Voluntary Programs for Low-Carbon Building Development and Transformation: Lessons From the United States

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen van der Heijden
2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 103-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E Nye

Awareness of global warming has been widespread for two decades, yet the American political system has been slow to respond. This essay examines, first, political explanations for policy failure, focusing at the federal level and outlining both short-term partisan and structural explanations for the stalemate. The second section surveys previous energy regimes and the transitions between them, and policy failure is explained by the logic of Thomas Hughes’s ‘technological momentum’. The third section moves to an international perspective, using the Kaya Identity and its distinction between energy intensity and carbon intensity to understand in policy terms ‘technological fixes’ vs. low-carbon alternatives. The final section reframes US energy policy failure and asks: (1) Why, between 1980 and 1999, was America’s actual performance in slowing CO2emissions better than its politics would seem capable of delivering? (2) How and why has the United States since c. 2007 managed to reduce per capita CO2emissions?


Energy Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 131-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan E. Hultman ◽  
Elizabeth L. Malone ◽  
Paul Runci ◽  
Gregory Carlock ◽  
Kate L. Anderson

2013 ◽  
Vol 869-870 ◽  
pp. 1024-1028
Author(s):  
De Fa Cai ◽  
Pei Xin Shi ◽  
Ting Xue

Currently, the global warming becomes serious and has become the crisis and challenge of all the world. Low carbon economy is the best mode of coping with the global warming and realizing sustainable development of economy and society. At present, The United States is still in the first place of greenhouse gas are worth of using for reference in developed countries. At present, the United States is still the biggest country that exhausts greenhouse gases, such as CO2;however, carbon emissions in China can not be ignored. Recent research indicates that it is valuable to learn from developed countries carbon or energy taxes policy.


2014 ◽  
Vol 02 (02) ◽  
pp. 1450015
Author(s):  
Xingshu ZHAO

The United States and China have common but differentiated climate mitigation responses. Most studies so far have sought to explain this divergence with a focus on energy resources, technology, economic, or social factors. These studies ignore the role of strategy and institutions, and thus appear incomplete. In this paper, the author investigates the climate mitigation responses of the United States and China from a strategic and institutional perspective, explores how their climate responses are shaped, and identifies possible weaknesses hidden in their climate approaches. The paper finds that the United States and China have distinct national climate positions due to their diverse strategies and institutions. However, they have chosen similar policy tools and have achieved fairly comparable emission reductions thus far. In the long run, the effectiveness and efficiency of the low-carbon transformation will possibly be hindered by weaker policy innovation capability at sub-national levels in China and the operationally volatile energy strategy in the United States.


Subject State and municipal pensions in the United States. Significance Losses from the 2008-09 financial crisis, mismanagement and insufficient annual allocations have led to a severe fiscal shortfall for a group of municipalities and states. However, changes to pension schemes are politically difficult for policymakers to achieve, given the clout of public sector unions. Impacts Firms may relocate or forgo investment to avoid future pension-driven tax increases. Republicans will play to their non-urban base by attacking the benefits of public sector employees. Post-COP21 demand for low-carbon investments is likely to complicate pension managers' search for returns. The US urban-suburban-rural divide poses greater difficulties for the Democratic Party than for Republicans.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Jacqueline C. K. Lam ◽  
Peter Hills ◽  
Esther C. T. Wong

This paper describes the process of transitioning to a low-carbon hydrogen economy in the United States and the role of transition management (TM) in this process. Focusing on the transition process for hydrogen-based energy and transport systems in the United States, especially California, this study outlines the key characteristics of TM that have been employed in managing the transition. Several characteristics of TM have been noted in the United States’ hydrogen transition, including: (a) the complementarity of the long-term vision with incremental targets, (b) the integration of top-down and bottom-up planning, (c) system innovations and gradualism, (d) multi-level approaches and interconnectedness, and (e) reflexivity by learning and experimenting. These characteristics are instrumental in bringing about the development and initial commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and related energy infrastructure in the United States.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caio Cesar Moreira Chagas ◽  
Marcio Giannini Pereira ◽  
Luiz Pinguelli Rosa ◽  
Neilton Fidelis da Silva ◽  
Marcos Aurélio Vasconcelos Freitas ◽  
...  

Increased use of fossil fuels has contributed to global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions, which has led countries to implement policies that favor the gradual replacement of their use with renewable energy sources. Wind expansion in Brazil is a success story, but its adherence to distributed generation is still a big challenge. In this context, the authors of this paper argue that the development of robust and viable distributed power grids will also depend in the future on improving small wind generation as an important alternative to the diversity of decentralized power grids. In this study, the authors present an overview of the small-sized Aeolic (or wind) energy market in Brazil, with the objective to support the debate regarding its expansion. Promoting the small wind market in Brazil is still a big challenge, but lessons can be learned from the United States. In this context, the article uses the United States learning curve, analyzing barriers that were found, as well as public policies implemented to overcome them. The lessons learned in the American market may guide public policies aimed at fostering this technology in Brazil. If technological improvements, certification and introduction of financial incentives were implemented in Brazil, the small wind industry chain could grow substantially, building a trajectory to promote the low carbon economy.


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