Tag archives for fiscal cliff
Fiscal Cliff Deal Reached, Clean Energy Not Forgotten
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on January 3, 2013 After months of negotiating, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., reached an agreement to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Featured in the measure is an extension of a renewable electricity production tax credit for wind, geothermal and some biomass projects, which gives credit for each kilowatt-hour of energy they produce. Highly contested prior to the bill’s passing was the credit’s impact on the wind industry. The credit, which offers 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour of…
Climate Change under the Microscope in Report, Leaked IPCC Draft
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on December 20, 2012 As lawmakers in Washington, D.C., debate the so-called fiscal cliff—when U.S. federal tax increases and spending cuts are due to take effect at the end of 2012—new research in the journal Nature Climate Change says we are already at the edge of a climate cliff. It explores the cost and risk associated with surpassing critical emissions thresholds by 2020, and what would need to…
Scientific Papers Share Lessons Learned from the BP Oil Spill
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on December 6, 2012 A collection of papers now out in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) looks at the response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, examining whether it was successful and how it could be improved. The release of the reports comes just days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suspended BP from obtaining new U.S. contracts due to…
Climate Change a Focus for President in Second Term
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on November 15, 2012 In his first press conference since being re-elected, President Barack Obama acknowledged he’ll focus on climate change in his second term. “I am a firm believer that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human behavior, and carbon emissions,” Obama said at a televised news conference on Wednesday. “And as a consequence, I think we’ve got an obligation to…
