Linwood Pendleton, senior scholar at Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, met with Indonesian people across Java, Kalimantan, Sumatera, and Sulawesi to share perspectives on coastal conservation through the Embassy of the United-States Jakarta-Indonesia U.S. Speaker Program in April. The program awards grants to American experts from a variety of fields and backgrounds to engage international audiences through lectures and meetings. While in Indonesia, Pendleton met with government officials to discuss basic steps to promote coastal conservation, helped local non-profits in Biduk Biduk, Kalimantan, brainstorm ideas for ecotourism and gave a lecture to conservation professionals through @America (video). View photo slideshows from the trip: Timor Leste, Kalimanta, and Jakarta.

The Spring 2014 edition of Sanford Insights highlights the work of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions researchers related to climate change policy and a new joint project with the Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative. The project will assist Duke University employees in evaluating and obtaining rooftop solar energy systems. 

Even with the uncertainty facing the electricity sector, there are multi-benefit approaches that state-level environmental regulators and utility commissioners can use to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while simultaneously addressing other electricity sector challenges. That's according to a new study by the Nicholas Institute that examines Clean Air Act section 111(d) compliance strategies offering these multi-benefit approaches. 

The Nicholas Institute has appointed two new members to its Board of Advisors: Edward Norton and Diane Regas. Norton, senior advisor of TPG Capital, and Regas, senior vice president for programs at the Environmental Defense Fund, will serve three-year terms on the Nicholas Institute's board. 

A new study by Nicholas Institute researchers in the journal Energy Policy investigates how new and forthcoming air regulations could affect outcomes for existing coal plants. Particular attention is given to whether modifications to increase thermal efficiency would trigger New Source Review requirements. 

Nicholas Institute staff are teaching courses at Duke and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill this fall. Among this coming semester's offerings: applied environmental entrepreneurship, economics of environmental management and law and society.  

New analysis developed for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board, considers modalities to enhance country ownership of climate change-related projects and programs--that is, to devolve certain operational funding decisions to accredited funding entities rather than require project approval by the governing board. This analysis uses seven case studies to illustrate current practices that could provide insights about how the GCF might design its own approach (or set of approaches) for a decentralized/devolved access modality.