Environmental Legislation

Displaced Persons
commentary
To Help Climate Migrants, We Must First Recognize Them
Jay Balagna, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg, Vanessa Parks
Jan 28, 2022
The Hill
Despite the large and growing population displaced by extreme weather, there is no common definition of a “climate migrant.” Once we get a clearer sense of just who is a climate migrant, policy efforts should begin focusing on the full fabric of life in our communities, creating systems that will help migrants become a part of that fabric in safe and dignified ways.
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Environmental Regulation
essay
Manipulating the Climate: What Are the Geopolitical Risks?
Dec 29, 2021
Geoengineering technologies that could block the sun's rays or siphon huge amounts of carbon from the air are not that far out of reach. Yet the international community has not established the kinds of guardrails you might expect for potentially world-changing technologies.
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Environmental Regulation
commentary
Achieving Decarbonization and Energy Equity Through Reconciliation
Liam Regan, Benjamin Lee Preston @bl_preston
Sep 9, 2021
United Press International
The past two years have witnessed increasingly vocal calls for rapid decarbonization of the global economy through a clean energy transition. How can Congress ensure that new costs associated with a clean energy transition do not fall disproportionately on lower-income ratepayers?
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Global Climate Change
commentary
How Voters Can Assess New Climate Plans
Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert
Nov 14, 2019
GreenBiz.com
While the U.S. government has announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, most presidential candidates and many states have proposed climate plans of their own. How might voters determine if any of these plans can seriously address climate change?
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Global Climate Change
commentary
When It Comes to Climate, Look for Vulnerabilities in Policy, Not Science
Benjamin Lee Preston @bl_preston, Nicholas E. Burger, Marjory S. Blumenthal @MarjorySB, Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert, Debra Knopman
Aug 4, 2017
The Hill
Federal policymakers have picked up on the concept of red teaming — actively seeking out one's own vulnerabilities. While red teaming may not make sense for climate science, it does offer great benefits when weighing climate policy options.
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Environmental Regulation
commentary
Impact on the Environment from President Trump's First 100 Days
Debra Knopman
May 4, 2017
BBC
President Trump's actions have not yet resulted in demonstrable change in environmental conditions or funding. But the groundwork is being laid to unwind major regulations and diminish staff at the EPA and other federal agencies with climate-related research in their portfolios.
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Global Climate Change
commentary
With Trump in the White House, States Could Step Up on Climate Change
Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert, Debra Knopman
Nov 26, 2016
Fox News Channel
The new administration has expressed skepticism about climate change. But states may choose to pursue their own climate change initiatives.
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Robust Decision Making
commentary
Paris Gets the (Decision) Science Right
Steven W. Popper
Dec 18, 2015
The RAND Blog
The framework for the Paris negotiations is in sync with what science tells us about how to make effective public policy decisions. This alone makes them historic and may provide a model for both local and global action on more than climate alone.
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Global Climate Change
commentary
COP21: Ambition and Momentum
Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert, Debra Knopman, Jordan R. Fischbach
Dec 17, 2015
The RAND Blog
Negotiators in Paris achieved a historic breakthrough by adopting a fundamentally different, and likely more effective, institutional framework to address climate change. It builds on two concepts missing from past attempts to forge a global treaty: voluntary participation and adaptive policymaking.
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Global Climate Change
commentary
COP 21 Not a Silver Bullet on Climate Change
Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert
Nov 24, 2015
The RAND Blog
The Paris climate conference cannot provide the engine that will drive a solution to the world's climate change challenge. Rather, it can best serve as a mediator that will help guide and structure the swirling, bottom-up process of radical change that is the best hope of preserving Earth's climate.
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Global Climate Change
commentary
Adapting to a Hotter World
Evan D. Peet @evandpeet, Jaime Madrigano @JMadrigano
Oct 2, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
Because climate change is largely irreversible, mitigation alone won't solve the problem. While mitigation will prevent even greater, future climatic changes, adaptation — efforts to adjust to climate change's effects — will prepare the world for a new set of living conditions, whatever they may be.
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Nuclear Energy
commentary
Breaking Down Nuclear Waste as a Two-Part Issue
Tom LaTourrette, Debra Knopman
May 5, 2015
Las Vegas Sun
The U.S. Department of Energy is now planning separate repositories for commercial waste and the waste from the military's nuclear weapons production instead of disposing of both in the same repository as originally intended. Decoupling different parts of the nuclear waste problem is a small but positive step forward.
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Global Climate Change
commentary
Removing Road Blocks to Climate Change Adaptation Planning
Melissa L. Finucane @MelissaFinucane, Regina A. Shih @ReginaShih
Oct 3, 2013
The RAND Blog
Despite increasing interest and investments in climate adaptation science, the implementation of adaptation plans through institutional policies or other actions designed to reduce health vulnerabilities has been slow. Institutionalized assumptions are an important roadblock.
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Nuclear Sciences
commentary
San Onofre Risk Factors
Tom LaTourrette
Jun 20, 2013
The Orange County Register
The ongoing effort to open a spent fuel repository in the U.S. demonstrates the magnitude of the technical and political challenges of such an undertaking, writes Tom LaTourrette.
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Environmental Legislation
commentary
Transitioning to a Carbon Tax Credit
Constantine Samaras
Feb 20, 2013
The Energy Collective
Instead of setting an arbitrary Production Tax Credit value, we could provide a tax credit based on the social value of clean electricity generation, writes Constantine Samaras.
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Quoted

The very fact that Russia felt the need to resort to overt, large-scale conventional force in Ukraine—despite years of operating there in the gray zone—demonstrates that at least in Russian president Vladimir Putin's mind, these ambiguous uses of force in Ukraine failed to achieve their desired ends.

Raphael S. Cohen

Director, Strategy and Doctrine Program, RAND Project AIR FORCE

Source: The National Interest

Centering Putin's interests and catering to his emotional state violates a fundamental bargaining precept: Never negotiate against yourself. To be clear, it's good to understand your opponent's perspective. But first, negotiate for your interests, not for theirs. Second, learn what they really want before offering concessions. Third, make sure they can actually deliver.

Raymond Kuo

Political Scientist

Source: RealClearDefense

Giving Drug Policy Decisionmakers the Data They Need

How Available and Accessible Are Mental Health Services in NYC?

Synthetic Opioids, Ukrainian Grain, the Metaverse: RAND Weekly Recap

Should Ukraine Settle with Russia?

RAND Remote: Informing Innovative Policy Solutions to Address L.A.'s Dual Crises

The Policy Currents Podcast

Improving Psychological Wellbeing and Work Outcomes in the UK

Managing Escalation in Crisis and War

Getting to Know Military Caregivers and Their Needs

Planning for the Rising Costs of Dementia

Environmental Legislation

To Help Climate Migrants, We Must First Recognize Them

Manipulating the Climate: What Are the Geopolitical Risks?

Achieving Decarbonization and Energy Equity Through Reconciliation

How Voters Can Assess New Climate Plans

When It Comes to Climate, Look for Vulnerabilities in Policy, Not Science

Impact on the Environment from President Trump's First 100 Days

With Trump in the White House, States Could Step Up on Climate Change

Paris Gets the (Decision) Science Right

COP21: Ambition and Momentum

COP 21 Not a Silver Bullet on Climate Change

Adapting to a Hotter World

Breaking Down Nuclear Waste as a Two-Part Issue

Removing Road Blocks to Climate Change Adaptation Planning

San Onofre Risk Factors

Transitioning to a Carbon Tax Credit

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