Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - International cooperation

New Report from Harvard Kennedy School Researchers Calls for Changes to Biofuels Incentives

Henry Lee, William Clark and Charan Devereaux — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:27:32 -0500

July 29, 2008

Despite pressure from biofuel critics, governments should avoid simplistic and precipitous changes in course such as rollback or moratoria on existing biofuels mandates or incentives, according to a new report from three Harvard Kennedy School researchers. Instead, the researchers urge governments to initiate an orderly, innovation-enhancing transition towards incentives targeted on multi-dimensional goals for biofuels development.

Hedging Against Uncertainty: US Strategy in an Interdependent World

William Hogan — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:25:35 -0500

Energy is important, but energy independence is a dangerous myth. The U.S. National Petroleum Council recently observed: "There can be no U.S. energy security without global energy security." Oil flows in a world market and events anywhere affect the price of oil everywhere. There is no escaping these oil price shocks. Even if the United States were to substantially reduce its own oil consumption, there would be no immunity from the effects of high world oil prices that would determine domestic energy prices and ripple through the world economy. Geology and politics make the world deeply interdependent and policy should be crafted to promote and secure energy interdependence. Real energy security comes from robust energy systems with diversity and flexibility, not through isolation and energy autarky.

Closing Time: Assessing the Iranian Threat to the Strait of Hormuz

Caitlin Talmadge — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:54:40 -0500

How might Iran retaliate in the aftermath of a limited Israeli or U.S. strike? The most economically devastating of Iran's potential responses would be closure of the Strait of Hormuz. According to open-source order of battle data, as well as relevant analogies from military history and GIS maps, Iran does possess significant littoral warfare capabilities, including mines, antiship cruise missiles, and land-based air defense. If Iran were able to properly link these capabilities, it could halt or impede traffic in the Strait of Hormuz for a month or more. U.S. attempts to reopen the waterway likely would escalate rapidly into sustained, large-scale air and naval operations during which Iran could impose significant economic and military costs on the United States — even if Iranian operations were not successful in truly closing the strait. The aftermath of limited strikes on Iran would be complicated and costly, suggesting needed changes in U.S. force posture and energy policy.

FULL TEXT AVAILABLE>>

Future of Japan-US Alliance

Joseph S. Nye — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:09:04 -0500

"The U.S. regards a triangular Japan-China-U.S. relationship as the basis of stability in East Asia, and wants good relations between all three of its legs. But the triangle is not equilateral, because the U.S. is allied with Japan, and China need not become a threat to either country if they maintain that alliance....a wise policy combines realism with liberalism. By reinforcing their alliance, the U.S. and Japan can hedge against uncertainty while at the same time offering China integration into global institutions as a "responsible stakeholder."

Economic Incentives in a New Climate Agreement

Joseph Aldy and Robert N. Stavins — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:58:19 -0500

The Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements has agreed to help the Office of the Danish Prime Minister, in its role as incoming President of the 2009 Conference of the Parties, to prepare background papers and on-site briefings for a series of very high-level dialogues on climate change policy, hosted by the Prime Minister. These dialogues will each include about 25 participants, including CEOs of European and U.S. corporations, key officials from national governments and intergovernmental organizations, and leaders of major environmental NGOs. This paper on the subject of economic incentives was prepared by the Harvard Project leadership for the first dialogue.

Free: College Curriculum Package Simulates Oil Crisis

Eric Rosenbach — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:00:54 -0500

Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE), in collaboration with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, has created a free college curriculum box set that includes all of the materials needed to conduct an energy crisis simulation in your classroom. The exercise is based on Oil ShockWave™, SAFE's one-of-a-kind oil crisis simulation, which has featured participants such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Dan Yergin and former director of the CIA R. James Woolsey.

Workshop Ponders: Post-Kyoto, What Next?

Sasha Talcott — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:11:14 -0500

"The project is examining ideas that are similar to Kyoto’s top-down approach, though stronger, as well as approaches that are substantially different. Key ideas in play range from indexing emissions targets to economic growth, to bottom-up approaches, such as linking together the actions of a number of countries. One of the project’s key goals is to persuade the countries of the world not only to look at ideas similar to the Kyoto Protocol, but also to look at ideas that are very different in structure."

The Rise of China: Energy and Environmental Implications

Kelly Sims Gallagher — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:05:03 -0500

In this presentation, Kelly Sims Gallagher discusses the environmental and energy implications of China's economic growth in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Bali Climate Change Conference: Key Takeaways

Robert N. Stavins and Joseph Aldy — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0600

The Bali climate change conference was a qualified success. Before we went to Bali, we observed that it will be good news if there’s no bad news coming out of the negotiations. This was achieved, and then some.

Architectures for Agreement: Issues and Options for Post-2012 International Climate Change Policy

Joseph Aldy, Robert N. Stavins, Carlo Carraro and William A. Pizer — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Project Co-Directors Joseph Aldy and Robert Stavins, along with Carlo Carraro of the University of Venice and Resources for the Future's William Pizer, spoke at a Project-sponsored side event at the 13th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali, Indonesia.

Poland's Place, Post-Kyoto

Mladen Petrov and Robert N. Stavins — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:13:53 -0600

"Poland is of great importance, and curbing greenhouse gas, particularly carbon dioxide emissions, will be a very great challenge, because of the rapidly growing economy and the very high reliance on coal."

The Road from Bali: Strategies for Post-Kyoto Global Climate Policy

Joseph Aldy — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Project Co-Director Joseph Aldy was one of three leading experts on international climate change policy who briefed House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming staff on the key issues on the agenda at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, the negotiating positions of the key players, and the significance and expected results of the conference.

Beyond Kyoto: Getting Serious About Global Climate Change

Robert N. Stavins — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Project Co-Director Robert N. Stavins spoke at a Special Session of the World Energy Congress entitled "Architectures for Agreement: Climate Change Policy Post 2012" on November 15, 2007, in Rome, Italy.

Linking Tradable Permit Systems: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications

Robert N. Stavins — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Professor Stavins' presentation at the 7th IETA Forum on the State and Development of the Greenhouse Gas Market described tradable permit systems and linkage among them that allows emission reduction efforts to be redistributed across systems. He notes that linkage may become the de jure or de facto post-2012 international policy architecture.

Architectures for Agreement: Addressing Global Climate Change in the Post-Kyoto World

Joseph Aldy and Robert N. Stavins — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The Kyoto Protocol serves as an initial step to mitigate the threats posed by global climate change but policy-makers, scholars, businessmen, and environmentalists have begun debating the structure of the successor to the Kyoto agreement. Written by a team of leading scholars in economics, law and international relations, this book contributes to this debate by examining the merits of six alternative international architectures for climate policy.

Frankel Proposal: Formulas for Quantitative Emission Targets

Jeffrey Frankel — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

September 5, 2007

Jeffrey Frankel has proposed a climate policy architecture that builds on the quantitative targets and timetables infrastructure of the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol. He calls for a sequence of negotiations (one per decade) to determine the global greenhouse gas emissions cap and a formula for allocating this global cap among all participating countries.

Powerpoint: Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements

Joseph Aldy and Robert N. Stavins — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

September 5, 2007

This powerpoint presentation provides an easy-to-understand overview of the project, the six potential frameworks that are its starting point, the Kyoto Protocol, and the current state of international climate negotiations.

The Other Energy Crisis

Debra Decker and Erwann O. Michel-Kerjan — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

As nuclear energy becomes a viable alternative to carbon-based fuels, security is a vital concern. Here’s how private markets might be able to help.

The Day After: Action Following a Nuclear Blast in a U.S. City

Dr. Ashton B. Carter, Dr. William J. Perry and Dr. Michael M. May — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Failure to develop a comprehensive contingency plan, such as the one proposed here, and inform the American public, where appropriate, about its particulars will only serve to amplify the devastating impact of any nuclear attack on a U.S. city

Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline: Is It a Peace Pipeline?

Abbas Maleki — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

A major natural gas pipeline that would stretch from the fields of southern Iran to Pakistan and India — itself a remarkable prospect — is being planned. But it faces serious hurdles, not least the fierce opposition of the U.S. government.

Saving the Peace Pipeline

Abbas Maleki and Kaveh L. Afrasiabi — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"...in light of the IPI’s potential contribution to regional development, complementing the North-South corridor under consideration by the member states of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), it may be a good idea to revamp the IPI into a consortium that opens the possibility of a future role by other regional parties, both in terms of investment as well as linkage with the regional gas network."

The Changing Face of Energy Security

Joseph S. Nye — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"...the oil-supply problem has become worse and energy security more complex."

A Joint Workshop on IGCC & Co-Production and CO2 Capture & Storage

Lifeng Zhao — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Report on a workshop jointly organized by the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Confronting Climate Change: Avoiding the Unmanageable and Managing the Unavoidable

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The report outlines the best measures for mitigating and adapting to global warming.

Decontamination and Remediation after a Dirty Bomb Attack

Jennifer C. Bulkeley — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Article in The Nonproliferation Review

A New Energy Paradigm: Ensuring Nuclear Fuel Supply and Nonproliferation through International Collaboration with Insurance and Financial Markets

Debra Decker and Erwann O. Michel-Kerjan — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0600

"Seeking ways to dissuade more states from contemplating launching their own uranium enrichment programs...the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is considering different mechanisms to assure these states that they can obtain fuel supplies from the market without political interference."

The Sky Is Falling

John P. Holdren — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600

An interview with John P. Holdren in The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists in the magazine's Five Minutes to Midnight issue.

Ensuring Global Uranium Supplies

Debra Decker and Erwann O. Michel-Kerjan — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0600

"...a new look at global atomic energy supplies is sorely needed."

Energy-Technology Innovation

Kelly Sims Gallagher, Ambuj Sagar and John P. Holdren — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0600

This paper examines the state of understanding of energy-technology innovation and its role in augmenting energy resources, enhancing the quality of energy services, and reducing the economic, environmental, or political costs associated with energy supply and use.

The Case for Alliances

Dr. Elizabeth D. Sherwood-Randall — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall on U.S. Alliances in the Joint Forces Quarterly