RFF Features

Reliability in the Electricity Industry under New Environmental Regulations

In a new discussion paper, RFF researchers analyze the expected impacts of two new EPA rules aimed at reducing air pollution from the electricity sector.

Managing Water: Governance Innovations to Enhance Coordination

RFF Visiting Scholar Lynn Scarlett outlines in a new issue brief today?s main challenges for water management and describes the characteristics and potential of innovative governance systems.

The Variability of Potential Revenue from a Carbon Tax

Implementing a carbon tax in the United States could help reduce the large and growing federal budget deficit as well as emissions of carbon dioxide. A new issue brief from RFF experts helps explain what policymakers could expect in terms of revenue.

The Potential Role of Carbon Labeling in a Green Economy

A new RFF discussion paper examines how much of an impact product labeling could have on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Speculators and Oil Prices: What Do We Know and What Should We Do?

At a recent First Wednesday Seminar, a panel of experts examined the role of speculation in rising gas prices and discussed the ongoing process of oil market reform. Event slides and video are now available.

Analysis of the Bingaman Clean Energy Standard Proposal

In a new discussion paper, RFF experts dissect the latest federal proposal for a clean energy standard.

RFF Launches New Blog

Common Resources will provide policy-relevant insights and debates along with highlights from RFF research.

Green Infrastructure: Using Natural Landscapes for Flood Mitigation and Water Quality Improvements

At a recent First Wednesday Seminar, RFF experts explored the concept of green infrastructure and examined its potential role in flood mitigation and environmental services programs. Event video and slides are now available.

Unnatural Disasters?

Resources Magazine: Sheila Olmstead and Carolyn Kousky explain why Mother Nature isn?t the sole cause of 2011?s billion-dollar string of disasters.

Borrowing to Save Energy: An Assessment of Energy-Efficiency Financing Programs

In a new report, RFF experts explain how markets for energy-efficiency financing work and examine various government and utility financing programs in the United States, identifying gaps in knowledge and information and recommending next steps.

Reactions to EPA?s Proposed Power Plant Standards

Resident Scholar Nathan Richardson takes a quick look at EPA?s proposed performance standards for new power plants.

Secular Trends, Environmental Regulations, and Electricity Markets

RFF experts examine downward trends in natural gas prices and electricity consumption (known as secular trends), finding that these changes have a substantially bigger impact on electricity prices and the contribution of coal to electricity supply than do recent EPA regulations.

Measuring Conservation?s Return on Investment

As conservation organizations widen their goals to include human well-being, return on investment analysis is a promising tool for measuring the social and economic benefits of conservation. Jim Boyd explains in the latest edition of Resources Magazine.

Invasive Species: Impacts, Challenges, and Strategies for Management

At a recent First Wednesday Seminar, a panel of experts convened to discuss the complex ecological, economic, and policy implications of invasive species. Event video and presentations are now available.

Energy Efficiency Resource Standards: Comparisons and a Closer Look

New research from RFF experts examines energy efficiency resource standards, an increasingly popular policy approach among states to spur investment in energy efficiency measures and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Improving Fuel Economy in Heavy-Duty Vehicles

RFF?s Winston Harrington and Alan Krupnick examine the new federal regulations mandating improvements in fuel economy among heavy-duty commercial vehicles, noting that market-oriented approaches might work better.

How Carbon Neutral is Bioenergy?

At a recent RFF seminar, Senior Fellow and Center for Forest Economics and Policy Director Roger Sedjo discussed the issue of emissions from wood energy. Video and slides from the event are now available.

State Parks: Assessing Their Benefits

Resources: Juha Siikam?ki explains why, in an era of tight budgets, state parks remain well worth their costs.

Carbon Policy under the Clean Air Act: Examining Tradable Standards

EPA faces several choices as it crafts its approach for regulating stationary-source greenhouse gas emissions. RFF experts look at one option, tradable standards, in a new discussion paper.

Rare Earths Markets: Implications for the U.S. Wind Energy Sector

In this new RFF report, experts examine some of the key economic and physical factors influencing rare earths markets, focusing on how China?s market dominance may affect the U.S. wind energy sector.

Rethinking Environmental Federalism in a Warming World

In a new discussion paper, William Shobe and RFF Senior Fellow Dallas Burtraw highlight the importance of accounting for the federal relationship between national and subnational levels of government.

Conservation Return on Investment Analysis: Results, Methods, and New Directions

In a review of conservation return on investment (ROI) literature, RFF experts argue for broadening the application of ROI analysis methods to attain more effective ecological outcomes.

Putting Politics Aside: The Consequences of the Keystone XL Rejection

RFF Senior Fellows Joel Darmstadter and Alan Krupnick write that the president?s decision will have little impact on jobs, energy security, or the environment.

Adapting Environmental Policy for the Developing World

Researchers from Environment for Development centers investigated some of the challenges faced by policymakers in developing countries, including the economic impacts of public health issues and the effects of climate change on agricultural productivity.

Regulating Greenhouse Gases from Coal Power Plants under the Clean Air Act

New research from RFF experts confirms that there are important, low-cost opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions at existing coal-fired facilities in the short run.

GHG Regulation for Power Plants under the Clean Air Act

At a recent RFF First Wednesday Seminar, panelists discussed the scope, design, and implications of using the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions from coal-fired power plants. Event audio and video are now available.

Green Infrastructure?s Role in Adaptation to Climate Change

A new RFF report highlights the importance of effectively targeting green infrastructure investment.

Fiscal Reform and Climate Protection

Policy design, potential revenue generation, and economic impact of a U.S. carbon tax were among the topics discussed at a recent workshop co-hosted by RFF?s Center for Climate and Electricity Policy and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Presentations from the event are now available.

Managing the Risks of Shale Gas: Identifying a Pathway toward Responsible Development

Experts discussed technical processes, policies, and more at the launch of the Center for Energy Economics and Policy?s initiative to identify how government and industry can responsibly develop shale gas. Event video, audio, and presentations are now available.

How the United States Can Support REDD+ Programs

Efforts to reduce deforestation in developing tropical countries continue to provide promising opportunities to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while simultaneously addressing development concerns.

Trade and Sustainability of Forest Products: Global Challenges and Opportunities

At the November First Wednesday Seminar, panelists discussed how a shifting regulatory landscape and third-party forest certification can curtail illegal logging and promote the purchase of legally sanctioned forest products.

Strategic Release of News at the EPA

Could EPA get more bang for its buck by revising its media release timelines? A new RFF discussion paper mines fifteen years worth of media releases to find answers.

Policy Response to Pandemic Flu

A new RFF discussion paper examines whether there is an economic case to be made for subsidization by wealthy nations of vaccines and antiviral medications in poorer countries.

Rising Sea Levels and Coastal Erosion: Policy Options to Help Communities Adapt

Resources Magazine: The threat of rising sea levels to coastal communities and their infrastructures is only expected to increase in the coming years. RFF Nonresident Fellow James Sanchirico maps out several policy options for these communities to build resilience to a changing climate.

How Does U.S. Public Opinion on Climate Change Affect National Elections?

Does taking a particular stance on climate change determine a candidate?s success at the polls? University Fellow Jon Krosnick explored the relationship between climate change rhetoric and voting outcomes at a recent RFF seminar.

The Census of Marine Life

Video: RFF University Fellow Jesse Ausubel shares the scientifically rich, visually captivating results from a 10-year survey of the Earth?s oceans at an RFF seminar, ?The Census of Marine Life.?

Assessing the Energy Efficiency Information Gap

New research from RFF scholars highlights the role information plays in the adoption of energy efficiency technologies.

Investing in Information to Respond to a Changing Climate

Resources Magazine: The quantity and quality of information about climate change will play a critical role in determining the effectiveness of public and private responses. However, as RFF?s Molly Macauley explains, collecting that data comes at a cost.

Managing Extreme Events in our Rivers and Coastal Areas

With climate change expected to dramatically alter sea levels and impact water supplies throughout ecosystems, flood risk management has become more critical than ever. Watch Netherlands? Delta Commissioner Wim Kuijken and an expert panel discuss the future of flood risk management policy.

The Benefits of Reducing Chesapeake Bay Pollution

Maureen Cropper and William Isaac outline the benefits of achieving EPA?s total maximum daily load targets for the Chesapeake Bay.

Energy Efficiency Policy: Surveying the Puzzles

Energy efficiency policies are favored by many to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy security, and reduce consumer costs. In a new RFF Discussion Paper, Senior Fellow Tim Brennan examines presumptions about such policies, noting that they often don?t hold true and are easily complicated.

Understanding Important Elements of a Clean Energy Standard

Policy design, electricity price implications, and regional impacts were among the topics discussed at a recent RFF/EPA workshop on clean energy standards. Event summary and presentations are now available.

Parsing the Flexibility of EPA?s Greenhouse Gas Rules

Clean Air Act experts recently gathered at RFF to discuss the way forward for EPA in regulating greenhouse gases. Key insights are now available online.

An Opportunity for Smart Regulation on Climate

EPA has the option to use flexible compliance mechanisms that could reduce the cost of greenhouse gas regulation by over two-thirds, according to a pair of analyses released by RFF.

U.S. Policy Options for Reducing Tropical Deforestation: What Can be Done?

In a new Discussion Paper, RFF scholars propose a ?whole-of-government? approach for slowing and reversing tropical forest loss to engage the full suite of policy levers in the federal government.

Market Responses and the Effectiveness of Energy Policies

On June 21 and 22, Resources for the Future hosted the second annual joint Energy Policy Symposium with the University of Chicago. Presentations from the event are now available online.

Renewable Energy in Antarctica and the Power of Being Bold

On June 15, RFF hosted polar explorer and environmental leader Robert Swan (OBE) at a Policy Leadership Forum, where he spoke on energy resources and strategies for sustainable global economic growth.

Shale Gas and Groundwater Contamination: Thoughts on a Recent Study

A recent article by Duke University researchers on methane contamination in drinking water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York has brought further attention to the risks to groundwater in areas exploited for shale gas.

Coordinating Global Economic Development Strategies to Combat Climate Change

A new RFF Discussion Paper says that the creation of a semiformal international coordinating entity could enrich country-specific low emissions development activities by building knowledge and capacity as well as enhancing the scale and predictability of funds.

Natural Resource Scarcity and the Fear of ?Resource Wars?

As Congress continues to debate the causes and effects of higher oil prices, RFF Senior Fellow Joel Darmstadter reviews lessons learned about how the perceived scarcity of natural resources?for example, oil, copper, and rare earths?may cloud some countries? hope for a robust economic future.