Energy

Joseph Nye considers lessons from his own work on preventing the spread of nuclear technology in the 1970s.

Joshua Schwartz and Sabrina Arias write that although Congress seems unable to act, enough states, cities and counties are mobilizing to make a dent in U.S. carbon emissions. The states, cities, counties, and towns that have committed themselves to upholding the Paris agreement currently release a majority of U.S. carbon emissions. If they do manage to meet their targets, they can make a meaningful difference.

Kelly Sims Gallagher asserts that politicians' pledges of dramatic long-term reductions should not let them off the hook for their failure to achieve more modest progress in the short term.

Joel Clement describes the influence of U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Joe Manchin over the Department of the Interior and advises that a forward-looking legislator in a fossil-fuel state would be wise to fight aggressively for financial commitments to make the people in their state part of the vanguard of the new clean energy economy, rather than set back the U.S. economy by fighting the inevitable energy transition itself.

Joel Clement outlines how the Interior Department can become a forceful catalyst for a just transition to clean energy. 

Joel Clement describes some immediate opportunities—and emphasize specific recommendations—to establish the Interior Department as a purposeful catalyst for a fair and just transition to clean energy, healthy ecosystems, and thriving communities.

Robert Stavins analyzes the challenges for the Biden administration in producing a quantitative statement of how and by how much U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases will be reduced over time in a new Nationally Determined Contribution.

In order to fully appreciate the global climate-change challenge that the Biden administration will face, Robert Stavins reflects on the history of international negotiations that brought us to this point.

Joseph Aldy advocates for a carbon-price benchmark — which could be set initially at $50 per ton and rise over time — that would reflect the benefits of reducing the pollution causing climate change.

President Trump this week replaced top Pentagon officials with people personally dedicated to him, starting by firing defense secretary Mark Esper on Monday and continuing by installing more loyalists in high-ranking positions there on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a Fox News interview Tuesday that he is telling world leaders that the election is not over yet, as Trump continues to refuse to concede. To discuss, Jim Braude was joined by former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs at the U.S. State Department and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Nicholas Burns, who worked on the Biden campaign as a foreign policy advisor.