Program Related Publication Feeds

Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future Issues a Final Report

sherry — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

On January 26, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future delivered its final report to the U.S. secretary of energy. The commission was formed at the request of President Barack Obama two years ago after he announced that his administration would no longer pursue the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, nuclear waste site. Led by former U.S. representative Lee Hamilton and former U.S.

Energy in the State of the Union: Not a Bad Place to Start

ecurran — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Last night, President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union address to Congress. The speech is being characterized by many in the media as many things: populist in tone, a campaign year positioning speech, and a mild tongue-lashing for Congress.

The Latest in the Keystone XL Pipeline Saga

sherry — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

On January 18, 2012, the Obama administration officially denied the TransCanada application for a Presidential Permit for a 1,700-mile-long pipeline, known as Keystone XL, which would bring approximately 800,000 barrels of oil per day from the Canadian oil sands to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

A Pragmatic Approach to Energy Policy: The President’s Job Council Report

ecurran — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Yesterday, the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness released a report, “Road Map to Renewal,” on a variety of ways to boost jobs and competitiveness in the United States.

Fracking and Seismic Activity

ecurran — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Q1: Recent earthquake tremors centered on Youngstown, Ohio, have resurrected safety concerns related to hydraulic fracturing and shale gas extraction. Are the tremors related to fracking activity?

Iran Sanctions and Oil Market Implications

kate — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Q: With tensions escalating between Iran and the West as both the United States and Europe prepare to impose additional sanctions, Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz have driven up oil prices and sent purchasers scurrying to find replacement barrels. What is the likelihood of Iran following through on the threat, and what are the implications for the oil market?

Energy and Development Trends

jdunton — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

One of the least understood but potentially important trends in the energy field is how emerging economies’ development priorities are shaping energy markets.

Much Ado about a Pipeline

ian — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. government is in the final stages of deciding whether a major new pipeline project bringing oil-sands-derived crude oil from Canada to the United States is in the U.S.

Partnership for Recovery and a Stronger Future

jdunton — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0400

When a magnitude 9.0 earthquake shook the earth beneath the Western Pacific on March 11, 2011, it unleashed a massive nine-meter tsunami toward the coast of the Tohoku region of Japan’s main island of Honshu.

China—Leader or Laggard on the Path to a Secure, Low-Carbon Energy Future?

jdunton — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

There has been a great deal of talk about whether and how China will manage its need to provide enough energy to ensure continued economic growth while avoiding the local and global environmental impacts of its energy production and use. To listen to the political discourse, China is either a global leader on clean energy technologies and transformation or the largest source of emissions with serious, systemic local environmental degradation. How can it at once be a low-carbon leader and a laggard?

Global Forecast 2011

jdunton — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Security Implications of the Changing Energy Landscape

ian — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Even before the onset of the credit crunch and the global economic meltdown, energy markets were already in the midst of signifi cant change. Energy demand growth earlier in the decade had eroded existing spare capacity, creating persistently tight markets in which any geopolitical or weather-related supply interruption often resulted in precipitous spikes in commodity prices.

The Future of Low Carbon Growth

ian — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In the wake of the economic crisis, the conversation about global cooperation to deal with climate change has shifted almost entirely to a discussion about the competitive economic advantage to be gained from leading in socalled clean energy technologies.

Nuclear Power after Fukushima

ian — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Japan’s tragic March 11 earthquake and tsunami have triggered the most serious nuclear emergency in 25 years and have raised questions about the future viability of nuclear power in the energy system around the world.

Japan's Energy Supply and Security since the March 11 Earthquake

ian — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and a powerful tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011. In its wake, in addition to a mounting death toll and a trail of devastation, significant energy-related infrastructure was also rendered inoperable.

Japanese Nuclear Crisis

sherry — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: How bad is the damage to Japan’s nuclear power plants from the earthquake?

Update on Libyan Oil Production

mentman — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The trajectory of Libyan oil production remains concerning. Estimates of current shut in production vary from a low of 500,000 barrels/day (b/d) to over 1 million, from a total production of 1.6 million barrels/day (mmb/d).

Middle East Civil Unrest and Oil Prices

ian — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Q1: How have increased political tensions and antigovernment demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa affected global oil supplies?

The Impact of Egyptian Unrest on Oil Markets

mentman — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Q1: Oil prices have moved steadily upward in the past few weeks. How will the crisis in Egypt affect price movements?

Energy and Environment in the Barack Obama–Hu Jintao Meeting

mentman — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

A number of events during President Hu Jintao’s visit to the United States will underscore that the energy dialogue between the United States and China continues to be a key area of engagement, where both sides can point to recent successes, but it is not without threat of derailment.

Energy and Climate Change Implications of the QDDR

mentman — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The QDDR included three relevant sections on energy and climate change, each of which elevates the importance of the energy and climate agenda in U.S. foreign and development policy.

Cancun Climate Negotiation

ian — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0500

For the last two weeks international climate negotiators met in Cancun, Mexico for the 16th Conference of Parties (COP) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Developing America's Unconventional Gas Resources

jdunton — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Access, higher prices, and advances in technology have made it possible to commercially develop unconventional gas resources. The magnitude and potential impact of this resource has attracted a great deal of public- and private-sector interest, as well as increasing scrutiny.

The Geopolitics of Energy

jdunton — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

For a variety of reasons—population growth, development, economics, investment and infrastructure needs, geopolitics, policy/governance, and the expected impacts of climate change, to name but a few—the current global energy system is unsustainable in its present form.

Central Asia's Pipelines

lhyland — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

"Central Asia's Pipelines" is an essay from the NBR 2010 Energy Security Conference report: Pipeline Politics in Asia: The Intersection of Demand, Energy Markets, and Supply Routes, which presents key conference findings and explores the strategic, market, and geopolitical ties that have emerged from the rise in pipeline development in Asia.

Energy Innovation and National Security: Scanning the Horizon of Defense Department Energy Initiatives

ian — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Earlier this summer, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense (DOD) released a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to expedite clean energy innovation and improve energy security in the United States.

Geopolitics and Energy in Iraq

jdunton — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Geopolitics and Energy in Iraq addresses issues related to the March 7, 2010, Iraqi national election; the selection of a prime minister; and whether the promise of that election will be fulfilled. If a functioning government is not seated, will the country return to the sectarian conflicts that characterized its past? Senior Iraqi officials fear that the U.S.

Asia's Response to Climate Change and Natural Disasters

jdunton — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This new report by energy, regional, and humanitarian disaster specialists at CSIS examines the politics of climate change in Asia, the region’s response to natural disasters, and the implications for the future geometry of Asia’s institutions and U.S. policy in the region. The assessment looks broadly at two areas of nontraditional security cooperation in Asia: (1) climate change, including the domestic political factors in Asia and the regional strategies for securing low-carbon pathways; and (2) regional approaches to disaster management. The volume draws on case studies to assess the utility of existing and emerging institutions—the promises as well as the problems—as the United States and the region seek greater cooperation on both traditional and nontraditional security challenges. The authors discuss the problems related to lack of coordination at different levels, the uncertain role of the military, and continuing gaps in resources and expertise in key organizations.

Impact of Iran Sanctions Legislation: An Energy Perspective

mentman — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Q: Last week, the House and Senate both overwhelmingly approved legislation (HR 2194) authorizing the president to sanction businesses that supply Iran with refined petroleum products or help Iran to produce them. How does this legislation target the energy sector, and how effective is it likely to be?

Earth Observation for Climate Change

ian — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Until this year, America’s civil space policies—and the budgets that derive from it—were shaped to a considerable degree by the political imperatives of the past and by the romantic fiction of spaceflight.

The Gulf Oil Spill and Efforts to Cap the Well

ian — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Third in a series of Critical Questions on the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and the Gulf oil spill.

Q1: What is the status of BP’s latest attempt to cap the Gulf oil well?

Neighborly Corporate Raid

sherry — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:00:00 -0400

At the end of a meeting on April 30 in Sochi, Russia, Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin shocked Ukrainian prime minister Mykola Azarov with the offer to merge Gazprom with Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz. On the surface, the offer makes no sense at all.

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

sherry — Mon, 03 May 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This is the second installment of Critical Questions related to the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drill rig and the subsequent oil spill that has resulted from the failure of the well to be capped and shut down. Readers are referred to our earlier (April 23) feature entitled Gulf Oil Rig Explosion for additional details and commentary.

Gulf Oil Rig Explosion

sherry — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Q: This week an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded and caught fire. At this time, 11 crewmen on that rig are still missing. Does of this tragic accident have any implications for U.S. energy supply?

Adapting for Future Resource Challenges

mentman — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

To date, efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to slow and eventually reverse the negative impacts of a changing climate have received most of the political and popular attention afforded to the issue of climate change.

In Search of Plan B

lhyland — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The time has come for a new approach to moving U.S. energy and climate policy forward.

Geopolitics of the Iranian Nuclear Energy Program

jdunton — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Relations between the United States and Iran in recent months have been defined by Iranian intransigence and U.S. stubbornness, all because Iran has continued to insist its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes whereas the United States and allied countries remain convinced the real purpose is to produce a nuclear weapon.

Understanding “Green Jobs”

ian — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. economy has lost over 7 million jobs in the past two years and has a 9.7 percent unemployment rate.1 Despite signs of economic recovery, job creation has been slow going and it will probably take many years for the United States to return to previous employment levels.

Post Copenhagen Pathways

lhyland — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

To even more than the casual observer, the events that transpired at the global climate change negotiations in Copenhagen are somewhat mystifying. For veterans of international processes and meetings, it is hard to believe that so many countries could come together for such a large and anticipated event with no pre-planned resolution.

The Final Day in Copenhagen

ian — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Q1: What is likely to be achieved at the climate change talks in Copenhagen?

Next Steps for the Transatlantic Climate Change Partnership

jdunton — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

For much of the last two years the international community has worked toward developing an international agreement to lay out the basic framework of a new climate change regime. The slow progress to date does not result from a lack of effort or opportunity. The European Union has set forth ambitious goals and continues to urge all developed countries to follow suit.

Crunch-Time in Copenhagen

lhyland — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The international community is more than halfway through the final negotiating period to reach a climate change deal in Copenhagen. Despite the optimistic turn of events in the weeks leading up to the negotiations which brought new pledges from several countries including the United States, China, India, Brazil, and others, the potential for a political agreement envisioned by the s

The Day after Copenhagen

ian — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

As the international negotiations on climate change in Copenhagen draw nearer, negotiators and political leaders are struggling to combat the growing public perception that the talks are destined for failure.

Energy and Geopolitics in China

jdunton — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The world was surprised when China emerged in 2004 as a major importer and consumer of oil. Today, that surprise has been replaced by growing concern that the China of tomorrow may be in a position to challenge the United States not only for economic leadership but for political leadership as well.

The Future Role of the International Energy Agency

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

On October 14, 2009, Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, CSIS Counselor and Trustee, delivered a keynote address to the International Energy Agency in Paris to mark the 35th anniversary of its creation and discuss its future amidst a landscape of evolving energy, climate, and geopolitical realities.

Alternative Transportation Fuels and Vehicle Technologies

jdunton — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The global energy system is changing. New demand centers are emerging, and there are numerous challenges to expanding the transportation fuels infrastructure. It has become clear that without significant changes in policy or the introduction of new technologies, the world will continue on an unsustainable path with respect to how it produces, delivers, and uses its energy resources.

Energy Speculation, the CFTC, and Position Limits

pfrank — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: If the economy is so bad, why is the price of oil up? How much of this is just speculation?

The Geopolitics of Russian Energy

jdunton — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Russia is a major player in both oil and gas exports, and much of the country's current and likely future economic growth is based on the income these exports will generate, particularly when high market prices prevail. When prices and demand decline drastically as they have recently, dependence on export income becomes a burden.

Energy and Climate Change at the G-8 Summit

sherry — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: Were there any significant outcomes or agreements on energy and climate that emerged from the G-8 summit and Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) meetings?

Energy and Climate Change at the Upcoming G-8 Summit

sherry — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: Will energy and climate change be on the agenda for discussion at the G-8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, on July 8?