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Join Karl Hausker, Senior Fellow at World Resources Institute Energy and Climate Program as he discusses climate challenges and solutions of getting to net-zero emissions.

Join the students of PUBPOL 750: Renewable Energy Policy at the State & Local Level for a Student Symposium on State & Local Renewable Energy Policy.  Students will share their research on the web of state and local policies facilitating and hindering renewable energy deployment in California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, and Wyoming.

Barry Rabe discusses his book Can We Price Carbon? Moderated by John Milewski, Director of Digital Programming; Host and Managing Editor, Wilson Center NOW.

Student panels will discuss the implications of their independent research projects on state and local environmental policy on issues including water, energy, climate change, and land use.This event showcases the work of Ford School BA students enrolled in a section of PubPol 495 that is part of the CLOSUP in the Classroom Initiative. 

Can a carbon price survive in a highly decentralized, fossil-fuel producing nation that is tightly integrated with the economy of the United States? Against the backdrop of worldwide interest in carbon pricing as a way to meet commitments made in Paris, and in the context of a Trump presidency, this talk examines the history, origins and prospects of carbon pricing in Canada. The talk will focus on recent efforts at developing a national carbon price framework at the federal level, the challenges now facing the current federal government as it moves toward implementation, and the prospects for carbon pricing in the future. Specific attention will be paid to the role of recalcitrant provinces, a divided public, and the influence of political developments in the United States. The talk will also explore key controversies over carbon pricing, and highlight potential lessons from the Canadian experience.

Student panels will discuss the implications of their independent research projects on state and local environmental policy on issues ranging from recycling and food policy to water and energy.

The 2016 general election will have enormous implications for energy and climate policy in the United States. While much attention will be paid to the positions of presidential candidates, congressional and state elections will also have major implications for how federal and state governments address a variety of crucial issues such as implementing greenhouse gas reduction policies, regulating fracking, crafting subsidies for renewable energy, and much more. Experts with a variety of perspectives will discuss which elections they’re most closely watching, and what different results might mean for energy and climate policy in Michigan, Washington, and beyond.    

This talk explores a surprising new strategy for climate change policy that has emerged in the last 10 years: “reclaiming the atmospheric commons.”  The strategy combines the idea of making polluters pay for their greenhouse gas emissions with the additional idea of using those revenues to generate tangible, broadly distributed public benefits. 

How do Americans think about energy? Is the debate over fossil fuels, nuclear power, and renewable energy highly partisan and ideological? Are people’s preferences for different energy sources idiosyncratic, or is there a common pattern that explains how people view energy across sources? How much does concern about climate change weigh on these opinions? 

Please join us for the next installment of the Environmental Law & Policy Program's Lecture Series. Patricia Beneke, North America Regional Director for the United Nations Environment Programme, will be the featured speaker.Prior to her May 2014 appointment to the U.N., Ms. Beneke served as Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for nearly 20 years, specializing in legislation and oversight matters relating to energy policy, water resources, and environmental issues. She also served as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science for five years. A reception will immediately follow.  This event is free and open to the public.

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) invites our Washington DC colleagues to attend a discussion hosted by the Wilson Center/Canada Institute featuring CLOSUP Director, Barry Rabe, and our collaborating National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) partners, Christopher Borick, Director, Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion, and Erick Lachapelle, Assistant Professor, University of Montreal.  The discussion will feature findings from the FALL 2015 round of ongoing survey work in both Canada and the US.  Key themes will include public views on whether climate change is occurring, response to a range of possible policy options across levels of government, and reaction to Pope Francis' recent engagement on the issue.  The U.S. portion of the survey will also include an early look at how Americans want their states to respond to the new Clean Power Plan.  The session is free but requires registration.  Please call 202-691-4000 or email canada@wilsoncenter.org to reserve your seat.

CLOSUP welcomes guest speaker Ian Rowlands to discuss policies and politics of renewable electricity in Ontario, Canada. This lecture will examine the ways in which electricity generated by renewable resources (like solar and wind) have been encouraged in the province of Ontario (Canada) during the past 20 years.  

In recognition of Earth Day, please join us for a very special lecture about what it takes to pass historic air quality legislation. Margo Oge served at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 32 years, the last 18 of which she directed the Office of Transportation Air Quality. Ms. Oge led the Obama Administration’s landmark 2012 Clean Air Act deal with automakers, the nation’s first action targeting greenhouse gases. This regulation will double the fuel efficiency of automakers’ fleets to 54.5 mpg and cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2025.

This event has been canceled.

Oil and gas development has increased substantially in the United States over the past decade, largely associated with shale resources. This increase has important implications for local government’s financial capacity to provide quality services to citizens. This talk will provide an overview of the major revenues and service demands (i.e., costs) associated with new oil and gas development for local governments, along with the net fiscal impact to date for county and municipal governments across ten oil and gas plays in eight states: Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wyoming.

The often-unnoticed actor in environmental policy is the state regulator—the Lilliputian. Together, these Lilliputians comprise the foundation of environmental regulation...

The Obama Administration’s EPA created a stir when it recently proposed widely varying state carbon-intensity targets to be achieved by 2020 and permanently by 2030. Dr. Engel will discuss a recent paper that examines the bases for federal allocation, among the various states, of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed to meet federal air pollution standards under the Clean Air Act.

This event is being hosted by the Wilson Center in Washington, DC.

Presenting Rip Rapson, President & CEO of the Kresge Foundation Free and open to the public. A reception will immediately follow in the hallway outside of room 250. About the speaker: Rip Rapson is president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, a $3.1 billion private foundation based in metropolitan Detroit and founded by S.S. Kresge in 1924.

Free and open to the public. Panelists: Christopher Borick Professor and Director, Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion, Muhlenberg College Erick Lachapelle Départment de science politique, Université de Montréal Barry Rabe Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R.