CLEAN POWER PLAN: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

In Bloomberg Government, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions director Tim Profeta writes about his first impressions of the September 27 "en banc" review of the Clean Power Plan in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A 10-judge panel heard close to seven hours of arguments on the rule that is intended to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the existing fleet of fossil fuel-fired power plants. What's now clear, he says, is that the EPA possesses the authority to regulate greenhouse gases as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.

REPORT: SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN THE CARIBBEAN

A World Bank report co-authored by a Nicholas Institute researcher sets out to help Caribbean policymakers plan a successful transition to a blue economy and socially equitable blue growth. This report attempts to quantify the region's current ocean economy and explores new pockets of sustainable growth as well as defines blue economy concepts and possible policy responses to align economic development and environmental health in the Caribbean. At a global level, the transition to a blue economy will significantly contribute to achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14 for the ocean and other goals such as poverty reduction, food security, energy security, and climate change mitigation.

EARLY ACTION: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETS

As ecosystem services markets emerge, early action--activities undertaken prior to a regulatory program or generation of a service before its use to mitigate an impact--can help reduce lags in environmental performance, improve outcomes, and encourage innovation in mitigation approaches. A new Nicholas Institute working paper examines how tools to promote early action have been used in four environmental markets. It finds that early action incentives necessary to motivate sellers differ from those necessary to motivate buyers and that the tool best suited to encourage early action may vary as conditions change and new barriers arise.

Illuminating the Energy Policy Agenda: Electricity Sector Issues Facing the Next Administration October 13, Online Webinar	Strong Institutions in Weak States: Institution Building, Natural Resource Governance, and Conflict in Ghana and Sierra Leone October 14, Durham, North Carolina
Total Economic Valuation of the National Park Service Lands and Programs: Results of a Survey of the American Public October 20, Online Webinar	A Framework to Quantify the Strength of Ecological Links Between an Anthropogenic Stressor and Final Ecosystem Services November 17, Online Webinar

Power Sector Trends in the Eastern Interconnect

Last month, the Bipartisan Policy Center, Great Plains Institute, and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions sponsored a workshop focused on modeling analyses providing insights into electricity sector trends. It explored what those trends mean for state energy and environmental policy choices. Watch video from the workshop or take a look back at the conversation on Twitter with our Storify.

Jamaica Observer, Caribbean Sea Earns US$400B a Year; But Economic Activity, Pollution Threats Loom	ClimateWire, What's Driving Down Industry Emissions? The Market ($)
Herald Sun, Ex-EPA Chiefs Stress Need for Nuclear Power	The Huffington Post, Think Blue: Finding Growth in the Caribbean Sea