Public policy can steer incentives for a more effective response to climate change, says Daniel Esty of Yale University

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Global progress to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remains insufficient to meet the net-zero GHGs by mid-century target established in the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact, according to the 2022 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) produced by researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities. Using the past 10-years’ emissions trajectory as a basis for projecting 2050 emissions, the EPI researchers forecast that the vast majority of countries will not achieve the net-zero goal. A number of nations — including the United States — are projected to fall far short of the target.

By Robert Stavins and Dan Esty; Resources for the Future; February 24, 2021

RFF University Fellow and Harvard Professor Robert N. Stavins recently hosted Yale Professor Daniel Esty on an episode of the Environmental Insights podcast, to talk about what the election of President Joe Biden means for climate policy. The two scholars, both members of RFF's Board of Directors, discuss the history of environmental policy since the George H. W. Bush administration, the priorities of key figures in the Biden administration, and prospects for significant environmental legislation in a sharply divided Congress.

Read More

By Alexandra Ellerbeck; January 20, 2021; Washington Post

Climate change has not been a major feature in U.S. trade agreements. That may change under President-elect Joe Biden. Biden on the campaign trail called for conditioning future trade agreements on partners’ ability to meet their climate targets under the Paris climate agreement, which he plans to rejoin when he enters office Wednesday.