Resources Radio

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Brian Flannery, a visiting fellow at Resources for the Future and an expert on international climate policy. Flannery describes how border carbon adjustments—essentially taxes imposed on goods from countries with relatively less ambitious climate standards—are gaining traction, with proposals circulating in the United States and the European Union. However, Flannery cautions that these policy tools will confront a number of challenges before they can be implemented, including backlash from countries that could be negatively affected and the need to abide by World Trade Organization rules. References and recommendations: “Policy Guidance for US GHG Tax Legislation and Regulation: Border Tax Adjustments for Products of Energy-Intensive, Trade-Exposed and Other Industries” by Brian Flannery, Jennifer A. Hillman, Jan Mares, and Matthew C. Porterfield; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/policy-guidance-us-ghg-tax-legislation-and-regulation/ “Framework Proposal for a US Upstream GHG Tax with WTO-Compliant Border Adjustments: 2020 Update” by Brian Flannery, Jennifer A. Hillman, Jan Mares, and Matthew C. Porterfield; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/framework-proposal-us-upstream-ghg-tax-wto-compliant-border-adjustments-2020-update/ “Implementing a Framework for Border Tax Adjustments in US Greenhouse Gas Tax Legislation and Regulations” by Brian Flannery; https://www.resources.org/common-resources/implementing-framework-border-tax-adjustments-us-greenhouse-gas-tax-legislation-and-regulations/ Transcript of an oral evidence session in the House of Lords for the inquiry into Ofgem and net zero, with Sir Dieter Helm; https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/2601/pdf/

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Joseph E. Aldy about fossil fuel subsidies—an area that Aldy has researched extensively and a subject that has been rekindled in the policy dialogue after President Joe Biden suggested removing such subsidies when he released his American Jobs Plan in April this year. But this somewhat amorphous concept of fossil fuel subsidies has been notoriously difficult to define and equally difficult to take action on. Aldy and Hayes reflect on how the Biden administration is approaching these definitional questions and what they’re hoping to achieve, both in terms of policy action and emissions outcomes. References and recommendations: “Testimony on the Elimination of Fossil Fuel Subsidies to the US Subcommittee on the Environment” delivered by Joseph E. Aldy at an Earth Day hearing hosted by the US House Oversight Committee; https://www.rff.org/publications/testimony-and-public-comments/testimony-to-the-us-subcommittee-on-the-environment-on-the-elimination-of-fossil-fuel-subsidies/ “The Role of Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Preventing Action on the Climate Crisis,” a video of the testimony delivered by Joseph E. Aldy at the Earth Day hearing hosted by the US House Oversight Committee; https://youtu.be/yRUm8veLKlk?t=782 “Money for Nothing: The Case for Eliminating US Fossil Fuel Subsidies” by Joseph E. Aldy; https://www.resources.org/archives/money-for-nothing-the-case-for-eliminating-us-fossil-fuel-subsidies/ “Protection for Sale” by Gene M. Grossman and Elhanan Helpman; https://pages.uoregon.edu/bruceb/Andrea.pdf

In this episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Eric Zou, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Oregon. Zou has published fascinating work on how air pollution monitors work—or don’t work, as the case may be—to detect harmful levels of air pollution in the United States. Using data from satellites and ground-based monitors, his work has uncovered how local actors, particularly local governments, may be manipulating air quality data to avoid penalties under the Clean Air Act. References and recommendations: “Unwatched Pollution: The Effect of Intermittent Monitoring on Air Quality” by Eric Zou; https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56034c20e4b047f1e0c1bfca/t/603afc5c6607da3e67640175/1614478432535/monitor_zou_202101.pdf Fort Lee lane closure scandal; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lee_lane_closure_scandal “Next-Generation Compliance: Environmental Regulation for the Modern Era” by Cynthia Giles; https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2020/09/next-generation-compliance-environmental-regulation-for-the-modern-era/ “Indians & Energy: Exploitation and Opportunity in the American Southwest” edited by Sherry L. Smith and Brian Frehner; https://sarweb.org/indians-energy/

In this episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Hannah Druckenmiller, a new fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF). This is the second part of a two-part series that introduces new RFF fellows, and Druckenmiller is another welcome addition to RFF and to Resources Radio. Druckenmiller discusses her fascinating paper that estimates the value of forests—not just in the marketplace, but for society. She and Raimi also talk about a project she’s involved in that’s using millions of photographs from the 1950s through the 1990s to construct what are essentially satellite images of the developing world, but from before satellite images even existed. References and recommendations: “Estimating an Economic and Social Value for Healthy Forests: Evidence from Tree Mortality in the American West” by Hannah Druckenmiller; https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f60e3b9a38e910134a8aeab/t/5fb6df90721aae50818579d2/1605820322700/JMP_11.19.2020.pdf “Migrations” by Charlotte McConaghy; https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250204028 “The Lost Canyon Under Lake Powell” by Elizabeth Kolbert; https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/16/the-lost-canyon-under-lake-powell

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Penny Liao, a scholar of behavioral and market responses to environmental risk, who joined Resources for the Future as a fellow earlier this month. Liao elaborates on a new working paper she coauthored about how home equity shapes a household’s decision to purchase flood insurance. In the end, Liao finds that homeowners with more home equity are especially likely to purchase flood insurance because they do not want to default on their mortgage, while households with highly leveraged mortgages have less incentive to insure against flood risks. References and recommendations: “What’s at Stake? Understanding the Role of Home Equity in Flood Insurance Demand” by Penny Liao and Philip Mulder; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/whats-at-stake-understanding-the-role-of-home-equity-in-flood-insurance-demand/ “The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin; https://science.sciencemag.org/content/162/3859/1243 “The Problem of Social Cost” by Ronald Coase; https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230523210_6 “Bewilderment” by Richard Powers; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688002/bewilderment-by-richard-powers/ “The Overstory” by Richard Powers; http://www.richardpowers.net/the-overstory/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Robert Godby, an associate professor of economics at the University of Wyoming. Wyoming is the subject of their conversation: It’s been a major energy-producing state for over a century and is the nation’s largest producer of coal by far. But energy production in Wyoming has declined substantially in recent years, raising major challenges for the state’s economy and public revenues. And with the need to reduce emissions much further, the outlook for Wyoming’s energy future is highly uncertain. References and recommendations: “The Grid: The Fraying Wires between Americans and Our Energy Future” by Gretchen Bakke; https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/grid-9781632865687 “Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States” by Leah Stokes; https://www.leahstokes.com/book “Decommissioning Orphaned and Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells: New Estimates and Cost Drivers” by Daniel Raimi, Alan Krupnick, Jhih-Shyang Shih, and Alexandra Thompson; https://www.rff.org/publications/journal-articles/decommissioning-orphaned-and-abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-new-estimates-and-cost-drivers/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with David Wear, a nonresident senior fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF). As anyone knows who’s recently breathed the air in the northeastern or midwestern United States, wildfires increasingly are posing risks to human health, the environment, and the climate. In a recent RFF issue brief, Wear analyzes how scaling up wildfire management in federal forests—specifically, through methods of clearing the forest undergrowth, collectively called “forest fuel treatments”—could reduce wildfires and the damage that wildfires cause. Wear discusses recent trends in wildfires, how forest fuel treatments can address this growing problem, and more. References and recommendations: “Wildfire Risk Reduction: Effects of the Draft Energy Infrastructure Act” by David N. Wear; https://www.rff.org/publications/issue-briefs/wildfire-risk-reduction-effects-of-the-draft-energy-infrastructure-act/ “The Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kim-stanley-robinson/the-ministry-for-the-future/9780316300162/

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes speaks to Veronique Bugnion, a scientist, entrepreneur, and energy industry leader. Bugnion—a climate physicist by training who spent years in the private sector, focusing on energy and carbon markets—cofounded and serves as the CEO of ClearlyEnergy, which provides innovative solutions that help reduce emissions from buildings. Hayes and Bugnion discuss federal building performance standards—a particularly relevant topic, given that the Biden administration announced on May 17 that the Council on Environmental Quality will lead an effort to develop performance standards for federal buildings. Bugnion talks about how such standards could be designed, what impact they’re likely to have, and what the federal government can learn from other jurisdictions that have already implemented such standards. References and recommendations: “Fact Sheet: Biden Administration Accelerates Efforts to Create Jobs Making American Buildings More Affordable, Cleaner, and Resilient” via the White House; https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/05/17/fact-sheet-biden-administration-accelerates-efforts-to-create-jobs-making-american-buildings-more-affordable-cleaner-and-resilient/ “Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World” by Andrea Pitzer; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Icebound/Andrea-Pitzer/9781982113346

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Timiebi Aganaba, an assistant professor at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation and Society. Aganaba has worked on a fascinating array of space issues on multiple continents, and she speaks about that work and its implications in this extremely wide-ranging conversation. Aganaba discusses the broad notions of space and society; the history, current status, and future of space governance; the Biden administration’s approach to space policy; Richard Branson; and afro-futurist and African-futurist music and art. References and recommendations: Timiebi Aganaba at Arizona State University; https://sustainability-innovation.asu.edu/person/timiebi-aganaba/ “Losing the Sky” by Andy Lawrence; https://andyxlastro.me/losing-the-sky/ “Earthrise” photograph by William Anders; https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/apollo-8-earthrise Anthony Braxton; https://tricentricfoundation.org/ Sun Ra; http://www.sunraarkestra.com/ Mamman Sani; https://sahelsounds.com/artists/mamman-sani/

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Rebecca Epanchin-Niell, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF). Epanchin-Niell’s research focuses on ecosystem management—in particular, understanding how human behavior affects ecological resources and identifying strategies to improve ecosystem management. Much of her work has focused on invasive species, including strategies to control established invaders, improved monitoring, and cooperative management. Hayes and Epanchin-Niell discuss a new paper that Epanchin-Niell coauthored—with RFF colleagues Alexandra Thompson and Tyler Treakle—about public contributions to the early detection of new invasive pests, the critical role of citizens in identifying emerging threats from invasive species, and the quantification of public contributions to pest detection. References and recommendations: “Hidden Brain” podcast; https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain The Endangereds by Philippe Cousteau and Austin Aslan; https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/childrens-the-endangereds