Decarbonization and Local Air Pollution Disparities
Climate change and social inequality are two of the world’s most pressing issues. They are also intricately linked. The imperative to address climate change is overlaid on a world that is already deeply unequal. A recent environmental justice literature documents systematic gaps in local air pollution concentrations between disadvantaged and other individuals. Because local air […]
EmPOWERing Global Change with Life Cycle Assessment: A Geographical Textured Approach
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a cradle-to-grave quantitative tool that examines environmental burdens of products and processes from materials extraction through waste disposal. LCA is increasingly used in policy to reveal unintended consequences associated with decisions about energy products and their supply chains yet is often criticized for using uncertain inputs. While LCAs of electricity […]
Urban Energy Democracy: Investigating the Historical-Geographies of Atlanta’s Electricity Politics
This talk considers how the historical-geographical emergence and evolution of Atlanta’s urban electricity networks influences contemporary energy democracy organizing. In 2017, Atlanta became the first major city in the U.S. South to adopt a 100% clean energy target to supply all electricity from renewable sources by 2035. Atlanta’s then-Mayor grounded this move in the long […]
Design and Characterization of Integrated Systems for Solar Fuel Production
Carbon neutral energy sources that are scalable, deployable, and cost effective will be required at an unprecedented scale to halt irreversible climate change. To design novel materials that can efficiently produce energy with minimal impact on the environment, few factors are of primary importance: i) complete understanding of the properties of the most selective and […]
How the Path for Energy Justice in the US Got a lot Clearer but Only a Little Easier
Given the new federal climate policies embedded in the Inflation Reduction Act, it has become even more critical to focus on advancing energy justice at the state level. The law establishes a new federal framework for transitioning the country to low-carbon energy sources, centering most levers of action on states or market actors, and doing […]
Decarbonization and its Discontents: A Critical Justice Perspective on Four Low-Carbon Transitions
October 8, 2021 | 10:30am to 11:50am PST Benjamin Sovacool, Professor of Energy Policy at the Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School Watch Video What are the types of injustices associated with low-carbon transitions? Relatedly, in what ways do low-carbon transitions worsen social risks or vulnerabilities? Lastly, what policies might be deployed to […]
Energy Graduate Group Alumni Panel
December 3, 2021 Alumni Panel Watch Video Armando Casillas, Scientific Engineering Associate, LBNL Armando has been a Scientific Engineering Associate at LBNL since 2019. He works in a number of projects related to building energy efficiency, grid-interactiveness and flexibility and HVAC fault detection and diagnostics. During his undergraduate years, Armando worked as an Energy Analyst […]
The Role of Gas in a Decarbonized Future
November 19, 2021 10:30am – 11:50am PST Michael Webber, Josey Centennial Professor in Energy Resources, Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin Watch Video The need to decarbonize is urgent and important. While electrification is an obvious part of the set of solutions, what is the role of gases like methane? This talk will […]
Seeking a Clean Energy System at Lower Cost
November 12, 2021 10:30am – 11:50am PST Sarah Kurtz, Professor, School of Engineering, University of California Merced Watch Video California and much of the rest of the world seek to transition to a clean energy system. The progress of wind, solar, and batteries has been really impressive. There are many new technologies being developed. Implementing […]
Designing Electricity Rates for An Equitable Energy Transition
November 5, 2021 Severin Borenstein, E.T. Grether Chair in Business Administration and Public Policy, Faculty Director, Energy Institute at Haas Professor, University of California, Berkeley Watch Video Access Slides Read Paper This presentation examines the causes and distributional consequences of the high prices for residential electricity charged by California’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs). It also considers […]
