Research Library

On August 31, 2021, Energy Dialogues and the Center for Energy Studies hosted the Houston Energy Dialogues for the fifth consecutive year. Co-sponsors of this event were Sempra LNG, Schlumberger and Validere. As in previous years, the dialogues provided a platform for in-depth conversations about the energy industry involving representatives from government, industry, academia, environmental groups and regulatory bodies. Resiliency was a central theme. This report summarizes the day's discussions.

This report finds that less than half of Texas hospitals are complying with federal price transparency regulations, despite a measure passed by the state Legislature intended to increase the financial penalty for noncompliance.

The authors write that enormous volumes of “energy transition waste” — waste from wind turbines, solar panels, lithium-ion batteries, etc. — are anticipated in the coming decades. To cope with this waste and ensure a sustainable energy transition, they call for more data, planning and coordination across the entire global supply chain, in addition to waste management and recycling policies that align with environmental and sustainability goals.

The authors show how new immigration policies can help maintain a strong economy as a growing number of older Americans leave the workforce.

What should businesses and investors know to successfully navigate Mexico's economic, social and political landscape in 2022? The Center for the United States and Mexico answered this question at an exclusive virtual conference on possible responses to Mexico’s myriad challenges. Download the supporting report, below.

The authors take a realistic look at what's needed for the global energy transition to succeed and warn that moving away from fossil fuels too quickly could backfire — stranding climate progress in the so-called “valley of death.”

Recycling solar panels is an expensive, complicated and energy-intensive process, writes energy fellow Rachel Meidl. But with cumulative solar waste projections expected to rise globally over the next few decades, she argues that it is vital to design a more circular and sustainable management system for end-of-life panels.

Held virtually across three days in December 2020, the Presidential Elections Program's third conference — "A Presidential Election During the Time of COVID-19" — brought together a diverse group of academics, campaign consultants and other prominent individuals to review the dynamics and outcome of the 2020 presidential election. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions of the many individuals who participated in the conference’s five thematic panels, as well as a moderated conversation featuring veteran political consultants Stephanie Cutter and Beth Myers, who served as the conference's honorary co-chairs.

In 2005, former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, co-chaired the Commission on Federal Election Reform, which produced a report on the U.S. electoral process and recommendations on maximizing ballot access and election integrity. In June 2021, The Carter Center and the Baker Institute held five webinars that again examined critical challenges facing the U.S. electoral system. This report includes the results of the discussions.

In this report, the authors outline the U.S. federal budget process for scientific R&D, discuss trends in federal R&D funding and provide an outlook for federal scientific R&D funding during the Biden administration.