The Payne Institute Earth Observation Group provided the satellite data research analysis for the recently released World Bank Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report in April 2021. According to the GGFR, gas flaring worldwide decreased by 5 percent in the pandemic year, mostly because of lower demand for oil. May 10, 2021.
Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian discusses big industrial networks, including the Colonial Pipeline, which has been down for three days following a cyberbreach, that fill vital everyday needs such as gasoline, clean water and electricity on a podcast with Scott Tong. The Joe Biden administration plans new cyber rules for agencies and contractors involved in critical infrastructure. May 10, 2021.
Payne Institute Researcher Brad Handler and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how climate change has emerged as arguably the single most important driver for long-term investment performance. Broad swaths of the economy are currently impacted by the physical risks of climate change (e.g. from extreme weather), and transitional risks to lower-carbon sources of energy. May 4, 2021.
The World Bank with research support from the Payne Institute Earth Observation Group released their world gas flaring overview. GGFR has now published estimates from satellite data, which show that global gas flaring declined by 5% in 2020. Oil production dropped from 82 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2019 to 76 million b/d in 2020, as global gas flaring reduced from 150 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2019 to 142 bcm. April 28, 2021.
Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian contributes to the World Economic Forum‘s Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2021 report on how as countries continue their progress in transitioning to clean energy, it is critical to root the transition in economic, political and social practices to ensure progress is irreversible. The Energy Transition Index, which benchmarks 115 countries on the performance of their energy systems, finds that while 92 of the countries increased their score over the past 10 years, only 10% of countries were able to make consistent gains, showing the need for renewed focus and resilience to meet the climate goals of the next decade. April 20, 2021.
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.
Payne Institute Senior Research Associate Dr. Sara Hastings-Simon contributes to this article about how two new announcements illustrate how Canada’s existing energy system is intersecting with the new energy complex, erasing the line between them. April 10, 2021.
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Jared Carbone gave testimony to the Colorado State House Energy and Environment Committee on House bill HB21-1238. If passed, the bill would direct the PUC to take the social cost of carbon and methane emissions into account in developing demand-side management programs to reduce the use of natural gas in residential and commercial spaces. Dr. Carbone explained what the social cost of carbon is and why it’s appropriate to take into account in the bill. Testimony starts at 2:54. April 8, 2021.
Payne Institute Fellow Brad Handler, with Fellow Ben Caldecott and Director Morgan Bazilian, writes about how conventional wisdom has it that US president Joe Biden can effect only modest progress on climate change legislation because of the Democrats’ razor-thin Senate margin. But this undervalues the levers the administration can pull, including motivating the private sector. April 7, 2021.
Payne Institute is a proud partner on gas flaring emissions monitoring with Project Canary, who received investments from Quantum Energy Partners, Global Reserve Group and Energy Impact Partners to fund the Denver-based emissions monitoring and data startup, as the ESG-driven market for Responsibly Sourced Gas grows. April 6, 2021.