Topic: technology

In the years to come, the world must meet the energy needs of a growing and developing world population while mitigating the impacts of global climate change. This policy brief seeks to establish a framework for considering the complex and evolving links between energy security and climate change, and identifi es three challenges:

• the evolving and interconnected nature of energy security and climate change definitions and goals,
• the variables that contribute to an uncertain future, and
• the trade-offs and unintended consequences involved in addressing both issues.

A workable strategy must be concerned not just with how to design a future in which climate change and energy security concerns are met, but also with the pathway to get there. To guide this transition, this brief offers several guiding principles for devising energy and climate policies that are both effective and politically viable.

What form will sectoral commitments take? Which sectors are best suited to sectoral approaches to climate mitigation? How might sectoral agreements be integrated into the broader climate regime? This report looks at potential answers to these questions.

Examines the feasibility of achieving significant emissions reductions from the proliferation of biofuels and concludes that biofuels are not a complete, nor even the primary, solution to our transport fuel needs.

An analysis of ways to promote the policy and market structures for deploying low-carbon technologies to mitigate climate change. This report is a collaboration between WRI and the Goldman Sachs Center for Environmental Markets.

Discussions of base of the economic pyramid (BOP) markets have, until now, relied principally on business case studies and rough estimates of market size. The Next 4 Billion uses previously unreleased data to measure market opportunity at the BOP.

Investigates the limited extent to which climate change issues have been included in the World Bank Group’s country assistance strategies, energy-sector loans and project lending and recommends reforms to improve Bank practices.

Provides an introduction to three “next generation” green power products specifically tailored to the needs of corporate customers in voluntary markets.

The fourth installment accompanies the release of the Green Power Analysis Tool. This installment identifies the business case for the tool, describes how it works, and explains how managers can input data on green power projects and corporate targets.

Outlines the challenges and benefits of green power for commercial and industrial users. Based on WRI’s experience with the Green Power Market Development Group.