is currently Program Manager for the Center for Water-Energy Efficiency (CWEE) at UC Davis. 

Access his paper here. 

October 22, 2012

Public Perception Key to Wind Energy Project Success

The development of new sources of renewable energy is crucial in achieving energy security, and wind energy is certainly one of them as wind turbines installed at various locations across the country are gradually increasing their contribution to electricity generation. As these projects develop, it is imperative to take local communities into consideration before starting new initiatives, as their support is an integral component of successful projects.

Maria Petrova, a postdoctoral research fellow at CIERP, recently completed research on measuring the perceptions among local communities about wind energy projects. In her presentation entitled Public Perceptions of Wind Energy Projects in Massachusetts, Petrova shared results demonstrating that communities tend to support such projects provided their benefits are explained to residents in a timely and coherent manner.

Read the complete event summary...

October 3, 2012

Professor Gallagher presents on the global diffusion of cleaner energy technologies

CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of the Center's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program, recently gave a presentation on the global diffusion of cleaner energy technologies at the University of Texas at Austin's Energy Institute. Her presentation offers a preview of her new book on the topic, forthcoming from The MIT Press in 2013. The book identifies the conditions necessary for motivating the international diffusion of cleaner energy technologies, and empirically investigates the extent to which certain barriers and incentives to their movement across international borders are valid in the Chinese context.

Watch a video of her presentation here.

September 27, 2012

Fletcher Professor of Practice Verkooijen calls to step up climate action during Climate Vulnerability Forum

Fletcher Professor of Practice and World Bank Special Representative for Climate Change Patrick Verkooijen, jointly with Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dipu Moni, assessed the findings of the just-released 2012 Climate Vulnerability Monitor during a High Level event in New York in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week. The Climate Vulnerability Monitor 2nd Edition reveals that climate change has already held back global development, and inaction is a leading global cause of death. Harm is most acute for poor and vulnerable groups, but no country is spared either the costs of inaction or the lost benefits of an alternative path. Commissioned by the world’s most vulnerable countries and backed by high-level and technical panels, the new Monitor estimates human and economic impacts of climate change and the carbon economy for 184 countries in 2010 and 2030, across 34 indicators.

During the High Level panel Professor Verkooijen noted that "we need to act now as cheap mitigation options disappear as economies become locked into high-carbon infrastructure planning. The world – and the poor in particular – simply cannot afford to lose the climate battle in the decade ahead." Professor Verkooijen highlighted that we have limited time to put in motion an action regime that places all countries on climate resilient growth paths, providing jobs, competitiveness and livelihoods for all.

View a video of the panel discussion here. 

September 24, 2012

Is Sustainability a Myth?

In an age of depleting energy reserves, growing resource shortages, and mounting environmental challenges, the promise of sustainable development and renewable energy indeed brings hope and reassurance. But the question remains: are we expecting too much from sustainable means of growth?

During a talk at The Fletcher School on September 24 hosted by CIERP's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Research Seminar Series, the US Ambassador to Finland, Bruce J. Oreck, laid bare the astounding gap between energy demand and supply, and spoke of the potential consequences that might result from this disparity.

Read the complete event summary...

September 11, 2012

Professor Moomaw talks about resettlement in China on China Radio International

China Radio International's daily radio show "Today," broadcast in hour-long segments, interviewed CIERP Director William Moomaw, along with Yao Yongling, Professor at the Institute of Regional and Urban Economics in the School of Public Administration at Renmin University of China, and Mike Bastin, Researcher at Nottingham University's School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, on the impacts of forced resettlement in China. As framed by CRI:

"China has resettled 1.7 million people for the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, a huge human project probably unprecedented in history. But that's not the end of the story. The threat of landslides along the dam's banks will force tens of thousands to move again in the same area! Resettlement of residents out of the disaster-prone areas has almost become a standard practice for Chinese governments. Following the July 21 downpour in Beijing, the city government also plans to move 74,000 residents in mountainous areas in rural Beijing."

Listen to the program here. 

September 10, 2012

Maliheh Birjandi Feriz honored by WRI for summer research

In a competition among all summer interns at the World Resources Institute, Maliheh Birjandi Feriz, a Fletcher MALD candidate and CIERP research assistant, was awarded the Prize for Best Research Content for her work on allocation mechanisms of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Working with the International Financial Flows and Environment (IFEE) team, she studied various options for resource allocation used in existing multilateral, bilateral, and national funds, and researched possible guiding principles for an equitable allocation of resources in the context of the Green Climate Fund. Her research will be published in the coming months.

For more information on her work, contact m.birjandi_feriz@tufts.edu.

August 30, 2012

CIERP welcomes two new Professors of Practice 

Rachel Kyte, Vice President of Sustainable Development at the World Bank, and Andrew Steer, President of the World Resources Institute, have been named Professors of Practice at CIERP. Their engagement strengthens the Center's Sustainable Development Diplomacy and Governance program, offering faculty and students the opportunity to engage with top leaders in the field. Kyte and Steer join current CIERP Professors of Practice Hans Hoogeveen, Director General of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, and Patrick Verkooijen, Special Representative for Climate Change at the World Bank. Professors of Practice spend time on campus participating in courses, seminars, and special events, as well as advising students.

Read more about Kyte and Steer here...

August 15, 2012

What makes U.S. energy consumers tick?

CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of the Center's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program, explores this question in a new article by the same name published in the Summer issue of Issues in Science and Technology. Written together with John Randell of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, where Professor Gallagher was a Visiting Scholar in the spring, the piece emphasizes the social dimensions of energy innovation, especially the question of what makes consumers adopt more efficient energy technologies, and argues for increased attention to the social sciences in energy policy. The article is part of a special section of the magazine on the social and behavioral dimensions of environmental policy. 

Access the article here.
Read a response to the article by Cora Marrett, Deputy Director, National Science Foundation (scroll to the bottom section).

July 31, 2012

Professor Gallagher explores the concept of an energy technology innovation system 

CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of the Center's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program, recently co-authored an article titled "The Energy Technology Innovation System" in the Annual Review of Environment and Resources. Her co-authors include CIERP Junior Research Fellow and Ph.D. student Laura Kuhl, as well as Arnulf Grubler of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Gregory Nemet of the Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin, and Charlie Wilson of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. The article derives from a chapter Professor Gallagher, her co-authors, and others wrote on innovation in the Global Energy Assessment, which will be released in fall 2012. 

Access the article here.

July 30, 2012

CIERP Professor of Practice appointed World Bank Special Representative for Climate Change

The World Bank has announced that Patrick Verkooijen, Non-Resident Professor of Practice of Sustainable Development Diplomacy at CIERP, has been appointed as its Special Representative for Climate Change. Verkooijen will leave his current post as Head of Agriculture and Climate Change at the World Bank for the new position and as such serves as principal advisor to the Vice President of Sustainable Development, specifically in engaging with the UN and other partners leading global efforts in the climate change area. Verkooijen brings his experience as an international negotiator and coordinator in international sustainable development and climate change activities to his new post. 

Verkooijen's Professorship at CIERP focuses on his co-lecturing of the sustainable development diplomacy (SDD) course, in close collaboration with CIERP Director William Moomaw and Professor of Practice Hans Hoogeveen. Verkooijen is a former student of Professor Moomaw, and they have worked together on international sustainability issues over the past decade.

Read more about Verkooijen here.

July 29, 2012

Professor Moomaw speaks about reframing environmental negotiations on Maria Armoudian's "Insighters and Scholars' Circle" radio program

CIERP Director William Moomaw participated in a virtual roundtable discussion on climate change and how low carbon technologies might address it. The program was broadcast live on several stations in California and the Midwest (the archived version is linked below). Other participants included Professor Mark Jacobson of Stanford University, whose expertise is on the technical aspects of meeting energy needs with renewables, and Ravi Rajan, who spoke about the adverse implications of climate change on developing countries and how they too could benefit from renewable energy. Professor Moomaw spoke about the shortfalls of current treaty negotiations, emphasizing that what we really need is a development agreement that will deliver clean energy services to all rather than a pollution control treaty to limit emissions. He also outlined the notion of how it will be multiple actors at different scales implementing strategies that will solve the problem, and not a top down treaty. 

Listen to the program here.

Read Professor Moomaw's recent paper on the topic: "Creating a Mutual Gains Climate Regime through Universal Clean Energy Services."

July 15, 2012

Reflecting on Rio+20

At the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, world leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs, and other groups, came together to discuss how to reduce poverty, advance social equity, and ensure environmental protection. Members of the CIERP, Fletcher, and broader Tufts community were there, including Fletcher Ph.D. Candidates Laura Kuhl and Andrew Tirrell. Kuhl, a CIERP Research Fellow, also participated in a side event co-sponsored by CIERP and Tufts Institute of the Environment, which explored how to reframe environmental negotiations from a pollution prevention framework to opportunities for sustainable development. The event was moderated by Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director of CIERP's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program, and featured additional speakers from the Stockholm Environment Institute, WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, United Nations Foundation, World Resources Institute, and Tufts School of Engineering.

Kuhl and Tirrell offer their reflections on Rio+20 here.  

July 2, 2012

Fletcher alumnus co-authors report on ICT, cities, and climate change in Africa

Gaurav Relhan, a Fletcher alumnus (MALD 2010) who works with the World Bank as a development specialist for the Africa region, recently co-authored a report related to Information & Communication Technologies (ICT), cities, and climate change in Africa. The work has launched a global policy dialogue for inculcating greater ICT-based citizen participation towards helping cities in Africa adapt to climate change, and also led to the development of the ICT tool called 'Taarifa' which can enable citizens to engage with their governments in this regard. The report and accompanying video are featured on the World Bank's external website.

Access the report here.

June 25, 2012

China Radio International interviews Professor Moomaw on Rio+20

China Radio International's daily radio show "Today," broadcast in hour-long segments, interviewed CIERP Director William Moomaw and Pan Jiahua, Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, on the outcomes of the recent Rio+20 summit in Brazil. As framed by CRI:

"Over 45 thousand delegates gathered for ten days in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to assess the world's progress for sustainable development. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, dubbed Rio+20, commemorates the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio that laid out ambitious goals for climate change, poverty reduction, and economic development. But as the summit closed, critics disparaged the outcomes as vague and weak."

Listen to the program here.

June 23, 2012

Professor Moomaw on WGBH's "Innovation Hub"

Radio host Kara Miller interviewed CIERP Director William Moomaw – along with Shafiqul Islam, professor and director of the Water Diplomacy Initiative at Tufts School of Engineering, and Lisa Sorgini Marchewka, vice president of Oasys Water – on the increasing scarcity of water and what it could mean for security, cost, and access.

Access the audio here.

June 11, 2012

Professor Moomaw and Research Fellow Maria Petrova contribute to REN21 Renewables 2012 Global Status Report

Renewable energy markets and policy frameworks have evolved rapidly in recent years. The Renewables Global Status Report, an annual publication of the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, launched its most recent edition on June 11. CIERP Director William Moomaw, Section Author, worked with Postdoctoral Fellow Maria Petrova, Lead Topical Contributor, to produce the chapter on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 

The report notes that during 2011, renewables continued to grow strongly in all end-use sectors – power, heating and cooling and transport. Renewable sources have grown to supply 16.7 % of global final energy consumption.

Read more and download the report...

June 9, 2012

Professor Moomaw co-authors UNEP discussion paper in advance of Rio+20

CIERP Director William Moomaw recently co-authored “The Critical Role of Global Food Consumption Patterns in Achieving Sustainable Food Systems and Food for All, A UNEP Discussion Paper," published in advance of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The paper was written with Timothy Griffin of the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University, and Kristen Kurczak F'04 and James Lomax of UNEP. 

The authors present a novel perspective on the need to consider (and change) food consumption patterns in order to meet growing demand, arguing that we cannot produce our way out of the growing demand for food and must therefore change our current and projected consumption patterns.

Read more and download the paper... 

June 2, 2012

Professor Moomaw interviewed by Living on Earth: Anticipating Rio+20

Living on Earth host Steve Curwood interviewed CIERP Director William Moomaw yesterday about how to make the upcoming Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development more productive than previous environmental summits.

Listen to the interview or read the transcript here.

June 1, 2012

CIERP to host side event at Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

On June 18, CIERP will host "From Burden Bearing to Opportunity Sharing: Reframing Environmental Negotiations," in conjunction with the Rio+20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event will focus on how the current negotiations can shift from a pollution prevention framework to opportunities for sustainable development through access to cleaner energy technologies, resilient development, access to fresh water, and improved health. 

More information and event details...

May 22, 2012

Blinded by the (solar) light: Professor Gallagher writes piece for Financial Times

In this opinion piece, CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of the Center's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program, and Kevin P. Gallagher, associate professor of international relations at Boston University, argue that the preliminary decision to impose dumping tariffs on imports of solar panels from China is short sighted and contrary to U.S. interests. 

Read the complete piece here.

May 18, 2012

New CIERP discussion papers published

CIERP has published two new discussion papers as part of its Energy, Climate, and Innovation and Sustainable Development Diplomacy and Governance research programs. 

"Assessing Reverse Auctions as a Policy Tool for Renewable Energy Deployment," by Paolo Cozzi, looks at the use of reverse auctions to promote deployment of renewable energy in the U.K., China, and Brazil, and identifies the principal factors that influenced each country’s decision to adopt a reverse auction and what factors led to its success or failure. 

"Creating a Mutual Gains Climate Regime through Universal Clean Energy Services," by CIERP Director William Moomaw and Mihaela Papa, draws on climate policy scholarship and negotiation analysis to analyse why the current climate negotiations approach does not produce an effective climate agreement, and explores how to build on each country’s interests – which are surprisingly similar and tend to focus on economic development rather than emissions reductions – to create mutual gains outcomes for all parties.

Browse CIERP's recent publications here.

April 26, 2012

Biofuels: Propelling the World toward a Low-Carbon Future

The aviation industry regards sustainable and affordable biofuels as vital to reducing its carbon footprint and improving its environmental credentials. Efforts are underway to develop and increase the use of alternative fuel for aviation. Cristina Haus F'81, Executive Editor of Jet Fuel Intelligence for Energy Intelligence Group, believes use of low-carbon fuels by commercial and military aircraft will pave the way for broader use of advanced biofuels in other sectors of the economy. In her talk at The Fletcher School on “Aviation Biofuels: Propelling the World toward a Low-Carbon Future,” Haus discussed huge strikes made by the aviation industry since 2005 to test and certify new fuels for aviation use. Motivation for this drive comes not just from their goal for carbon neutral growth, but also due to nagging concerns about supply security as oil firms exit the downstream refining business and unprofitable refineries are shut down.

Read the complete event summary...

April 25, 2012

Professor Tanaka awarded funding for summer research in China

Shinsuke Tanaka, assistant professor of economics based at CIERP, received a summer research grant from The Fletcher School’s Hitachi Center for Technology and International Affairs to study the effect of environmental regulations in China on technological innovation in the electricity industry. Since 1995, the Chinese government has imposed stringent regulations on pollutant emissions from power plants, one of the first attempts in a developing country. The study aims to investigate the extent to which the regulations led to an improvement in productivity through innovation, and to examine the overall impact of the regulations on industrial activities, such as output, profit, and employment.

Visit Professor Tanaka's website here.

April 21, 2012

A state’s progressive energy policy: initiative, innovation and economic development

The absence of a federal approach to critical energy issues means that states have the imperative to take action on their own, keeping in mind that economic development is a key metric of a successful energy policy and that spurring innovation is part of the answer. 

Dr. Barbara Kates-Garnick, Massachusetts Undersecretary for Energy, is not shy about expressing her state’s determination to be a leader in progressive energy policy. During the closing keynote address of the seventh annual Tufts Energy Conference, co-sponsored by CIERP, she spoke about the policy pursued by the Commonwealth to try to satisfy growing energy needs, create green jobs, and position Massachusetts as a global energy innovation leader. 

The Tufts campus was a familiar environment for Dr. Kates-Garnick. She received her Ph.D. from The Fletcher School, where “her interest in energy policy first sparked, thanks to the coursework and the professors.”

Read the complete event summary... 

April 20, 2012

Challenges and opportunities of energy demand in developing countries

From the respective roles of the private and public sectors in electricity generation to the main challenges of operating in the African continent, from the contribution of state-owned enterprises to ways to ensure the energy sector doesn't disturb another pillar of the economy, there are numerous considerations for business and policy leaders interested in energy in the developing world.

“Electricity generation is the cornerstone of what people care about when they talk about development,” explained Joseph Brandt, President and Chief Executive Officer of CountourGlobal, during a recent panel at The Fletcher School. “It’s critical to understand what kind of energy people don’t have access to,” added Dai Jones, President and General Manager of Tullow Oil Ghana. “If it’s energy for cooking, then you need to get them gas instead of wood, as it’s the case in most of rural African communities.”

The panel, titled “Meeting Growing Energy Demand in Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities,” was part of the seventh annual Tufts Energy Conference, a two-day event co-sponsored by CIERP that brings business, government and NGO leaders together to share ideas and discuss today’s most salient energy issues. Professor William Moomaw, CIERP Director, chaired the panel and moderated the discussion.

Read the complete event summary...  

March 29, 2012

Opportunities and challenges of shale gas

Large shale gas discoveries in the last few years have had a significant impact on the US carbon emissions outlook, and large reserves of shale gas and its increased production is also expected to reduce energy dependence on other countries.  

However, there will be no end to controversies surrounding shale gas extraction until environmental concerns are properly addressed, said Susan Tierney, Managing Principal at Analysis Group, during a recent talk at Fletcher. 

Tierney recently served on two committees - the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) and the National Petroleum Council (NPC) committee on the size of the gas resource base in the US and Canada. The committee’s main task was to find out what could be done in near term to improve the environmental and safety performance of shale gas extraction.

Read the complete event summary...

March 27, 2012

Professor Gallagher quoted by Bloomberg News

CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of the Center's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program, was quoted in a story by Bloomberg News covering China's multi-faceted efforts at cutting its carbon emissions from coal.

“If the Chinese don’t dramatically reduce carbon emissions from coal, there’s no way we can make a dent in climate change globally in the time period that matters,” she said.

Read the article here.

Read a similar article in the New Zealand Herald which also quotes Gallagher. (April 27)

March 26, 2012

The Arctic Council a model for global cooperation

How does a region go from being a major focus of military confrontation to one of the most fascinating models of international cooperation in less than two decades?

This is a question Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, the sitting President of Iceland, was delighted to answer at the concluding session of a two-day conference held at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Over the course of his lifetime and his impressive public service career, President Grímsson has witnessed the sensational evolution of the Arctic region. It has transformed from one of the most potentially destructive places in the world – the military center of the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union – to a prime example of cooperation across national and institutional boundaries.

Read the complete event summary...

March 21, 2012

Professor Gallagher interviewed on "prospects for a renewable future"

CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of the Center's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program, was interviewed this week by the foreign policy magazine IP, a publication of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). As framed by IP:

"New investments in China and the Middle East have demonstrated a developing strategic interest in renewable energies. Yet every country still faces obstacles: be it legislation in the United States or enforcement and rapid development in China. Kelly Sims Gallagher of The Fletcher School at Tufts University sits down with IP to talk about the future of energy policy and its effects on foreign relations."

Read the interview transcript here.

March 12, 2012

NIMBY-ism: a threat to renewables or a justified concern?

The prospect of irreversible climate change and depleting energy resources has necessitated significant investment in renewable energy projects. However, local opposition to clean energy projects has proved to be a major hindrance to expanding them on a large scale. In fact, some consider NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard) attitudes to be the single greatest barrier to wind project investment. Maria Petrova, a postdoctoral research fellow at CIERP, explored the various facets of this opposition in her presentation titled “NIMBY-ism and Wind Power – a New Look at an Old Problem” on March 12.

Read the complete event summary...

March 2, 2012

Professor Gallagher tracks U.S. energy RD&D budget for FY13

With colleague Laura Diaz Anadon of the Harvard Kennedy School, CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher has tracked the U.S. energy RD&D budgets for the past several years, building upon earlier work by Paul de Sa, Ambuj Sagar, and John Holdren. Gallagher and Diaz Anadon have recently updated the data to include the Obama Administration’s budget request for FY13 and also provide some limited data now on deployment. Notable changes in this year’s request are a significant ramp-down in coal R&D, a ramp up in energy efficiency, and the Obama Administration’s large request for a HomeStar program to accelerate deployment of efficient building technologies.

View the database here.

March 1, 2012

Minerals, the resource nexus and international governance

The international community needs to pay more attention to the role of minerals and other critical, lesser-known resources as part of a comprehensive international resource strategy, according to Dr. Raimund Bleischwitz, Transatlantic Academy Fellow and Co-Director, Material Flows and Resource Management, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.

During a talk at The Fletcher School, Dr. Bleischwitz posited that “future risks and threats are likely to arise from the nexus of using all natural resources rather than from individual resources alone.”

The looming need for additional sources of energy is well known and amply discussed. What is recognized to a lesser degree is that demand will grow for all resources in the coming years, especially for metal ores and non-metallic minerals.

Read the complete event summary... 

February 22, 2012

CIERP Research Fellow describes Durban experience, opportunities for young climate leaders   

Kartikeya Singh, Junior Research Fellow at CIERP, discusses in an exclusive interview his experience at the COP-17 meeting in Durban, the shortcomings and achievements of the conference, the opportunity to write a new chapter in climate negotiations and his research interests. View the complete Q&A here.

What was the outcome of Durban?

See the full Q&A...

February 14, 2012

Former Research Fellows share pride in NGO recognition 

When a magnitude seven earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, The Fletcher School was on winter break. But as the extent of the damage started to become evident to the international community in the days following the disaster, a group of students rapidly mobilized to help the humanitarian response with an innovative and far-reaching project.

Last month, almost exactly two years later, The Global Journal published a ranking of the world’s 100 best NGOs, placing Ushahidi, an organization started in Kenya in 2008, in the tenth spot. While thousands of miles separate Nairobi from Medford, CIERP and the broader Fletcher community were particularly pleased to hear about the NGO’s recognition, as during those traumatic weeks of early 2010, a connection was forged that would contribute greatly to the relief efforts.

Read the full story...

February 13, 2012

Professor Gallagher comments on the economic costs of China's air pollution

CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher is quoted in a story posted by MITnews highlighting a recent MIT study assessing air pollution-related health damages in China and their associated costs. According to Professor Gallagher, the study "confirms earlier estimates of major damages to the Chinese economy from air pollution, and in fact, finds that the damages are even greater than previously thought." Professor Gallagher is Director of CIERP's Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program.

Read the MITnews story here.

Read a related article in USA Today.

February 9, 2012

A silent revolution unfolding against climate change

Finding a lasting solution to climate change has been part of environmental diplomacy for several decades, but it is only in last few years that a growing sense of impending crisis has forced world leaders to think beyond immediate interests and come up with effective and concrete ideas.

Andrew Steer, special envoy for climate change at the World Bank, said during a talk at the Fletcher School that policymakers from both developed and developing countries now recognize the gravity of the situation and a consensus is emerging, which may set a new course for the global fight against climate change. “15 years ago there was this belief that climate change was a worry of rich countries who can afford it and that poor countries were too busy getting developed. It is not the case now. The countries we work with are very concerned about climate change.”

Read the complete event summary...

View Steer's presentation slides here. 

February 8, 2012

Kartikeya Singh demystifyies the Durban outcome

In his article in The Fletcher Forum – "From Pillars to Platform: Demystifying the Durban Outcome" – CIERP Fellow Kartikeya Singh offers a first-hand account of the negotiations at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) in Durban, South Africa last November. Singh participated in the discussions as Attache to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Maldives to the UN, New York. He was an advisor and negotiator and was in charge of delegation coordination and covering the issue of finance. In the past he had been a negotiator for the Maldives on the issues of mitigation (1bii) and technology transfer.

Read the complete piece here.

Read an article in which Singh comments on the climate community's reaction to the ousting of Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed.

February 8, 2012

Moomaw, Everett exchange views in ninth round of acclaimed debate series

Over one hundred students from The Fletcher School and Tufts University gathered in the ASEAN Auditorium last week to attend the ninth installment of what has become an anticipated yearly classic, the debate featuring Professors William Moomaw, CIERP Director, and Bruce Everett, Adjunct Associate Professor of International Business. Over the course of 90 minutes, the two “international energy heavyweights,” as the event organizers referred to them, discussed today’s most salient energy-related issues and debated topics ranging from the promise and value of renewable energy to the role of government in setting the course for technology development.

Read the complete event summary...

Read about the Fletcher student pre-debate showdown here.

February 8, 2012

Professor Gallagher presents at 2012 National Electricity Forum

CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, who directs the Energy, Climate, and Innovation Research Program, gave a speech at the 2012 National Electricity Forum titled “Beyond Technology: Strengthening Energy Policy Through Social Science.” Presenters and participants convened at the Forum to consider how collaboration can help modernize the nation's electricity infrastructure. Professor Gallagher's presentation, titled "Beyond Technology: Strengthening Energy Policy through Social Science," argued that as technical infrastructure changes occur, its corresponding non-technical socioeconomic, legal, or economic infrastructure should change as well.

Read a summary of her presentation here.

February 7, 2012

A new addition to tradition: Fletcher students debate environmental issues

The keystone pipeline has been one of the most controversial environmental issues in recent times that has rocked the US political circles and generated heated debate. The Obama administration last month rejected the Keystone XL pipeline project that would link the tar sands of Alberta to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico, yet the debate has not died down. At Fletcher, battle lines were drawn on Tuesday night when Kartik Misra and Katie Walsh passionately defended their positions with incisive arguments on the issue. The student debate is a new addition to a long standing Fletcher tradition – a pre-cursor to the annual Moomaw/Everett showdown, which took place the following evening.

Read the complete event summary...

Read about the Moomaw/Everett debate here. 

February 7, 2012

Professor Moomaw interviewed about presidential politics and climate change

CIERP Director William Moomaw was interviewed as part of an article on "The Presidential Politics of Ignoring Climate Change," by Jason Margolis of PRI's THE WORLD. The story addresses how climate change has fallen off the list of touted candidate priorities, and how even mentioning climate change has become politically disadvantageous. Professor Moomaw sums up the stance of most Republican candidates: "They believe that addressing climate change will require government action, or even worse, intergovernmental action." On the push to repeal the law signed by President George W. Bush in 2007 requiring more efficient lightbulbs, Moomaw said, "to be denied their right to put any lightbulb in any socket in America is just too much control, a loss of freedom."

Listen to the audio or read the full article here.

February 6, 2012

Professor Moomaw authors article on "Creating a mutual gains climate regime through universal clean energy services"

CIERP's Sustainable Development Diplomacy and Governance (SDDG) program applies mutual gains concepts and other negotiating principles to global environmental agreements to promote sustainable and resilient management of global resources. One focus of the program is on how to reframe the current climate negotiations from a pollution control treaty to an agreement that addresses development needs, e.g. the provision of clean energy services. CIERP Director, William Moomaw, expands upon this topic in his recent article, "Creating a mutual gains climate regime through universal clean energy services," published in January by Climate Policy and co-authored with Mihaela Papa, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Law School who also earned her Ph.D. in International Relations and her M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School.

Read the abstract and/or the full article text here.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Professor Moomaw on NPR to discuss his zero net energy home

In an interview produced by David Freudberg of HUMANKIND, CIERP Director William Moomaw offers "the fascinating story of how one of the world’s top climate scientists and his wife designed and built an elegant home that has become a national model of how to enjoy a comfortable life with minimal impact on the environment." The program also includes Frances Moore Lappe, author of ‘EcoMind’ and co-Founder, Small Planet Institute.

Read more about the interview, listen to a free excerpt, or buy the complete audio
here.

Read more about Professor Moomaw's zero net energy grid-connected home here. 

January 27, 2012

CIERP Fellow Maria Petrova offers insight on renewable energy technology adoption

Maria Petrova, a postdoctoral research fellow at CIERP, analyzes US climate and renewable energy policy, and studies the impact of social networks on public opinion. In this interview, she discusses in detail her research area, and the role of social networks in influencing renewable energy technology (RET) adoption. She also talks about her past research on wave energy development at Oregon State University.

Q: In your research you’re focusing on US climate and renewable energy policy from a socio-economic and policy perspective. Could you tell us more about it? Listen to her answer here.

Q: How can social networks influence RET adoption? Listen to her answer here.

Q: Is public perception, in your view, a driving force or an obstacle to RET adoption? Listen to her answer here.

Q: Tell us more about you and your previous research. Listen to her answer here.

-Interview by Sachin Gaur, MALD candidate F13

Read the interview transcript here.

January 25, 2012

Reversing global warming and desertification with... livestock?

The challenge of global warming and desertification has been on environmentalists’ radar for quite some time. Traditional methods have been employed to stem desertification and revive degraded grasslands, but these efforts have fallen short of the desired results. However, a new practice called Holistic Management, pioneered by the Savory Institute, has demonstrated remarkable results in restoring depleted grasslands in Africa.

Using cattle to reverse desertification may sound counter intuitive, and rightly so; nonetheless, the Africa Center for Holistic Management (ACHM) in Zimbabwe is doing just that, using livestock to improve both grass cover and water cycle. Seth Itzkan, president of Planet-TECH Associates, a consultancy that investigates trends and innovations, gave a presentation at Fletcher on January 25 about Reversing Global Warming and Desertification with Livestock. Itzkan recently spent six weeks with the ACHM where he saw first-hand how livestock are being used to restore depleted grasslands, and in the process improving the livelihoods of local villagers. This practice also has import for climate change, because even slight replenishment of grassland soils would sequester significantly quantities of atmospheric carbon.

Read the complete event summary...

January 25, 2012

Economics expert discusses benefits of energy-efficient business practices

By Shana Friedman,Tufts Daily – Energy economics expert Joseph Stanislaw visited the Hill Monday night to host a dialogue addressing the implications of changes in the energy system to global security, safety and stability.

Stanislaw focused mainly on the economic benefits that can be achieved through widespread adoption of systems that use less energy and how the Internet can be used to accomplish this goal.

"[The Internet] is the biggest job-creating machine ever," he said. "We're talking about how to use information to drive resource reduction."

The event, titled "Energy in a Changing World," consisted of a brief lecture by Stanislaw followed by a question-and-answer session. It was co-sponsored by the Fletcher Energy Consortium and the Tufts Energy Forum.

Read the full article here.

January 19, 2012

Rio+20 summit is about green growth

Almost twenty years ago, the world saw the emergence of new global-political issues such as sustainable development, climate change, and ecological degradation that changed the discourse on development and environmental conservation. These issues prompted governments, business communities, trade unions, local authorities, and NGOs to come to the table during the Earth Summit at Rio in 1992. Two decades after the first summit at Rio, policymakers will be meeting again at the Rio+20 summit in June to talk about new pathways to sustainable development.

Rachel Kyte, in her talk at The Fletcher School last week entitled From Rio to Rio: Moving towards Sustainable Development in a Multi-speed World, told the audience, “There was this hope around Rio (1992) that we were launching off into something new, something different.” Kyte is Vice President of Sustainable Development at the World Bank.

Read the complete event summary...

January 2, 2012

Professor Moomaw discusses EU "Aviation Emissions Tax"

Professor William Moomaw, CIERP Director, recently participated in a China Radio International forum. The hour-long program, which aired in Beijing on January 2, addressed key questions pertaining to the EU's recent "Aviation Emissions Tax," which requires all flights in or out of Europe to participate in the EU carbon emissions trading system. Is this justified? Is it legal under international law? Why should non-EU airlines have to buy emission credits to fly there? Does it make a difference for the climate, and how much will it cost? Why should airlines of developing countries have to pay anything? Why has the International Civil Aviation Organization of the UN failed after ten years to get an agreement on carbon emissions from aircraft? How can one address emissions that are not within the Kyoto Protocol? Other discussants included Paul Ekins, Professor of Energy and Environment Policy at University College London's Energy Institute, and Yang Fuqiang, Senior Advisor on Climate and Energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Much of the discussion centered around the fact that some airlines might never have to pay anything if they operate more efficiently, and that the measure is not actually a tax. In the short term, changing flight patterns and reducing fuel burning on the ground might be sufficient to meet the targets of low carbon without any payments at all. In the long term, more efficient aircraft will also make a difference.  Participants agreed that the EU action is a positive step, and that it just might shock the international system into coming up with a global agreement to address carbon emissions.

Listen to the full program here (January 2, hour one). 

December 12, 2011

New York Times Dot Earth opinion page features essay by Professor Moomaw

In his piece titled "A Post-Pollution Path to Global Climate and Energy Progress," Andrew Revkin, author of the NYT's Dot Earth, highlighted for readers a recent essay by CIERP Director William Moomaw and Mihaela Papa, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Law School. In Revkin's words, the essay proposes "ways to invigorate the faltering climate treaty process by shifting the focus from confrontations over emissions to collaborative work encouraging access to modern energy choices while limiting environmental harms."

Read the complete essay here.

Read another great Dot Earth post here. 

December 9, 2011

Professor Gallagher interviewed about the stalemate in UN climate negotiations

PRI's THE WORLD Host Marco Werman spoke with CIERP Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher yesterday about the stalemate in the UN climate negotiations. Professor Gallagher advocated for the US and China to step outside the UN process to try to reach an agreement on the climate and other issues. Professor Gallagher directs CIERP's Energy, Climate, and Innovation research program.

Listen to the full audio interview or read the transcript here.

December 5, 2011

Professor Moomaw discusses climate talks and climate change mitigation policy

Professor William Moomaw, Director of CIERP, discusses the international negotiations at Durban, the prospects for future climate change mitigation agreements, the situation in the United States and his latest areas of research during an exclusive interview last week. Below he adresses the need for an international agreement on climate change. View the complete Q&A here.

Why is there a critical need for an international agreement on climate change right now?

 

See the full Q&A...

December 2, 2011

Youth Network in India takes on the issue of climate change

At the UN Climate Change Conference in 2007, when an Indian delegate snubbed current CIERP Fellow Kartikeya Singh and disparaged his role in the negotiations, his resolve to fight climate change grew stronger. This episode made him change his approach to the issue. Determined to bring a fresh perspective in the climate change debate and make his voice heard, Singh, along with Deepa Gupta, founded a group in Delhi called the Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) for young Indians interested in climate change issues.

In 2008, the group organized the first Delhi Youth Summit on climate change (DYSoC), with more than 200 participants. The first summit proved to be a huge success and later on, IYCN organized several other summits and became part of climate conferences. In a recent interview with the Bridge to India consulting company, Singh, who is pursuing a PhD in International Affairs at The Fletcher School, recounted his IYCN journey and said that the human factor cannot be neglected if you want to achieve sustainable development in this world.

Read the full article...

November 28 - December 9

CIERP Fellow Kartikeya Singh writes from COP17

"Working Together: Saving Tomorrow Today," the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP7) to the Kyoto Protocol, has begun in Durban, South Africa, and will continue through December 9. CIERP Junior Research Fellow Kartikeya Singh is participating in the discussions as Attache to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Maldives to the UN, New York. He is serving as an advisor and negotiator and is in charge of delegation coordination and covering the issue of finance. In the past he has been a negotiator for the Maldives on the issues of mitigation (1bii) and technology transfer.

Follow Singh's updates from Durban on Twitter: @KartikeyaSingh

Follow Singh's blog: http://whatswiththeclimate.org

Read more about Singh's involvement at the conference...

November 16, 2011

Ebinger calls for enhanced cooperation on energy security among South Asian countries

India's march toward rapid development generates hope and optimism, but a growing mismatch between supply and demand presents enormous challenges. Charles Ebinger, Director of the Energy Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution, painted a bleak scenario when he talked about the likelihood of India facing a severe energy crisis by 2035. Ebinger, who recently wrote Energy Security in South Asia: Cooperation and Conflict, delivered a lecture on the topic at The Fletcher School on November 16 as part of an ongoing Resource Conflicts Seminar Series.

Charles Ebinger has worked with every government in Pakistan since 1977, advised many governments in Nepal, and has been a part of the regulatory reform process in eight states in India. He said that despite being beset with instability, Pakistan has been able to maintain fairly impressive growth, and Bangladesh is not far behind. However, the staggering growth in population, ever-growing energy needs, and massive urbanization in South Asian countries are putting immense pressure on energy supplies. He stressed the importance of greater cooperation among South Asian countries to tackle the impending energy crisis.

Read the complete event summary...

November 14, 2011

Professor Moomaw Presents Findings of Special IPCC Report

As part of its mission, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information in order to bridge the gap between the scientific community and policymakers. In its latest special report, the IPCC sought to explore what role renewable energy sources could have in climate change mitigation going forward, both in developing and developed countries.

The Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, which is available online and is set to come out in print this fall, involved 130 authors from around the world who reviewed the existing literature and conducted independent analysis. Professor William Moomaw, Director of CIERP and a Convening Lead Author of the report, discussed the report’s findings during a lecture at the Fletcher School, explaining that renewable energy sources can play a considerable role in global efforts to combat climate change.

Read the complete event summary...

November 1, 2011

Tufts President Anthony Monaco highlights multidisciplinary focus on water resources

Tufts University recently inaugurated Anthony P. Monaco as its 13th president in a ceremony held on the Medford/Somerville campus. Monaco, a distinguished neuroscientist, in his inaugural address brought to the attention of the audience that almost a billion people around the world don’t have access to clean water every day.

He said Tufts University identifies this problem and is addressing it by marshaling resources in six different schools, including The Fletcher School, under a single program, Water: Systems, Science and Society. “This is a complex issue that encompasses politics, climate, engineering, medicine and agriculture,” said Monaco, who was robed in the Tufts colors of brown and blue.

Monaco said that Tufts students recently were involved in an agreement between Jordan and Palestine to collaborate on the management of water resources. “This is the first step in a plan to bring together other countries in the Middle East, where conflicts over water are common—and clean water is often scarcer than oil,” Monaco noted in his inaugural address.

Citing Prof. Richard Vogel, CIERP affiliate and faculty chair of the water program, Monaco said that “it takes a university” to solve such daunting challenges. The president said that his administration will emphasize these kinds of interdisciplinary programs—ones that “address multiculturalism and globalization as well as issues in environmental, life and health sciences. If we focus on shared goals and integrate our activities across our schools, we can greatly amplify Tufts’ impact on society,” he said.

Anthony Monaco served as the pro-vice-chancellor for planning and resources at the University of Oxford before assuming the Tufts presidency on August 1. His complete inaugural address can be found here.

Read more about CIERP's work on water resources here.

October 25, 2011

Professor Moomaw presents at Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture

Professor William Moomaw, CIERP Director, was one of the keynote speakers at the 2011 Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture in Ede, the Netherlands.

The conference, held October 24-27, brought together world experts on climate-smart agriculture to discuss the current state of knowledge, deliver a set of findings based on a multi-disciplinary approach and identify effective methods to implement interventions across the globe.

Professor Moomaw’s presentation focused on using sustainable development diplomacy to build smart agriculture in Africa. 

Read the full article...

October 24, 2011

Professor Matthew Hoffmann discusses "Climate Governance at the Crossroads"

The global response to climate change has reached a crucial juncture even as the efforts to achieve a globally binding treaty have proved inadequate. In the absence of an effective policy, new climate governance initiatives have emerged at various levels of organizations. Matthew Hoffmann, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, has studied in great detail how these new actors are playing a significant role in addressing the issue of climate change. "People and organizations frustrated with the multilateral process have shown that global treaty-making is not the only way that climate change can be addressed," he said during a presentation at the Fletcher School.

Hoffmann's new book, Climate Governance at the Crossroads: Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto, chronicles these innovations and explains how the world is experimenting with alternate means of responding to climate change.

Read the complete event summary...

October 17, 2011

Professor Moomaw on judge panel for Climate CoLab contest

The issue of climate change is complex and requires a continuous supply of innovative ideas and participation of the larger community. Climate CoLab, a project of the MIT center of collective intelligence, is offering a platform for proposals to effectively tackle climate change. Climate CoLab is holding a contest that focuses on the green economy, one of the key themes of the UN Rio+20 Conference next year. Professor William Moomaw, CIERP Director, is one of the five judges for the contest. The 2011 Climate CoLab contest question is: How should the 21st century economy evolve, bearing in mind the risks of climate change?

Climate CoLab solicited proposals that addressed this question and the judging panel selected six global and six national finalists. These teams are invited to improve their proposals until October 31, 2011. In early November, the judges will review the finalists for feasibility, and then members of the Climate CoLab community will be invited to vote on the proposal that they believe is best until November 15, 2011. After the voting ends, Judges’ Choice and Popular Choice Winners will be announced. The CoLab will sponsor one representative from each winning team to present at briefings on Capitol Hill in Washington DC and at the United Nations in New York.

UPDATE - Winners Announced! Click here to read about them.

October 3, 2011

Professor Moomaw co-authors Climate Change Adaptation Report

Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has released a Climate Change Adaptation Report that provides a comprehensive overview of observed and predicted changes to Massachusetts’ climate. The report also analyses the anticipated impacts of and potential adaptation strategies to prepare for climate change. Professor William Moomaw, CIERP Director, is a co-author of this report, which is prepared by EEA and the 34-member Climate Change Adaptation Advisory Committee. It includes a sector-by-sector look at how climate change may impact natural resources and habitat; infrastructure; human health and welfare; local economy and government; and coastal zone and oceans.

Read the full article...

September 30, 2011

Panel gathers Fletcher PhD students/graduates for discussion on “Sustainable Development: 20 years after Rio”

The International Environment and Resource Policy Panel “Sustainable Development: 20 years after Rio,” part of the 5th Annual Fletcher Doctoral Conference “Critical Perspectives: Contemporary Issues in International Relations,”  brought together former and current Fletcher PhD students to discuss the concept of sustainable development, how it has developed, and how it applies to their work and research. Coming from a variety of fields, panelists Charles Chester, Caleb McClennen, and Shotaro Sasaki addressed topics such as the state of global fisheries, the evolution of the concept of sustainable development, and the transfer of knowledge between academics and practitioners in development. Read the panel summary here and view the panelist presentations below.

Chester Presentation
McClennen Presentation
Sasaki Presentation

September 27, 2011

ECI studies the impact of energy innovation and reforms in policy making

The energy sector poses enormous challenges as well as major opportunities. Keeping pace in a changing world of energy, CIERP’s Energy, Climate, and Innovation (ECI) Program works to develop and promote knowledge that will help address energy-related challenges, especially global climate change. The ECI program has recently published four discussion papers that explore the different dimensions of innovation in new energy technologies, and the role of policies in supporting and rewarding these innovations.

 

 

 

 

 

Read more about these publications here or find them on our Publications page.

September 19, 2011

Professor Gallagher comments on American Superconductor intellectual property case in China

Professor Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director of CIERP's Energy, Climate, and Innovation program, was quoted today in The Boston Globe’s front page story “Data theft case may test US, China ties.” Professor Gallagher warned against making assumptions that American Superconductor’s intellectual property case against Sinovel Wind Group Co. of Beijing is somehow indicative of a “malicious underlying effort by the Chinese government to undermine the American clean-energy industry.”  Also quoted in the article is Thomas F. Holt Jr., who teaches international intellectual property at The Fletcher School. View the article in PDF form here.

September 12, 2011

New Researchers Bring Diverse Expertise to CIERP

CIERP welcomed five new experts to its research team in the fall of 2011, adding to an already robust and established lineup that will continue to conduct innovative research, suggest new policy options and contribute to international discussions on environmental resources. Shinsuke Tanaka joined the center as Assistant Professor of Economics, Maria Petrova as Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Laura Kuhl and Kartikeya Singh as Junior Research Fellows and Xiaoyue Hou as Research Affiliate.

“We are extremely excited to have these five new experts join our research team,” said Mieke van der Wansem, CIERP Associate Director. “Their diverse background, skills and expertise will help the center develop cutting-edge strategies and policies to address critical international resource and environmental issues.”

Read the full article...

September 7, 2011

Professor Moomaw participates in IPCC report webinar

The Union of Concerned Scientists hosted a webinar briefing today on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. The IPCC assembled 120 experts from around the world to compile this scientific assessment of the potential of renewable energy sources to mitigate climate change. The webinar featured two of the report's lead authors: Professor William Moomaw, CIERP Director, as well as Ryan Wiser, Ph.D., staff scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Download the webinar audio here.

View the slides here.

On May 9^th, the world’s governments approved the Summary for Policy Makers, making this condensed version of the report the accepted basis for planning energy policies, investment and infrastructure for national and regional governments as well as for U.N. agencies and international organizations such as the World Bank.

Read the full article...