LIDAR FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICE PLANNING, MARKETS

Municipalities are using light detection and radar (LiDAR) technology to support environmental markets, services, and planning processes. A new Nicholas Institute paper reviews the drivers and co-benefits of expanded LiDAR data investment and presents a case study of forest carbon markets in California to illuminate how this investment compares to investment in the acquisition of field sampling and other data. The study suggests that LiDAR can be cost-competitive with traditional field-sampling approaches, and it may offer advantages and benefits that may not accrue from field-based approaches.Site-specific conditions and assumptions in the analysis influence outcomes, the study finds, necessitating careful attention to both methodology and the ultimate objectives of the analysis.

ROADY JOINS DUKE TO TACKLE PRESSING ISSUES

Steve Roady brings a wealth of environmental law and policy experience to his new joint appointment at Duke's Law School and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.

As professor of the practice at the Law School and a faculty fellow at the Nicholas Institute, Roady, who has taught environmental litigation and ocean and coastal law and policy as a senior lecturing fellow at the Law School since 2003, will continue to teach. He will also be charged with creating interdisciplinary teams to examine approaches to large-scale environmental problems.

OPENINGS IN CLIMATE, DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

The Nicholas Institute is dedicated to helping decision makers create timely, effective and economically practical solutions to the world's critical environmental challenges. Presently, we have two career opportunities: director of our Climate and Energy Program and a development associate focused on corporate and foundation relations.

RGGI's Role in Achieving State Climate Goals: The Opportunities and Challenges of Expanding Trading to States Outside RGGI
July 12, New York, New York

Energy Efficiency and Clean Power Plan Compliance
August 24, Pacific Grove, California

RECAP: NORTH AMERICAN CLIMATE POLICY FORUM

Sustainable Prosperity, the University of Ottawa, the Nicholas Institute, and the Duke University Energy Initiative partnered to host the North American Climate Policy Forum in June. The forum brought together some of the world's pre-eminent climate policy thinkers from Canada, the United States, and Mexico for a two-day dialogue on climate policy design, low-carbon technology and innovation policy. It aimed to refine our understanding of options to link climate policies across North America and to explore the possibility of a shift toward an integrated North American low-carbon economy. Read the pre-conference paper and Twitter conversation.

The Globe and Mail, Royal Bank of Canada Backs Adoption of Carbon Price	Phys.org, Carbon Pricing-A No-Brainer for Climate Change?
ClimateWire, Royal Bank of Canada Advocates Carbon Price ($)	Duke University Energy Initiative, Sustainable Energy Initiative Finds First Home at Duke University