WRI Publications Feed: Energy Security and Climate Change

A Roadmap for a Secure, Low-Carbon Energy Economy

Tim Herzog — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500

At first glance, improving energy security and addressing climate change may seem irreconcilable goals: achieve an adequate, reliable, and affordable energy supply for the United States, while at the same time reducing emissions of dangerous global warming gases into the atmosphere. After all, most of the world’s energy comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas – which are also major sources of greenhouse gases. Without scalable low-carbon replacements for these fuels, actions to reduce emissions could destabilize the current energy system. On the other hand, continued dependence on these fuels will jeopardize our climate.

The hard truth is that the United States—and the world—must now figure out how to achieve energy security and protect Earth’s climate.

There is abundant evidence that the current energy system is unsustainable. Prices are volatile, supplies tight, and security threats—from supply disruptions to geopolitical tension—have become commonplace. The expected environmental and social costs of climate change—sea-level rise, water scarcity, reduced food supplies, and damaged ecosystems—are rising. At the same time, the country is facing an economic crisis that strains public and private budgets, but also raises opportunities to stimulate the economy while building a cleaner and more reliable energy infrastructure in the process.

Solutions to these problems are not always clear. While some strategies – such as energy efficiency measures – benefit climate change and energy security goals, other possible solutions for improving energy security – such as relying more on liquid fuels produced from domestic coal – could significantly worsen climate and other environmental problems. Similarly, some possible climate solutions – such as relying more on the sun or wind to make electricity – could reduce reliable and affordable energy supplies in the short term.

This “roadmap” presents the results of a year-long effort by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, an international policy and security-oriented think tank) and the World Resources Institute (WRI, an environmental policy think tank) to identify a set of policies to address energy security and climate change simultaneously. This document presents the results of a difficult process to reconcile the priorities of two sometimes conflicting constituencies. The resulting recommendations are designed to be implemented as a package. Policymakers must not simply pick the recommendations they favor or that are most politically palatable. The balanced approach recommended in this brief would greatly increase the United States’ chances of meeting both its energy security and climate goals.

It won’t be easy. Shifting the United States to a secure, low-carbon economy will take decades. The costs will be high, but they will be even higher if immediate action is not taken. The United States has ample natural, human, and technological resources, and if policymakers get started promptly and make smart decisions, the benefits of this transformation can be great: economic opportunity, a healthier planet, and a more secure future for the United States.

Summary of Recommendations

This roadmap creates a three-part framework for thinking about the transition to a secure, low-carbon economy. It recommends that the administration and Congress should:

Establish a vision for the future. Articulate a long-term vision for addressing energy security and climate change against which all policies will be measured.
- Integrate energy security and climate change priorities into all aspects of domestic and international policymaking.
Put the country’s energy system on the right path. “Reset the system” by updating policies and incentives to promote secure, low-carbon technologies and practices.
- Establish a price on carbon throughout the U.S. economy.
- Make and implement a public financial commitment to address energy security and climate change, including devoting resources to improved infrastructure, energy efficiency, and clean-energy jobs.
- Reform incentives to promote low-carbon technologies and remove barriers to their adoption.
- Engage constructively in an effective international response to climate change and energy security concerns.
- Invest in the infrastructure and technology necessary to transform the transportation system while improving land-use planning.
Manage the transition. Continue to meet and manage U.S. energy demand while addressing the tradeoffs that occur during the transition to a new energy system.
- Promote energy efficiency and other measures that contribute to both energy security and climate goals.
- Reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from technologies that contribute to energy security (coal and biofuels) and make low-carbon technologies (nuclear power and some renewables) more secure.
- Support domestic conventional oil production during the transition to lower-carbon fuels.
- Develop a natural gas strategy to help meet short-term demand and ensure the availability of alternatives in the longer term.

Evaluating the Energy Security Implications of a Carbon-Constrained U.S. Economy

Tim Herzog — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Applying an Energy Security Lens

The authors then assess how each scenario affects eleven factors closely associated with energy security:

diversity of energy sources;
diversity of suppliers;
import levels;
security of trade flows;
geopolitics and economics;
reliability;
risk of nuclear proliferation;
market/price volatility;
affordability;
energy intensity (energy used per unit of gross domestic product); and
feasibility.

Lessons Learned

This approach, which we think of as envisioning carbon-constrained futures through an “Energy Security Lens,” produced a number of insights that could inform U.S. policymakers as they consider technologies to address energy, climate, and economic priorities:

Regardless of fuel and technology choices, some level of energy insecurity is inevitable, especially in the near term, as the United States transitions to a low-carbon energy system. Policymakers should explore ways to mitigate this insecurity during the transition.
Meeting GHG reduction goals will be more costly with only today’s technologies than with high penetration of more advanced low-carbon energy technologies. Policymakers should provide the sustained financial and institutional support necessary to advance all available low-carbon technologies, which can reduce costs and increase energy security over the longer term. This will provide the best chance for the emergence of a variety of technology options and quicken the transition to a secure low-carbon energy system.
Global—not just domestic—deployment of advanced lowcarbon energy technologies can minimize the costs and energy security risks of achieving climate change goals. The U.S. should support the adoption of advanced low-carbon technologies both at home and abroad.
Common notions of “feasibility” (economic, technical, commercial, political) must be stretched. Policymakers should prepare the public to accept higher energy prices while making significant investments in low-carbon energy technologies and infrastructure. Clearly, such investments are necessary to ensure that viable alternatives are available when they are needed. However, energy and economic security concerns make it equally important that policymakers not take overly aggressive action that could jeopardize the existing fuel system until these alternatives can be deployed at scale.
A non-carbon-constrained energy future also raises questions of feasibility and significant energy security concerns. A low-carbon future with advanced technology development, however, offers significant commercial and energy security benefits.

Managing the Transition to a Secure, Low-Carbon Energy Future

Kathryn Zyla — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Weighing U.S. Energy Options: The WRI Bubble chart

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Energy security and climate change are priority issues for energy policymakers. Concerns about energy security in the United States are not new. The current environment of high prices and uncertain supply is different from earlier crises, however, due to the widespread recognition that climate change needs urgent attention and that conventional global oil production may soon peak. There is also concern in the United States that some post-9/11 oil revenues are fueling global instability. U.S. policymakers are promoting a variety of measures to address at least one of the challenges of energy security and climate change. These challenges are linked, however, and there are often unintended consequences when one is addressed without fully considering impacts on the other.

This policy brief presents the WRI “bubble chart,” developed to help inform the debate over the choices at hand. A complete description of the issues discussed here is available at http://www.wri.org/usenergyoptions.

Energy Security and Climate Change: Investing in the Clean Car Revolution

admin — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Merrill Lynch’s automotive research team, in collaboration with World Resources Institute’s Capital Markets Research team released a report this week titled Energy Security and Climate Change: Investing in the Clean Car Revolution.

The global need to address energy security concerns and the impact of climate change on the earth’s environment is intensifying pressure on the auto industry to create vehicles with higher fuel economy and lower emissions. The objectives of this report are to present a clear, concise overview of the global market and regulatory environment driving this trend toward cleaner cars and to highlight companies from the Merrill Lynch global auto universe that are leveraged to it.