Twice a month, we’re compiling the most relevant news stories from diverse sources online, connecting the latest environmental and energy economics research to global current events, real-time public discourse, and policy decisions. Keep reading, and feel free to send us your feedback.
Here are some questions we’re asking and addressing with our research chops this week:
How can federal policymakers help communities recover from extreme weather events and become more resilient against future disasters?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted California financial support to help contain three wildfires near Los Angeles. The wildfires collectively have burned over 100,000 acres, and residents in certain areas have been ordered to evacuate. In addition to support during and after disasters such as wildfires, FEMA provides funding for pre-disaster resilience. This funding can help communities prepare for future extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent and damaging due to climate change. In a recent blog post, Resources for the Future (RFF) scholars Margaret Walls and Yanjun (Penny) Liao discuss the benefits of investing in pre-disaster resilience, along with potential approaches to resilience policymaking. “We particularly emphasize the importance of experimenting with creative approaches, and involving communities in the design of those approaches, to gain insights into the effectiveness of a given policy or program in meeting the challenges of climate change,” they say. This post concludes a series of blog posts about weather volatility in the United States.
How has the Supreme Court shaped the balance of regulatory power across the branches of the federal government in recent years?
In the upcoming Supreme Court term, which begins October 7, justices will hear yet another case related to the authority of federal agencies. Over the summer, the court overturned in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo a long-standing precedent, known as the Chevron doctrine, that empowered federal agencies to interpret ambiguous laws. The court’s decision in Loper Bright is representative of a broader transfer of regulatory power from agencies to courts, say RFF scholars Alan Krupnick and Joshua Linn and RFF University Fellow Nathan Richardson. In a recent blog post, these researchers examine the context in which the Supreme Court decided Loper Bright and potential effects of the decision. Their take: “The result of this shift in legal doctrine is a profound concentration of power in one discipline (the law) and one small group of people (federal judges, and in particular the Supreme Court) to the exclusion of engineers, scientists, and economists, among many others. That shift bodes ill for effective public policy.”
What competing interests are advancing or slowing the build-out of infrastructure for the US electric grid?
An electric utility in Ohio has proposed to charge power-hungry data centers more money up front to connect to the electric grid. The utility is concerned that the cost of building new energy infrastructure, such as transmission lines, will need to be passed on to other consumers if the data centers leave town or reduce demand sooner than expected. Meanwhile, stakeholders in a regional grid farther west have made unprecedented progress in funding and constructing new transmission. Catherine Hausman, an associate professor at the University of Michigan, joined a recent episode of the Resources Radio podcast to discuss transmission in the US electric grid and potential options to overcome barriers in building new transmission. “The challenge for policymakers here is figuring out how to write the rules in the game in a way where the interests of society are aligned with the interests of companies and of transmission planners,” says Hausman.
Expert Perspectives
In Focus: Priorities for Climate Policy
Climate Week, which kicks off on Sunday in New York City, convenes policymakers and leaders in industry and research to discuss major issues in energy and environmental policy. Ahead of Climate Week, RFF President and CEO Billy Pizer discusses some of the policy issues that RFF is focused on for this fall, such as permitting reform, building climate resilience, and equitable climate policy. RFF scholars, including Pizer, will be at Climate Week to share research and policy insights as speakers at events about cap-and-invest programs, climate and trade policies, and more.
Resources Roundup
Credit: Aerovista Luchtfotografie / Shutterstock
Adding an Emissions Cap Would Help Achieve an Important US Climate Goal for 2030
The Inflation Reduction Act has set the stage for the United States to achieve significant cuts in carbon dioxide emissions in the power sector, but these cuts likely will fall short of the 80 percent reduction by 2030 (dubbed “80x30”) that is needed to meet national climate goals. In a recent paper, RFF scholars explore the benefits and costs of a climate policy known as an emissions cap, which could complement the Inflation Reduction Act and help the United States reach the 80x30 target. “One of the main virtues of using [an emissions cap] to close the gap between the [emissions reductions from the Inflation Reduction Act] and the target is to provide certainty over emissions outcomes,” say the authors. A new blog post crafted by Environmental Defense Fund covers key points from the RFF paper.
Challenges to Building New US Energy Infrastructure
Improving national energy infrastructure will enable the United States to meet decarbonization goals, including the effective deployment of renewable energy. In a new report, RFF scholars Molly Robertson, Kevin Rennert, and Karen Palmer outline key insights from a series of workshops convened by RFF, which aimed to identify and improve an understanding of the challenges to building new energy infrastructure. These RFF workshops also will inform future research. “This work will improve both our understanding of the scale and impact of different obstacles to infrastructure development and the modeling capabilities to inform policy solutions,” say the authors.
Revealing Shifts in Public Support for Specific Climate Policies
Americans widely support government action to tackle climate change—but support for some specific policies that reduce emissions has dropped since 2020. Since 1997, Stanford University Professor and RFF University Fellow Jon Krosnick has tracked views held by Americans about climate change as part of the Climate Insights survey project. Recent findings from the second report in the Climate Insights 2024 series reveal that, while some policies remain popular that tax imports on certain products and fund job transitions, support for measures such as tax breaks for renewable energy and taxes on greenhouse gas emissions has declined.
Misperceptions of the Cost of Public Goods Affect Votes for Public Goods
Voter decisions in referenda on public goods, such as improvements to roads, may be influenced by misperceptions of the cost of these goods. In a new journal article, RFF University Fellow Casey Wichman and coauthors analyze the perceptions of voters about the cost of policies by using exit polls from New England and an online survey based in California. Less than 20 percent of voters accurately perceive the costs of public goods, with significant discrepancies between perceived and actual tax burdens, according to the authors. “A substantial proportion of voters are making decisions based in part on inaccurate costs, which in some cases lead to people voting against their preferences and potential misallocation of public funds,” they say.
RFF Critical Minerals Research Lab Welcomes 14 PhD Students
This summer, RFF launched the Critical Minerals Research Lab, a virtual hub that will support PhD students who are researching the role of critical minerals in the energy transition. The mission of the lab is to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and enhance research on critical minerals that is relevant for policymakers. The lab has announced its first class of 14 scholars, who have been selected for their diverse academic backgrounds and research interests. These students will engage in monthly meetings, presentations, and discussions and refine their research and policy recommendations. Learn more about the Critical Minerals Research Lab.
Incorporating Equity in Computational Modeling for Environmental Research
Computational models often are used in environmental research to estimate outcomes and inform policymaking, yet these models sometimes overlook considerations about equity. Amanda Giang, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, joined an episode of the Resources Radio podcast this week to discuss the incorporation of equity considerations into computational models of systems that are at the interface of people and the environment. “We use models often to inform our sustainability interventions, but when we’re not taking equity into account, we can actually end up working against our sustainability goals,” says Giang.
#ChartOfTheWeek
Data: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Chart: US Environmental Protection Agency
Heat waves in the United States are occurring more often, lasting longer, and burning hotter. The range of days in a given year during which heat waves occur also has increased. Climate change is a key contributor to the increasing intensity and frequency of heat waves. The data in this Chart of the Week come from observations of temperature in 50 large metropolitan areas between 1961 and 2023. In a recent blog post about trends in weather volatility in the United States, RFF scholars Margaret Walls and Penny Liao note that heat was the deadliest kind of extreme weather between 1995 and 2022.
