Category: Essays, Blogs, and Stories

The Climate Debates: Can America Break Its Natural Gas Addiction? 4/16/2021

The Climate Debates: Can America Break Its Natural Gas Addiction?

Payne Institute Fellow Arvind Ravikumar participates in this discussion about how to wean the U.S. off of natural gas.  As more and more people have come to understand the urgency of the climate crisis in recent years, and Americans have elected a president in Joe Biden who has pledged to make addressing climate the centerpiece of his administration, but there is much debate about exactly how we should go about confronting our collective climate challenge.  April 16, 2021.

Biden can decarbonize electricity with these quick wins 4/15/2021

Biden can decarbonize electricity with these quick wins

Payne Institute Senior Research Associate Greer Gosnell, Director Morgan Bazilian, and Clark Miller write about how bold goals to address climate change are emerging globally, and the U.S. will undoubtedly announce its own shortly. The technical pathways to meet net-zero emissions goals demonstrate an accelerating role for renewable energy, thanks to tremendous recent cost declines. April 15, 2021.

Mobilizing Investment for Clean Energy in Emerging Economies 4/1/2021

Mobilizing Investment for Clean Energy in Emerging Economies

The Payne Institute is proud to be a partner organization with the World Economic Forum on their new initiative Mobilizing Investment for Clean Energy in Emerging Economies. Accelerating clean energy transitions is a global imperative for the world to address the climate emergency. The decarbonization of energy production and use will require trillions of dollars to be invested in the deployment of new clean energy capacity and energy efficiency, as well as to retire existing carbon-intensive energy infrastructure that would otherwise lock-in emissions for decades. April 1, 2021.

Rising oil prices a litmus test for Alberta’s commitment to addressing inactive wells 3/17/2021

Rising oil prices a litmus test for Alberta’s commitment to addressing inactive wells

Payne Institute Senior Research Associate Dr. Sara Hastings-Simon writes an opinion piece on how recently, the Alberta Energy Regulator suspended Sanling Energy’s licences, announcing that the company has $67 million in unpaid security for end-of-life obligations (i.e. abandonment and reclamation of wells). This is but the latest in a long series of bad news regarding the oil and gas sector’s outstanding environmental liabilities in Alberta, which includes a staggering 97,000 inactive wells (wells that are neither producing nor properly abandoned and reclaimed) — up from approximately 84,000 in 2018.  March 17, 2021.

Women should be on the frontlines of climate action 3/8/2021

Women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Payne Institute Advisory Board member Nawal Al-Hosany writes an opinion piece about how the world faces both the immediate threats and long-term impact of climate change, and data shows that women and children are already the most affected. Globally, eight in 10 climate refugees are women. And they are exponentially more likely to die in natural disasters. Despite this, women are still too few and far between in the places and roles where they can make a difference in helping chart a clean energy future.  March 8, 2021.

Actorless Threats 2/26/2021

Actorless Threats

Payne Institute Fellow Andreas Goldthau, Franz Haniel Professor at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, and Research Group Leader at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies; and Kirsten Westphal, a Senior Analyst at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about our age of the “actorless threats”. As Bazilian and Hendrix argued in a recent essay, “Mitigating or adapting to slow-onset, actorless threats like climate change…requires a reimagining of our national security priorities and architecture.” Climate change gives rise to cascading risks of habitat destruction, infectious disease outbreaks or biodiversity loss. These threats have already started to cause loss of life at significant scales. They have added friction to various aspects of geopolitics and the relationship between states and people.  February 26, 2021.

What can the Texas electricity crisis tell us about the future of energy markets? 2/23/2021

What can the Texas electricity crisis tell us about the future of energy markets?

Payne Institute Fellow Alex Gilbert and Director Morgan Bazilian write an opinion piece about the extreme winter weather in Texas that has caused energy shortages and threatened health and safety.  The energy system failures suggest that better grid planning is needed to meet demand during these difficult conditions, write two experts. A variety of energy sources should be considered moving forward, such as nuclear energy, carbon capture and enhanced geothermal systems.   February 23, 2021.  

The Texas electricity crisis and the energy transition 2/19/2021

The Texas electricity crisis and the energy transition

Payne Institute Fellow Alex Gilbert and Director Morgan Bazilian write an opinion piece about the severe winter weather in Texas that caused the worst energy shortages in the United States since the 2003 blackout in the Northeast and Midwest. Millions of people suffered power outages, which frequently extended beyond 24 hours in areas with freezing temperatures.  Although the political and national debate is turning into a proxy debate on energy resources, the most immediate concern is that the current failure threatens public health and safety.  February 19, 2021.  

Oil prices and demand may be up, but the industry has a host of issues to sort out in 2021 – 2/10/21

Oil prices and demand may be up, but the industry has a host of issues to sort out in 2021

Payne Institute Fellow Brad Handler contributes to this article about how Colorado’s new rules make for a “tricky” business environment.  Tighter spending and the focus on free cash flow that were prevalent in the oil and gas industry before the pandemic are expected to continue even as demand and prices start to rise.  February 10, 2021.