Climate Smart

Hydrogen: A Geopolitical Game-changer for Future European Energy Security?

Rising tensions between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia over Russian troop buildups on the Ukraine border have raised the specter of an energy crisis in Europe. This new geopolitical context is likely to influence Europe’s calculus going forward, with a high likelihood that a lasting distaste for heavy reliance on Russian gas will give even further impetus to plans to rapidly diversify to cleaner energy sources such as offshore wind and hydrogen. That begs the question: Have Russia’s recent actions hurt its own chances to be a major participant in Europe’s energy transition?

Natural Farming, A Climate Solution in India?

A new Tufts CREATE Solutions report reviews evidence for Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), one of the largest efforts to implement agroecology at scale. The Government of Andhra Pradesh, India plans to expand ZBNF to millions of farmers in the state over the next several years. The review finds ZBNF generally increases farmers’ income, but critical gaps remain concerning climate change outcomes.

A Peek Into Recent Conversations About Funding for Energy Innovation

Climate Policy Lab postdoctoral scholar Zdenka Myslikova discusses the conversations at COP26 surrounding funding climate solutions and clean energy technology.

Climate SmartClimate Policy LabDecember 21, 2021Author - Zdenka Myslikova, COP26, clean tech, clean energyComment

The Best Agreement out of Glasgow

CPL Fellow Seth Owusu-Mante discusses South Africa’s Juspat Energy Transition Partnership, and how it can create a win-win outcome for the South African economy and global efforts to mitigate the dire consequences of the climate crisis.

What the New Methane Rules Could Mean for US Early Adopters

As scientific data on methane leakage from US oil and gas production and transport systems has improved, the urgency of methane mitigation policy has increased. Higher estimates for methane released in oil and gas US operations continue to be verified via ground-based facility scale measurement combined with satellite and other aerial methods, suggesting that volumes of well over 2 to 3 percent of gross US natural gas production need to be detected and remedied.

Backgrounder: Understanding China’s 1+N Announcements

Hengrui Liu discusses China’s newly released “Working Guidance For Carbon Dioxide Peaking and Carbon Neutrality in Full and Faithful Implementation of the New Development Philosophy” ( The “1” Policy).

Climate SmartClimate Policy LabNovember 8, 2021Climate Smart, China, Author - Hengrui Liu, carbon neutrality, COP26Comment

U.S. Loan Guarantee Program Needs a Revamp: Here's Why.

Amy Myers Jaffe discusses CPL’s newest policy brief about how a U.S. loan guarantee program can spur experimentation and innovation by helping firms avoid the “valley of death” in the innovation process.

Climate SmartClimate Policy LabOctober 18, 2021Author - Amy Myers Jaffe, 2021

The Case for Public-Private Partnerships to Spur Clean Energy Innovation

Fletcher School postdoctoral scholar Zdenka Myslikova maps out the case for private-public partnerships to accelerate the energy innovation process in the United States, citing examples from the United Kingdom and Chile.

US RD&D: Make it more inclusive, more impactful

The International Energy Agency’s recent Clean Energy Innovation assessment is that more than 50% of the technologies needed for the attainment of net zero greenhouse gas emissions targets by 2050 are not yet commercialized and need rapid acceleration. Considering the global climate crisis, research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) spending on clean energy needs to be higher and more effective. Bipartisan support for spending on clean energy innovation has been a fixture of the US Congress over the past decade. Now as Congress debates the path forward for this investment, more attention should be given to how to improve outcomes from new appropriations.

Congress Should Approve a Federal Green Bank to Promote a Just Energy Transition

As Congress continues to debate infrastructure legislation, it should endorse a proven model for addressing the complex political landscape in the United States: Green banks. The Biden administration is proposing the establishment of a $27 billion “Clean Energy & Sustainability Accelerator’ which, in effect, would be a federal green bank. A new report from Climate Policy Lab argues that a federal green bank can be “one of the best tools in the country’s toolbox for ensuring a just energy transition” by targeting communities being left behind

Two decades of global energy RD&D data shows greening trend but fossil fuel spending still in billions

Should we be optimistic about our clean energy innovation efforts against climate change? Our new research shows that global government energy RD&D investments between 2000-2018 are decarbonizing. Nuclear has held steady, fossil fuels have decreased, and clean energy has increased. China and India have now joined the United States and Japan in the ranks of the top four countries overall. Energy RD&D by state-owned enterprises remain skewed toward fossil fuels and nuclear.

What the 1987 Montreal Protocol Teaches Us About Carbon Border Taxes

The pressure to enact ambitious climate policy is higher than ever, as the IPCC clarifies the urgency of the challenge, and key global summits draw closer. In addition to emissions reduction targets and investment in green infrastructure, political leadership in the European Union and the United States are considering a “carbon border tax.” This is a duty on imported goods, determined based on the carbon (or greenhouse) footprint of the process used to manufacture the good in the country of origin. These are attempts to mimic the “climate club” approach of the Montreal Protocol, but need to pay much closer attention to the details of that agreement. In this blog, Fletcher School junior fellow, Tarun Gopalakrishnan explains why.

Climate SmartClimate Policy LabAugust 17, 2021Author - Tarun Gopalakrishnan, 2021, Climate SmartComment

Trends in US Public Investment in Low-Carbon RD&D

President Joe Biden’s first budget release provides an initial glimpse of the Biden Administration’s priorities for technological innovation in low-carbon energy. Importantly, the fiscal year (FY) 2022 request would sharply increase US government investments in research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) in energy efficiency and renewables.

Delivering Climate Finance Via National Climate Funds

Rishikesh Bhandary opines that in the run up to COP26 in Glasgow, countries should consider not just meeting the $100 billion climate finance goal but also paying attention to the delivery channels that will be used to supply the funding.

Climate Proofing China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

Last fall, President Xi Jinping surprised the world with his announcement that China would achieve climate neutrality by 2060. This bold step and accelerates an already long list of major Chinese national efforts that not only will help China transform its domestic economy, but also put China in a leadership position globally with respect to having a mid-century target.

A Climate-responsible COVID Stimulus Makes Sense for India

Since the onset of the COVID crisis, economic stimulus has been re-framed as roadmaps to ‘green recovery’ or ‘building back better’. The question is whether these ideas are useful for India, especially when it is facing a longer road out of the pandemic than previously thought. Evidence supports that they are relevant, for three reasons.

Rethinking Natural Capital amidst the U.S. Infrastructure Bill

In celebration of the 51st Earth Day, Amy Myers Jaffe discusses the US’ history with nature and its impact on the Biden Administration’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan.

Explaining China’s Emissions Trading System, Now the World’s Largest Carbon Market

Market-based policy tools like the emissions trading system are a new endeavor for China, which has generally relied on command-and-control policies to regulate the environmental protection since the establishment of pollutant discharge fees in 1978. However, new approaches became more pressing as air pollution rose to be a major focus of Chinese society starting in 2008 and concerns about climate change issues increased over time.

How Effective are Climate Finance Policies?

On February 3rd, a proposal to establish a National Green Bank was floated in both chambers of the U.S. Congress. The proposal calls for $100 billion Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to help unlock credit and direct financing towards technologies that need to be commercialized. This proposal also follows closely on the heels of the recently released National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine report on deep decarbonization (co-authored by Kelly Sims Gallagher) which calls for a green bank at the federal level that can help capitalize local level green banks. It comes amidst reports that governments, corporations and other entities last year raised over $490 billion in green bonds and social impact vehicles.

Defining Climate Migration

Section six of the new Biden Administration directive on “Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration” orders the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA) to prepare and submit to the president a report on climate change and its impact on migration, with an eye to informing the administration on the international security dimensions of climate-related migration. The order includes studying “mechanisms” for identifying individuals displaced directly or indirectly from climate change and considering options for their protection and/or proposals for how findings on climate migration might inform U.S. foreign assistance programs. The report will cover opportunities to work with international organizations, non-governmental organizations, or localities trying to respond to such migration. It is a huge but important task. The President gave his team 180 days.

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