Energy sectors account for roughly two thirds (~64%) of total greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming. This includes everything from the fuels that powers our vehicles and heat our homes to commercial and industrial consumption of electricity and fossil fuels. Our researchers model various energy-production scenarios that would allow countries to decrease their carbon footprint while meeting goals for more sustainable growth and development. They also study the policies and incentives that govern decision-making around energy sectors, including the role of foreign investment in emerging markets.
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China has committed to peak its CO2 emissions by or before 2030 under the Paris Agreement. Some strategies to move toward this target include substituting natural gas for coal and increasing solar energy production. Our researchers explore various energy scenarios and their projected opportunities or trade-offs for air quality, emissions, water, and human health.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and since 1850 the concentration of atmospheric methane has more than doubled. We have found that emission inventories may be missing sources and underestimating emissions, including leakage from offshore oil and gas rigs and abandoned and active gas and oil wells.
Nuclear energy provides for approximately 10% of global electricity consumption, and is considered to be a sustainable, low-carbon option for energy production. However, nuclear power is also a controversial source given its safety and security implications related to accidents or meltdowns, attacks, fuel waste handling, and nuclear weapon proliferation. Our researchers study the future of nuclear energy in light of these complexities.
The investments that countries, multilateral development banks, and businesses make today in energy technologies and infrastructure will have long-term consequences for our ability to meet greenhouse gas emission targets. Our researchers have developed new, more comprehensive methods of tracing direct foreign investments in energy technologies and assessing their significance for national and global emissions goals.
The planet is moving toward a climate crisis. What will it take for governments to take rapid action to move away from high dependence on fossil fuels and severely cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050? This research aims to provide concrete pathways, exploring the technologies, policies, and behavior change required to quickly decarbonize. The project focuses on the economies of three of the world's major greenhouse gas contributors: China, India, and the United States.
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Local elected officials surveyed in Pennsylvania underestimate their constituents’ support for solar and other clean energy projects, according to research published August 1 in Nature Energy.
In their findings, based on survey responses from 894…
The industrial sector – made up of businesses that support processing raw materials for manufacturing and consumer goods – is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and one that has proven difficult to decarbonize. In China, much of the industrial sector is organized into ‘parks’ that have been zoned as areas for concentrated…
Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, contributing about 1 degree Fahrenheit of present-day global warming relative to pre-industrial times. One major source of methane to the atmosphere is the extraction and transport of oil and gas. Countries are obligated to report their greenhouse gas emissions to…
At…
Coal-fired power plants are the second largest water user in China, requiring large volumes of freshwater for processing coal and cooling, and contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, wastewater treatment plants generate millions of tons of sludge that must be disposed of and reclaimed water that can be reused for other…
As the plan…