Program Project #1:
Nuclear Recycling: What does the empirical record of nuclear recycling in Japan and France say about the viability of nuclear recycling as an option for addressing the challenges of nuclear waste management and proliferation risks at the same time? What are its policy implications for the expansion of nuclear energy worldwide?
Program Project #2:
China's Nuclear Governance: How does China's new energy governance system impact its nuclear governance regime with regard to safeguards, export controls, and nuclear commerce regulation, as well as the country's willingness to work with the international community toward shared nonproliferation goals in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East?
Oil in the 21st Century - Responding to New Drivers of Change
This paper, co-authored by David Jhirad, William Nitze and Lorenz Gollwitzer for the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, analyses how developments in the energy sector, particularly alternative fuels for transport, will affect the supply and demand of oil. The focus of the paper, however, is not another peak oil analysis but to build an argument for oil producing nations, and in particular Abu Dhabi, to exercise anticipatory foresight and to use their financial means today to actively pursue and prepare for a sustainable future. An analysis of possible black swan events highlights the inherent value of being prepared. The paper is currently awaiting publication but the final draft is available here.
Dr. David J Jhirad - Research Initiatives
Approximately 1.4 billion people worldwide lack access to electricity services and the benefits they bring to human health, agriculture and economic development. To meet this challenge and to improve the livelihood of about one quarter of the world’s population, innovative thinking, a global commitment to alleviating energy poverty, and new investment partnerships will be required over the next two decades. The SPEED initiative sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, and conceptualized by ERE Program Director Professor David J. Jhirad, provides a uniquely creative solution that can revolutionize the provision of electricity services for poverty reduction and economic development in the rural areas of Asia and Africa in a financially and environmentally sustainable manner. This is achieved by engaging the cell phone industry — currently consuming expensive diesel fuel — as anchor tenants for cost-competitive, resilient and renewable power units and mini-grids. The ERE Program plays a leadership role in the SPEED initiative, working collaboratively with local partners implementing pilot projects in India, and serving as a global knowledge, action and solutions hub to extend SPEED to other countries and regions.
A second initiative led by Dr. David Jhirad, known as “Accelerating Resilient Infrastructure Investment for Sustainable Economies (ARISE)”, is exploring ways in which new partnerships can alter the direction of capital flows worth billions of US dollars to ensure inclusive, equitable and sustainable economic growth in rural and urban settings in developed and developing nations. The ERE program is collaborating with the US-Brazil Joint Initiative on Urban Sustainability (JIUS), launched by President Obama and President Rousseff. JIUS is a public-private partnership with the goal of attracting big money to small, sustainable, urban infrastructure projects, starting with several project pipelines of $1.2-$1.5 billion in Rio de Janeiro and Philadelphia. JIUS provides a prominent and unique platform to pilot the ARISE model at scale for sustainable urban systems. SPEED, with the goal of attracting massive capital to thousands of small rural mini-grids, can be viewed as an application of ARISE to sustainable and resilient rural infrastructure.
Dr. Wilfrid Kohl - Research Initiatives
Current research includes issues of global energy governance and the future of nuclear power.
Dr. Bo Kong - Research Initiatives
As the world’s largest energy consumer and top emitter of greenhouse gases, China is confronted with mounting pressure to enhance its energy supply security while simultaneously reducing its carbon footprint. How the country addresses these twin challenges carries profound implications for the stability of the international energy market and global climate system. To understand China’s response and identify how the international community can assist the country’s effort, Dr. Kong has launched two collaborative studies.
The first is funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and is a collaborative effort with Professor David M. Lampton, Director of China Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The study focuses on China’s ambitious target to expand civil nuclear energy in response to the country’s energy security and climate change challenges. It primarily explores two questions: (1) How does China govern the safety and security of its civil nuclear expansion at home and how can the U.S. strengthen cooperation with China in the peaceful use of nuclear technology? ; (2) How does China engage its neighboring countries in Northeast Asia on the security repercussions of the efforts in the region to expand nuclear energy programs, especially regarding nuclear safety, security, nonproliferation, and arms control?
The second research project receives support from the Johns Hopkins University Environment, Energy, Sustainability, and Health Institute. It investigates how China uses both administrative command-and-control measures and market schemes to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions – the primary contributor to human-induced climate change. Similar to the first, it is a collaborative research project featuring Professor Carla Freeman, Associate Director of China Studies at SAIS and an expert on environmental issues in China. Together, Dr. Kong and Dr. Freeman will systematically examine these two distinct approaches on the basis of gathered empirical data, including data from field visits to China’s seven regional pilot carbon trading programs. The research will conclude in July 2013. The objective is to break new ground by examining the interactions of the two approaches and assessing them against a set of hypothetical relationships as distinct strategies in coexistence.
Dr. Shalini Vajjhala and Ms. Celeste Connors - Research Initiatives
NYS 2100 Commission Report - http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/publications/nys-2100-commission-report-building
Rockefeller Press Releases - http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/press-releases/rockefeller-foundation-announces-support and http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/news/re-invest-initiative-change-water
Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/sandy-spurs-rockefeller-plan-to-fight-flooding/2013/01/17/0a16d43e-602e-11e2-b05a-605528f6b712_story.html
White House Blog - http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/01/18/building-future-innovative-water-infrastructure