Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
In January 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a domestic aircraft carbon dioxide (CO2) standard that closely follows the international standard adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2016. This standard will go into effect for all new aircraft delivered in 2028 and thereafter, and previous …
The past four years have been chaotic for US agriculture. Trade wars, initiated by the Donald Trump administration in 2017, and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic have led to volatile domestic and international market conditions and considerable uncertainty about future prices and farm businesses’ financial situations. In response to lower prices …
This briefing paper reviews evidence of the impacts of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on food prices, with a focus on corn and soy, and presents new analysis on the impact of the RFS on U.S. livestock farmers. Studies examining the relationship between food prices and biofuel demand conclude …
Electric vehicles (EVs) represent a promising step towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector—but this report finds that EVs will continue to play a small part in emissions reductions over the next five years with larger contributions in the decade after.
Low-carbon fuel standards (LCFS), which regulate the carbon intensity of fuels supplied to transportation, can provide long-term, durable funding for EV infrastructure and EV purchasing incentives as other policies such as rebates expire or are phased-down. This study assesses the role that a national LCFS program can play in accelerating …
Today’s policymakers designing economic stimulus packages to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic can draw lessons from the most recent point of comparison, the global financial crisis. This paper gives a global overview of the green stimulus announced in 2008 and 2009 and then provides case studies of four of the …
This paper summarizes the new vehicle sales market for Class 2 through Class 8 heavy-duty truck and buses in the United States and Canada. In addition, it profiles the early market for zero-emission HDVs and provides a snapshot of the battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell products available across different truck …
This working paper demonstrates how cities can utilize local data to estimate charging infrastructure needs to plan for the transition to electric mobility. The research quantifies the number, type, and distribution of charging infrastructure needed to support rapid electric vehicle uptake in San Francisco to meet the city’s goal of …
There is an urgent need to assess the linkages between diet patterns and environmental sustainability in order to meet global targets for reducing premature mortality and improving sustainable management of natural resources. This study fills an important research gap by evaluating the relationship between incremental differences in diet quality and …
A strategy for putting Americans back to work based on advanced technologies, good jobs, clean energy, climate safety, and economic security. Climate change represents a profound policy challenge to America and the world – requiring a response at a sweeping scale and with unprecedented speed centered on remaking the energy …
Policymakers aiming to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels are interested in supporting fuels derived from wastes and residues to avoid the significant indirect land use change (ILUC) emissions associated with food-based biofuels. However, it is important to consider whether the use of byproducts in fuels is likely …
Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, …
Immunity against COVID-19 may persist for at least five months after being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a study led by an Indian-origin researcher in the US. The researchers from the University of Arizona studied the production of antibodies from a sample of nearly 6,000 people infected with …
This paper examines the relationship between contemporaneous exposure to fine particulate matter and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Harnessing daily changes in county-level wind direction (within the United States), they show that fluctuations in local air quality can almost immediately impact the rate of confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19.
This briefing analyzes the contribution of major cities to the global electric vehicle market and the factors behind the success of these cities. The 25 cities with the most cumulative electric passenger vehicles through 2019 are: Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Liuzhou, Weifang, Wuhan, Chongqing, and …
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which combine an electric and a conventional combustion engine drive train, offer the potential to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and local air pollution if they drive mainly on electricity. However, there is limited evidence on how much driving PHEVs actually do on electricity …
A number of policies are extremely popular with Americans in 2020 and have been consistently popular across past surveys as well. For example, huge numbers of Americans favor government effort to shift electricity generation away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources. In 2020, 83% of Americans believe that …
This white paper summarizes how segments of U.S. agricultural and agribusiness finance could modify their policies and financial products to adapt to climate change in their own operations. Making agriculture finance climate resilient will enable farmers, ranchers and other clients to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) which have a global warming …
Achieving deep decarbonization in the US will require days, and potentially weeks, of energy storage to be available – but today’s technologies only provide hours of capacity. Evolving technologies, like hydrogen, will be needed for long duration storage that can extend to weeks of capacity. While the needs of our …
The new report – which comes after dozens of hearings, meetings, and input from experts, labor unions, mayors, environmental justice leaders, and native communities, among others – details how bold climate action from Congress can create millions of new jobs, grow the American economy, and improve people’s lives across the …
