Belfer Center Topics

The New Influencers: A Primer on the Expanding Role of Middle Powers in Africa

Belfer Center — Aug 5, 2024

Aug 5, 2024

This original primer, conducted as research for The Africa Futures Project, is an initial exploration into the evolving roles and increasing influence of “middle powers” in Africa. It covers a diverse array of existing and aspiring middle powers, presenting key points for each nation under four distinct analytical lenses.

Harvard Project Director Robert Stavins Moderates Climate Action Week Panel on “Strategies for Mitigating Global Methane Emissions”

Belfer Center — Jul 11, 2024

Jul 11, 2024

Efforts to measure and mitigate the impact of methane emissions was the topic of discussion last Monday (June 10, 2024) at a panel convened as part of Climate Action Week in the Northwest Building, sponsored by Harvard’s Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability and moderated by Harvard Environmental Economics Program and Harvard Project Director Robert Stavins.

The Colors of Hydrogen

Belfer Center — Jul 8, 2024

Jul 8, 2024

Green, grey, blue, turquoise, pink, yellow, orange – Nicola De Blasio provides a guide to the color codes used to classify hydrogen produced from different sources.

Heat Pumps Can Help Meet Climate Goals but Can Hurt Pocketbooks

Belfer Center — Jul 4, 2024

Jul 4, 2024

Massachusetts has set aggressive targets for heat pump installations for over 100,000 homes by 2025 and over 500,000 homes by 2030. But the high price of electricity in Massachusetts — the fourth highest in the nation — relative to natural gas or oil makes achieving these targets very challenging unless there is a major change in electricity policy.

Opportunities for Cost-Effective Residential Heat Pump Adoption in Massachusetts

Belfer Center — Jun 26, 2024

Jun 26, 2024

The first-ever town-level spatial analysis of the effect of heat pump adoption on residential heating bills finds that air-source heat pump adoption will increase heating costs for approximately half of all Massachusetts households due to high electricity prices, challenging the state’s ability to achieve its recently announced ambitions for heat pump adoption.

Heat Pump Adoption Not Cost-Effective for Majority of MA Households, Says New Study

Belfer Center — Jun 26, 2024

Jun 26, 2024

Air-source heat pump adoption will increase heating costs for approximately half of all Massachusetts households due to high electricity prices, according to a new town-level spatial analysis by researchers at Harvard University. Concerns around increased energy bills could challenge Massachusetts’ ability to achieve its ambitions for decarbonization of buildings across the state.

A Just Transition for Coal Regions: Learning from Two Coal Cities in Western China

Belfer Center — Jun 14, 2024

Jun 14, 2024

China produces more than half of the world’s coal and employs more coal workers than any other country. China will need to develop alternative economic opportunities for workers displaced by the transition away from coal. This report examines the experiences of Tongchuan, Shaanxi, and Wuhai, Inner Mongolia in addressing unemployment problems and diversifying their economies, offering lessons for how other coal-producing cities and regions around the world can ensure a just transition for fossil fuel industry workers.

Integrating Solar Electricity into a Fossil Fueled System

Belfer Center — Jun 12, 2024

Jun 12, 2024

Deploying renewable energy sources is the most promising approach to decarbonizing the power sector in China. However, the intermittency and non-dispatchable nature of wind and solar power pose significant challenges to grid stability, particularly when these sources reach high penetration rates. This study applies a unit commitment model to investigate the economic and environmental performance of load shaving strategies across different scenarios.

Event Debrief: Planning the Mid-Transition for Just and Sustainable Decarbonization

Belfer Center — Jun 6, 2024

Jun 6, 2024

Emily Grubert, Associate Professor of Sustainable Energy Policy and of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, discussed the dangers of an unplanned transition from a fossil-based energy system to a zero-carbon energy system during a talk at Harvard Kennedy School.

Sodium: An Alternative to the "White Gold" of the Energy Transition?

Belfer Center — May 29, 2024

May 29, 2024

The energy transition is driving demand for critical minerals and metals, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements. Sodium-based batteries could provide a more secure, affordable alternative to lithium-ion batteries and highly concentrated lithium supply chains.

Leveraging Charging Strategies to Reduce Grid Impacts of Electric Vehicles

Belfer Center — May 8, 2024

May 8, 2024

Electric vehicles (EVs) can challenge or support electricity systems depending on how they are charged. Controlled charging that combines technical solutions with heterogenous EV user behaviors can reduce peak demand to avoid grid constraints and support the integration of renewable energy.

Energy, Geopolitics, and Climate Change: A Conversation with Meghan O'Sullivan

Belfer Center — May 6, 2024

May 6, 2024

International relations expert Meghan O'Sullivan, the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, expressed her hopes for achieving successful international climate policy solutions in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.”

Event Debrief: The Future of Resource Adequacy in a Decarbonized Grid

Belfer Center — Apr 26, 2024

Apr 26, 2024

Concerns over resource adequacy during periods of peak demand or supply crises are rising with increasing deployment of renewable energy. Conleigh Byers says mandatory forward market contracts could help.

Impacts of Electric Vehicle Subsidies: A Conversation with Hunt Allcott

Belfer Center — Apr 8, 2024

Apr 8, 2024

Behavioral economist Hunt Allcott, Professor of Global Environmental Policy at the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University, questioned the impact of new and used electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.”

Is Fusion Commercialization in Sight? Not Yet, Says John Holdren

Belfer Center — Apr 3, 2024

Apr 3, 2024

Great progress on nuclear fusion has been made, but commercialization of the technology before 2050 is unlikely, said John Holdren during a United States Energy Association press briefing.

Event Debrief: Sarah Ladislaw on U.S. Foreign Policy on Energy and Climate

Belfer Center — Apr 1, 2024

Apr 1, 2024

Harvard Kennedy School hosted Sarah Ladislaw, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate and Energy of the U.S. National Security Council, for an Energy Policy Seminar on the U.S. approach to energy and climate issues in its foreign policy.

India - The New Global Green Hydrogen Powerhouse?

Belfer Center — Mar 26, 2024

Mar 26, 2024

India aims to become a leading producer of green hydrogen by the next decade as part of its broader industrial and decarbonization strategies. This brief provides an overview of India's current hydrogen strategy, as well as the challenges - land and water scarcity, infrastructure gaps, and financing gaps - that must be addressed in order for India to achieve its ambitious goals.

Event Debrief: Advancing Equitable Clean Technology Investment Through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

Belfer Center — Mar 18, 2024

Mar 18, 2024

Harvard Kennedy School hosted Jahi Wise, Senior Adviser to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to discuss the design and implementation of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a historic investment in American clean energy technology finance.

Russia and the Global Nuclear Order

Belfer Center — Mar 12, 2024

Mar 12, 2024

Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine illuminated the long profound shadow of nuclear weapons over international security. Russia's nuclear threats have rightfully garnered significant attention because of the unfathomable lethality of nuclear weapons. However, the use of such weapons in Ukraine is only one way—albeit the gravest— that Russia could challenge the global nuclear order. Russia's influence extends deep into the very fabric of this order—a system to which it is inextricably bound by Moscow's position in cornerstone institutions such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). From withdrawing from key treaties to stymieing resolutions critical of misconduct, Moscow has demonstrated its ability to challenge the legitimacy, relevance, and interpretations of numerous standards and principles espoused by the West.

Is Nuclear Proliferation Back?

Belfer Center — Mar 5, 2024

Mar 5, 2024

Joseph Nye considers lessons from his own work on preventing the spread of nuclear technology in the 1970s.