Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - International cooperation

Progress in Energy Innovation, Development, and Deployment

Andrew Facini — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:13:18 -0500

"As the financial and environmental costs of current-generation energy sources continue to mount, development and implementation of innovative new energy sources have become increasingly important. Belfer Center experts are putting their research to work to foster changes in government and industry alike to push forward these energy technologies."

Energy and the Arab Awakening: A View from Riyadh

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:33:15 -0500

April 30, 2013

The Middle East Initiative and Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs hosted distinguished scholars and energy experts from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a panel discussion on Thursday, April 25. The panelists included Dr. Mohammed Al Sabban, Professor, King Abdulaziz University, former advisor to Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; Mr. Ali Al Shihabi, Founder, Rasmala Investment Bank; and Mr. Abdulaziz al Fahad, Principal of Abdulaziz al Fahad Law Firm.

Drivers of the Nuclear Power Option in Oil Exporting Countries

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:16:32 -0600

February 22, 2013

An audio recording of Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin's lecture at the Middle East Initiative on February 6, 2013. Dr. Shihab-Eldin, Director General of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, was formerly Acting Secretary General & Director of Research of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

More than One Way to Skin a Policy

Andrew Facini — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:00:28 -0600

Washington Post national environment reporter Juliet Eilperin spoke on the political difficulties of pursuing environmental policy in a seminar titled "Covering Environmental Controversies in a Political Environment" at the Harvard Kennedy School.

'Energy Independence' Alone Won't Boost U.S. Power

Meghan L. O'Sullivan — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:22:00 -0600

“We are finally poised to control our own energy future,” said President Barack Obama in his State of the Union message, noting the drastic increase in American energy production from unconventional oil and gas resources.

Controlling our energy future means more than just producing a greater amount of our own energy. It also means harnessing this energy renaissance to meet our global geopolitical needs. We’ve begun to reap the many economic benefits this boom brings—such as easing the trade deficit and lowering carbon emissions. But we have only started to appreciate how this energy renaissance affects our larger strategic environment. And, not surprisingly, many readers of the tea leaves have confused reality with desire, by hoping more energy at home will mean keeping out of the volatile politics and economics of the Middle East.

The Coming Oil Glut

Leonardo Maugeri — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:13:37 -0600

November 6, 2012

"The price of oil continues to be set by fear, not by supply and demand," writes Leonard Maugeri. "World-wide oil production is growing quickly. By the end of the year, it will probably surpass 92 million barrels per day, with additional spare capacity of more than 3.5 million barrels. Thanks to the shale oil revolution, U.S. crude production could exceed 6.5 million barrels per day by the end of the year: around one million more barrels than the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in January."

The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Anchoring Stability in Asia

Richard Armitage and Joseph S. Nye — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:03:29 -0500

The following report presents a consensus view of the members of a bipartisan study group on the U.S.-Japan alliance. The report specifically addresses energy, economics and global trade, relations with neighbors, and security-related issues. Within these areas, the study group offers policy recommendations for Japan and the United States, which span near- and long-term time frames. These recommendations are intended to bolster the alliance as a force for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

"Post-Durban Climate Policy Architecture Based on Linkage of Cap-and-Trade Systems"

Robert N. Stavins and Matthew Ranson — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:40:19 -0500

The outcome of the December 2011 United Nations climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, provides an important new opportunity to move toward an international climate policy architecture that is capable of delivering broad international participation and significant global CO2 emissions reductions at reasonable cost. This paper addresses an important component of potential climate policy architecture for the post-Durban era: links among independent tradable permit systems for greenhouse gases.

Unleashing the Nuclear Watchdog: Strengthening and Reform of the IAEA

Trevor Findlay — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 20:23:01 -0500

This report marks the culmination of a two-year research project that examined all aspects of the mandate and operations of the International Atomic Energy Agency, from major programs on safeguards, safety, security, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy to governance, management, and finance.

Oil: The Next Revolution

Leonardo Maugeri — Thu, 31 May 2012 10:11:45 -0500

A new study by Belfer Center Geopolitics of Energy researcher Leonardo Maugeri finds that oil production capacity is surging in the United States and several other countries at such a fast pace that global oil output capacity is likely to grow by nearly 20 percent by 2020. This could prompt a plunge or even a collapse in oil prices. The findings by Maugeri, a former oil industry executive who is now a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, are based on an original field-by-field analysis of the world’s major oil formations and exploration projects.

Technology & Policy – A New Belfer Center Blog

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:15:05 -0500

Technology+Policy | Innovation@Work offers a platform for exchange of views on matters at the intersection of science, technology and public policy. Principal bloggers are Harvard faculty and Fellows from across the Belfer Center, the Kennedy School, and Harvard University.

Incentives and Stability of International Climate Coalitions: An Integrated Assessment

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:36:43 -0500

"A successful international climate policy framework will have to meet two conditions, build a coalition of countries that is potentially effective and give each member country sufficient incentives to join and remain in this coalition. Such coalition should be capable of delivering ambitious emission reduction even if some countries do not take mitigation action. In addition, it should meet the target without exceedingly high mitigation costs and deliver a net benefit to member countries as a whole. The novel contribution of this paper is mostly methodological, but it also adds a better qualification of well-known results that are policy relevant."

A Good Opening: The Key to Make the Most of Unilateral Climate Action

Valentina Bosetti and Enrica De Cian — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:51:23 -0600

In a new Harvard Project Discussion Paper, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei's Valentina Bosetti and Enrica De Cian model the behavior of countries not participating in a cooperative climate regime. The regime imposes counterbalancing influences upon these countries, but under some conditions they may act to both reduce emissions and increase clean-energy R&D

Transforming U.S. Energy Innovation

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:04:16 -0600

The United States and the world need a revolution in energy technology—a revolution that would improve the performance of our energy systems to face the challenges ahead. In an intensely competitive and interdependent global landscape, and in the face of large climate risks from ongoing U.S. reliance on a fossil-fuel based energy system, it is important to maintain and expand long-term investments in the energy future of the U.S. even at a time of budget stringency. It is equally necessary to think about how to improve the efficiency of those investments, through strengthening U.S. energy innovation institutions, providing expanded incentives for private-sector innovation, and seizing opportunities where international cooperation can accelerate innovation. The private sector role is key: in the United States the vast majority of the energy system is owned by private enterprises, whose innovation and technology deployment decisions drive much of the country's overall energy systems.

Preventing the Next Fukushima

Matthew Bunn and Olli Heinonen — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:29:11 -0500

"If nuclear power is to grow on the scale required to be a significant part of the solution to global climate disruption or scarcity of fossil fuels, major steps are needed to rebuild confidence that nuclear facilities will be safe from accidents and secure against attacks."

Recommendations for Limiting Transfers of Enrichment and Reprocessing Technologies

Fred McGoldrick — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:33:36 -0500

For several years, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) has been unable to reach a consensus on the adoption of revised guidelines for its members. The most contentious issue is how to strengthen restraints on the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing (E&R) technologies in a manner that would be acceptable to all NSG members, and credible to the major exporting states and the nuclear industry. This issue will be back on the agenda this month when the NSG meets in plenary session.

International Workshop on Research, Development, and Demonstration to Enhance the Role of Nuclear Energy in Meeting Climate and Energy Challenges

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:58:17 -0500

Dramatic growth in nuclear energy would be required for nuclear power to provide a significant part of the carbon-free energy the world is likely to need in the 21st century, or a major part in meeting other energy challenges. This would require increased support from governments, utilities, and publics around the world. Achieving that support is likely to require improved economics and major progress toward resolving issues of nuclear safety, proliferation-resistance, and nuclear waste management. This is likely to require both research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of improved technologies and new policy approaches.

New Geopolitics of Energy Project Weighs Fuel Options

Mon, 16 May 2011 09:15:38 -0500

As the Arab Spring raises oil prices and concerns about energy security around the globe,the links between energy, international security, and global politics are more dramatic than ever. The new Geopolitics of Energy Project at the Belfer Center has set out to tackle some of the most intriguing and pressing issues at this intersection.

The Gulf Natural Gas Dual Pricing Regime: WTO Rules and Economic Growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council

Justin Dargin — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 11:49:51 -0500

April 30, 2011

Stakeholders in the international economy have long considered energy a crucial aspect of national sovereignty - a commodity inherently political in nature. Because of its contentious nature, energy and natural resources have been the source of conflicts for a millennia. With the sharp increase of the international price of oil and natural gas from 2002-2008, energy subsidization in the energy-rich exporting countries assumed center stage. A narrow focus on this new dynamic, however, obscures the basic issue that developed and developing countries tend to view energy in fundamentally contradictory ways. For developed, OECD countries energy is primarily a tool used to promote the smooth running of the global economy. This new book discusses the role and development of energy in emerging regions.

The European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council

Justin Dargin — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:25:31 -0500

March 21, 2011

Dubai Initiative Fellow Justin Dargin presents at the Dubai School of Government a lecture on the EU's energy policy vis-a-vis the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Advancing Carbon Capture and Sequestration in China: A Global Learning Laboratory

Craig A. Hart and Hengwei Liu — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:26:11 -0600

China's dependency on coal fuels the country's phenomenal economic growth but at a major cost to the country's air and water quality, ultimately threatening human health and the country's continued economic growth. The Chinese government's efforts to put China onto a cleaner, low carbon development path have been substantial; however China's pollution and greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow. In an attempt to develop its own advanced coal generation technologies to improve the country's air quality and energy efficiency, the Chinese government is investing heavily in gasification and other technologies that can be employed in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) applications. This investment has turned China into a global laboratory for CCS pilot projects, attracting foreign governments, multilateral institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and business partners.

Why Cancun Trumped Copenhagen: Warmer Relations on Rising Temperatures

Robert N. Stavins — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:33:31 -0600

The climate change talks in Cancun, Mexico, didn't solve all the world's climate problems. But they were hugely successful. Through the Cancun Agreements, 194 countries reached landmark consensus (even the US and China) to set emissions targets and limit global temperature increases.

Governmental Energy Innovation Investments, Policies and Institutions in the Major Emerging Economies: Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, China, and South Africa

Ruud Kempener, Laura Diaz Anadon and Jose Condor Tarco — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:03:26 -0600

Over the past decade, countries with emerging economies like Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, China, and South Africa have become important global players in political and economic domains. In 2007, these six countries consumed and produced more than a third of the world's energy and emitted about 35 percent of total greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. The changing global energy landscape has important implications for energy technology innovation (ETI) nationally and internationally. However, there is limited information available about the investments and initiatives that are taking place by the national governments within these countries. This paper presents the information available on energy RD&D investments in the emerging economies.

What Happened (and Why): An Assessment of the Cancun Agreements

Robert N. Stavins — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:00:19 -0600

December 13, 2010

The international climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, have concluded, and despite the gloom-and-doom predictions that dominated the weeks and months leading up to Cancun, the Sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-16) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) must be judged a success. It represents a set of modest steps forward. Nothing more should be expected from this process.

Will We Know Success When We See It?

Robert N. Stavins — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:01:27 -0600

"It might be relatively easy, but actually quite unfortunate, for countries to achieve what some people might define as 'success' in Cancun: a signed international agreement, followed by glowing press releases. I say it would unfortunate, because such an agreement could only be the Kyoto Protocol on steroids: more stringent targets for the original list of industrialized countries (Annex I) and no meaningful commitments by the key rapidly-growing emerging economies, such as China, India, Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and South Africa."

Contractual and Commercial Elements of Hydrocarbon Exports-What Can Be Taken Over to a Renewable Energy Export Scheme?

Justin Dargin — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:40:22 -0600

November 23, 2010

Justin Dargin, Dubai Initiative Research Fellow, presented at a renewable energy conference in Casablanca, Morocco, and Tunis, Tunisia, November 2010.

Center and Russia's Kurchatov Institute Urge Global Cooperation on Nuclear Energy Growth, Safety, and Security

Neal Doyle — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:08:14 -0600

Russia, the United States, and other countries must cooperate to enable large-scale growth of nuclear energy around the world while achieving even higher standards of safety, security, and nonproliferation than are in place today. This will require building a new global framework for nuclear energy, including new or strengthened global institutions. The Belfer Center's Managing the Atom (MTA) Project and the Russian Research Center's Kurchatov Institute developed these and additional recommendations in a new collaborative report, published in October.

G-15 Challenges World Powers' Monopolies

Kayhan Barzegar — Sat, 15 May 2010 08:28:29 -0500

"In today's world, nations' access to middle or advanced range technologies such as car industries or nuclear technology, their increased national defensive and deterrent capabilities and thus their more regional political and economic clout, enable them to sway more influence on international and regional public opinion, and thereby express their ways of progress and national confidence. This can challenge the hegemony and power monopoly of great powers such as the United States and pave the way for creating new opportunities to establish regional coalitions by rising states."

DOE FY 2011 Budget Request for Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment: Analysis and Recommendations

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:18:49 -0500

This analysis provides an overview the Department of Energy's fiscal year 2011 energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment (ERD3) budget proposals, and lays out actionable recommendations to strengthen the effort. Overall, the report concludes that the 7 percent requested increase in applied energy research, development, and demonstration funds, while welcome in a time of budget stringency, remains well short of the sustained investment likely to be needed to meet the energy demands of the 21st century.

Don't Stop Thinking about Tomorrow

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:50:11 -0500

March 31, 2010

This study, undertaken for the European Commissioner for Energy and the European Commissioner for Climate Action, assesses the concept of renewable energy imports from North Africa to Europe. Often referred to as "Desertec", this concept involves great amounts of renewable energy capacity - mainly solar - to be rolled out in the Sahara desert to generate clean electricty both for domestic markets as well as for export to Europe through high-voltage transmission across the Mediterranean Sea. Regarded by some as a great leap towards the European goals of energy security and climate change mitigation, others view the concept as a pipe dream or even a wrong turn of European energy policy. Rather than answering this question, the authors find that Europe is not yet even in the position to decide on the concept: a host of barriers are prohibitively high at this point. This paper disaggregates these barriers into three categories: directly related barriers that must be addressed as much as is needed to reach feasibilty of the concept, indirectly related barriers that are being worked at already for other reasons and therefore should not figure in the debate about the concept of trans-Mediterranean trade in renewable energy, and lastly a set of barriers that are overestimated and should not hold up progress. This paper concludes by matching each barrier with concrete policy recommendations to the European Union for the coming years.