Clean Energy Initiative

Over the weekend, Senators John Kerry and Lindsey Graham penned a joint op-ed in the New York Times that has made those of us who care about action on climate change pretty happy. The prospects of Republican support extending beyond the Snow-Collins duo to John McCain's best friend in the Senate this early in the process is exciting, to say the least. And the compromise that Graham wants isn't too far-fetched.

There is, however, one piece of the op-ed that has made many who understand that combating climate change is a multilateral challenge nervous:

Fourth, we cannot sacrifice another job to competitors overseas. China and India are among the many countries investing heavily in clean-energy technologies that will produce millions of jobs. There is no reason we should surrender our marketplace to countries that do not accept environmental standards. For this reason, we should consider a border tax on items produced in countries that avoid these standards. This is consistent with our obligations under the World Trade Organization and creates strong incentives for other countries to adopt tough environmental protections.

I agree that we can't sacrifice jobs to overseas competitors. Competitiveness is one of the best reasons to pass climate legislation that spurs innovation and deployment of a whole generation of low-carbon technologies domestically. That said, climate change is a pressing global challenge that inherently requires unprecedented levels of global cooperation, but the proposed punitive trade policies are expressly unilateral mechanisms. This is a policy mismatch that will not help us solve this challenge. 

If we want the developing world – from which the vast majority of emissions growth is expected in the coming decades – to be on board with creating a solution to climate change and to buy our climate-friendly goods, slapping a tariff on them right away is not the way to make friends and influence people. And it's not as if the United States has been leading on climate issues – Imagine the American response if Europeans had imposed these tariffs. I don't want to begin to imagine the retaliation that other nations may decide upon; what do we do if China and India – who already have high barriers to climate friendly technologies – decide that they're not quite high enough, especially for American goods?

Additionally, it's crucial to note that climate legislation already allots (as opposed to auctions) permits to energy intensive industries. Tariffs amount to a double correction. Here's leading international economist Jagdish Bhagwati at a recent NDN-New Policy Institute event speaking about the tariffs and the WTO compliance of a cap and trade regime:

Some important people are wary of or opposed to these tariffs: The head Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, thinks they're a bad idea:

"This is a dangerous thing, and I think people in Congress must understand this," said Pachauri, who spoke with the AP after he addressed the National Press Club. "Please don't use this weapon. I'm afraid that those that have been pushing these provisions probably don’t realize that all of this can cause a major negative reaction," Pachauri added. "The United States has always stood for a free market system. … Legislation to move away from that principle is clearly counterproductive."

As does President Obama: 

At a time when the economy worldwide is still deep in recession and we've seen a significant drop in global trade, I think we have to be very careful about sending any protectionist signals out there. There were a number of provisions that were already in place, prior to this last provision you talked about, to provide transitional assistance to heavy manufacturers. A lot of the offsets were outdated to those industries. I think we're going to have to do a careful analysis to determine whether the prospects of tariffs are necessary, given all the other stuff that was done and had been negotiated on behalf of energy-intensive industries.

So certainly it is a legitimate concern on the part of American businesses that they are not disadvantaged vis-a-vis their global competitors. Now, keep in mind, European industries are looking at an even more ambitious approach than we are. And they obviously have confidence that they can compete internationally under a regime that controls carbons. I think the Chinese are starting to move in the direction of recognizing that the future requires them to take a clean energy approach. In fact, in some ways they're already ahead of us -- on fuel efficiency standards, for example, they've moved beyond where we've moved on this.

There are going to be a series of negotiations around this and I am very mindful of wanting to make sure that there's a level playing field internationally. I think there may be other ways of doing it than with a tariff approach.

I'm excited that the chances for getting climate change legislation through the Senate have grown, I just don't want to see them destroy the chances for multilateral climate action. Both are important for American competitiveness, jobs, and the creation of a low-carbon economy.

Yesterday, NDN hosted three experts in the automobile industry to discuss the future of clean transportation. NDN Green Project Director Michael Moynihan moderated this wide-ranging and well attended discussion, the video of which can be found below.

Kim Hill, the Associate Director of Research at the Center for Automotive Research and the Director of the Sustainable Transportation and Communities Group, spoke about a recent study he conducted on the economic impact ATT’s shift to a more efficient vehicle fleet. The short version: the conversion to CNG and hybrid vehicles saved fuel and money and created jobs. The detailed study can be found here.

Mike Granoff, the Head of Oil Independence Policies for Better Place, the first service provider for electric cars, building infrastructure, software and the user interfaces to make electric cars available for mass adoption, spoke about the Better Place vision and business model and updated us on Better Place's progress. During the session, he mentioned the video of the battery swap station at work, which can be found here on the Better Place website. 

Finally, Dr. Kathryn Clay, the Director of Research for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers spoke about the industry's efforts to innovate to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the regulatory environment around those efforts. More on the Auto Alliance can be found here.

Here's the video of the full session:

One of the most important pieces for the future of transportation, energy, and climate is how we power automobiles. An interesting piece from the Wall Street Journal's "Environmental Capital" blog discusses a new study on the future of global oil supplies:

Here's an intriguing thought: Global oil supplies are indeed set to peak within a few years, and no, that is not bullish for oil. Quite the contrary—it will spell the end of the "oil age."

That's the take from Deutsche Bank's new report, "The Peak Oil Market." In a nutshell: The oil industry chronically under invests in finding new supplies, exemplified both by Big Oil’s recent love of share buybacks and under-investment by big oil-producing nations. That spells a looming supply crunch.

That will send oil to $175 a barrel by 2016—and will simultaneously put the final nail in oil's coffin and send prices plummeting back to $70 by 2030. That’s because there's an even more important "peak" moment on the horizon: A global peak in oil demand. That has already begun in the world’s biggest oil-consuming nation, Deutsche Bank notes:

US demand is the key. It is the last market-priced, oil inefficient, major oil consumer. We believe Obama’s environmental agenda, the bankruptcy of the US auto industry, the war in Iraq, and global oil supply challenges have dovetailed to spell the end of the oil era.

The big driver? The coming-of-age of electric and hybrid vehicles, which promise massive fuel-economy gains for short-hop commuting but which so far have not been economic.

Peak Oil, which used to be dismissed by many as kind of wacky theory (even though the idea was originally formulated by an oil company geologist), seems to have arrived firmly in the mainstream with the likes of Deutsche Bank onboard. Some argue that the arrival of peak oil will generate a massive shock to civilization, but, true or not, it will certainly be a game-changer that necessitates and speeds the deployment of new technologies. So if the Peak Oil believers are right, it's incumbent on us to start investing in these technologies today: Oil prices spikes have generally been economically problematic – or worse – some have triggered recessions.

For more on the "coming-of-age of electric and hybrid vehicles" and the general future of clean transportation and automaking, join us at NDN at noon today for Insights into the future of Clean Transportation, which will showcase speakers from the Center for Automobile Research, the Auto Alliance, and Better Place. If you can't make it, watch the event live online. 

With Friday's revelation from the Director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Policy Carol Browner that President Obama's signature finding its way onto a climate bill was "not going to happen" prior to Copenhagen, it's time to go to Plan B to get the most out of the international conference. Although the US may not be leading on what many consider the most important piece of limiting climate harming emissions, there are still other areas in which we can show leadership.

One place to start is by building on something the G-20 did: a global agreement on the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies. Taking the agreement from that smaller group and getting buy-in from additional nations (most of whom were obviously not at the G-20), would be helpful. Additional teeth should be put into such an agreement, such as an actual timeline – the current one is a somewhat laughable “medium term.” America can lead by acknowledging that our subsidies to fossil fuel industries easily outpace those given to clean technology and commit to changing that.

For many developing countries, fuel subsidies are something of a prisoner’s dilemma and policy trap. Governments artificially lower prices via subsidy thereby increasing demand – when, if nation’s acted in concert to eliminate these subsidies – markets would see to diminished demand and a lower world price. (Of course subsidies for low-income and vulnerable populations would remain appropriate.) Copenhagen is the perfect place to agree to such an outcome. 

There are other important ideas, some of which we'll be writing about and advocating in the coming months before Copenhagen. Domestically, a Renewable Electricity Standard and strong clean technology incentives are an achievable necessity. A robust agenda for reforming our electricity markets and slow-moving utilities is also a conversation we can begin.

Internationally, a Global Environmental Organization that adequately represents rising powers and developing nations and that builds and guards the structure and rules for the complicated climate regime, as Ed Gresser advocated in the latest Democracy Journal, is another good idea. And, as you'll be hearing about more in the near future, an agreement to remove the significant barriers to the global deployment of clean technology and environmental services is crucial. 

President Obama will be in a difficult position – he is in the right place on the issue, but the Senate is bogged down with healthcare, and getting to 60 on climate is not a forgone conclusion anyway. His team will therefore have to prepare a robust agenda of demonstrable accomplishments that showcases American leadership and gets the most out of this important conference.

For more on preparing for Copenhagen, check out the Washington Post, where NDN Globalization Initiative Chair Dr. Robert Shapiro continues his advocacy for a carbon tax. 

Experience shows that an important key to growing a vibrant renewable energy sector is a strong domestic market. Germany’s feed-in tariffs have helped it become a world leader in solar energy production. China has long been focusing on building their domestic renewable energy industries, and just announced they are upping their efforts to build domestic renewable demand. 

From the AP's coverage of the U.N. Summit on Climate Change:

Chinese President Hu Jintao said his nation will continue to take "determined" action. He laid out new plans for extending China's energy-saving programs and targets for reducing "by a notable margin" the "intensity" of its carbon pollution — carbon dioxide emission increases as related to economic growth.

He said China would greatly boost its forest cover, "climate-friendly technologies" and use 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

That 15 percent renewable energy by 2020 sounds like a Renewable Electricity Standard. It also sounds similar to the one in the ACES bill that passed the House in June, which mandates 20 percent renewables by 2020, but that generally allows for 5 percent of that to come from energy efficiency (which it undoubtedly will, as efficiency is way cheaper than renewables). In fact, the ACES standard can be weakened even further, all the way down to 12 percent renewables in some cases.

So now China's ahead of the United States, and, even if we pass ACES as is, will have a comparable or slightly stronger RES in an economy whose energy use (and therefore said sector) will grow much faster over the next decade than America's will. We'll have the price signal that cap and trade offers, but it’s not nearly as strong as it could be. (China is unwilling to agree to cap emissions and certainly won't ahead of the U.S.) 

Much of the opposition to domestic climate change regimes comes of the idea that American action on climate without China going along hurts the U.S. economy and does nothing to slow climate change. Now, basically the opposite could play out. With China stepping up on an RES and limited movement from the U.S. Congress toward passing a strong climate bill, some Americans seem willing to let China take a leadership role on perhaps the most pressing global governance challenge of the young century and develop an export-capable renewable energy sector that passes ours, thereby surrendering a high potential economic sector to world's most important rising power.

With the Senate considering refilling (sorry) the funds for "Cash for Clunkers," here's a video of clean-tech entreprenuer Jack Hidary speaking about such a program last year at an NDN Green Project event on "Energy and the American Way of Life." Jack calls the proposal "Jack's Jalopy Law," but it's the same idea.