On June 25, 2026, officials from Washington, California, and Québec signed an agreement to merge their cap-and-trade systems. Once linkage takes effect, which is expected in 2027, the shared carbon market will cover roughly 75 percent of greenhouse gas emissions of two large U.S. states and one Canadian province. Continue reading
Executive Summary Switching from oil to renewable energy and electric vehicles does not get rid of resource dependency. It just changes what you depend on. Instead of relying on oil, countries end up relying on critical minerals such as lithium, rare earths, silver, polysilicon, and copper—and as China refines most of them, even minerals mined elsewhere often must go through China before they can be used. For … Continue reading
On September 19, California Governor Gavin Newsom approved a bill renewing California’s cap-and-trade program until 2045. This renewal comes despite hostility toward state-level clean energy programs from the Trump administration, notably President Trump’s executive order that specifically criticized California’s cap-and-trade program. Continue reading
Insurance companies are reacting to the increase in climate change-related natural disasters by raising premiums and withdrawing coverage from high-risk areas. Continue reading
Note this post was written on June 17, 2025 and does not reflect subsequent events. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The pre-2012 consensus that increases in oil prices had a large negative effect on US output is no longer reliable. New evidence suggests oil price moves up to $115 per barrel will have an insignificant effect on total … Continue reading
Executive Summary: The energy demands of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data centers are rising rapidly, threatening the achievement of Net Zero 2030 targets, and raising concerns about the environmental impact of AI development and data storage. Data centers will account for 9 percent of the US’s total power consumption by 2030, significantly impacting the power … Continue reading
The solar industry boasted huge job growth last year, mostly due to the increase in solar installations on homes and businesses. Rooftop solar is growing across the U.S., and so are confrontations between traditional utility providers and the solar industry. The controversy centers on net metering (the technical term that describes how large utility companies … Continue reading
With much of the current energy conversation surrounding the Keystone XL Pipeline, many Americans have forgotten, or may not even know, about another energy issue that might just be more important: the crude oil export ban. Since the 1970’s, the U.S. government has prohibited U.S. oil producers to export crude oil internationally in order to … Continue reading
A year ago, after the overthrow of Ukraine’s president and the ensuing crisis, industry leaders in the U.S. pushed to change regulations that prevent liquid natural gas (LNG) exports. If Ukraine had truly wanted to break free from Russian influence, it would have had to eliminate its dependence on Russian gas. However, during that critical … Continue reading
It must be frustrating for President Obama when his policies make no one happy. Recently the administration announced plans to regulate methane emissions, and while the oil and gas industry grumbled about new regulations and added costs, environmental groups complained the new measures don’t go far enough. Is it possible for policymakers to appease environmental … Continue reading
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