Funding New Energy Technologies
A new initiative by the US Department of Energy is funding research and projects to improve clean energy products. Assistant Secretary of Energy David Danielson noted that one of the goals of the initiative is to improve the cost-competitiveness of these technologies, a move that would ultimately remove their dependence on subsidies.
RFF Research Director and Senior Fellow Margaret Walls was invited to discuss government financing for new energy technologies in a Wall Street Journal online forum, where she calls for the implementation of a price on carbon: “The most important first step to bring these technologies to market is not direct government financing but a carbon price. . . . As carbon-intensive fossil fuels become more expensive, private industry will . . . search for new low-cost alternatives. And as consumers demand more efficient products to lower their energy costs, industry will have incentives to provide them.” She also explains how a carbon tax could be implemented.
Royal Dutch Shell will spend $1 billion annually to explore China’s shale gas resources as part of a contract to begin developing shale gas in the country. Developing China’s large reserves could significantly help the country overcome its energy and environmental challenges.
In an interview with the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in China, RFF Fellow Anthony Liu, a visiting assistant professor of economics at the school, discussed these issues: “Shale gas will have two major macroeconomic impacts on China if it is developed to scale. First, it will lower the cost of energy. . . . Second, it will create new jobs.” He also noted that “a reduced reliance on coal and a greater reliance on natural gas would definitely improve air quality and would certainly reduce the carbon intensity of the economy.”
Water Management
A study of the Colorado River Basin shows water shortages in effect across the US Southwest as a result of climate change. Water conservation across sectors, reuse in cities, and watershed management have been suggested as possible mitigation actions.
Lynn Scarlett, RFF visiting scholar and co-director of RFF’s Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth, analyzes water governance in the United States, especially challenges that arise from multi-jurisdictional water systems. She suggests that meeting these water management challenges requires a mix of “new management tools that emphasize integrated and adaptable water management; filling in governance gaps with additional networking glue; and identifying misalignments of specific policy tools that deter coordination.” An interview with Lynn Scarlett on this issue is also available.