Topic: us policy

“Social Cost of Carbon” report shows how current models do not accurately measure real harm from climate change

Economist Frank Ackerman has called the “social cost of carbon” the most important number you never heard of. What is the social cost of carbon, where do the numbers come from, and why should policymakers take care when using them?

This policy brief explains the various steps in calculating the social cost of carbon, the weaknesses and strengths of those calculations, and how they are used to inform climate policy. The aim is to help policymakers, regulators, civil society, and others judge for themselves the reliability of using the resulting numbers in making policy decisions.

Global companies are under increasing pressure to be energy efficient, from New York City to Shanghai. Financing has long been a barrier, but a variety of financing tools can help unlock capital flows. To help governments and business understand how they can leverage energy efficiency investment, we explain five public-private financing mechanisms.

Current use valuation programs can encourage landowners to resist development pressures and leave forest as forest.

Working with EPA and other federal agencies to help design, inform and clarify U.S. government activities to reduce greenhouse gases.

WRI works to inform Congress about the opportunities and impacts of legislative proposals that affect U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and to help shape federal policies that will lead the U.S. on a path of low-carbon growth.

Despite their benefits to national economies, reefs around the world are at risk, including in the United States.

Offers six principles of smart energy policy for developing countries

These tables serve as a reference document containing the key design elements of nutrient trading programs in four Chesapeake Bay states: Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

In its final report on America’s Climate Choices, the National Research Council asserts that there is a “pressing need for substantial action” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2011 edition of The Environmental Forum (www.eli.org), and is reposted with permission.

In two legal challenges filed in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, a number of states and non-governmental organizations sought to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate new and existing power plants under section 111 of the Clean Air Act.

WRI’s response to the Bingaman-Murkowski White Paper on the design of a clean energy standard in the United States.

While the Senate recently defeated four bills or amendments that would restrict EPA’s authority, it r

PRESS RELEASE: New Report Highlights Weaknesses in Government’s Cost-Benefit Analysis of Climate Change

The “Social Cost of Carbon” and Climate Change Policy

More than Meets the Eye: The Social Cost of Carbon in U.S. Climate Policy, in Plain English

Bottom Line on Public-Private Finance Tools for Energy Efficiency

Property Tax Incentives for Forest Conservation in the U.S. South

U.S. Federal Agencies and Climate Change

U.S. Climate & Energy Legislation

WRI Warns of Threats to Coral Reefs at Capitol Hill Ocean Week

PRESS RELEASE: New Paper Lays Out Smart Policies for Renewable Energy Growth

Comparison Tables of State Nutrient Trading Programs in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

WRI Responds to National Research Council's Final Report on America's Climate Choices

Old Roads to a New Destination

Dialogue on Performance Standards for Existing Power Plants: Participant Comments to EPA

How to Design a Clean Energy Standard

Bills That Would Limit the U.S. EPA's Clean Air Act Authorities

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Topic: us policy

Our Work

WRI Engagement Across the World