Research Library

If the U.S. is to create a resilient energy supply chain and securitize its own needs for the energy transition, it should be more proactive in resource and supply chain development in Latin America. The author explains why.

Energy fellow Rachel A. Meidl writes that it is imperative to consider and assess innovative recycling technologies that could have enormous economic value in transforming waste plastics into the building blocks for new, higher-value products.

Energy fellow Michelle Michot Foss explains why hydrocarbons are critical minerals for the energy transition and decarbonization efforts.

Rachel A. Meidl, the fellow in energy and environment, writes that investing in nanotechnology research and development is critical for future decarbonization strategies that can drive U.S. leadership in the clean energy revolution, reduce dependencies on foreign markets, yield economic and national security advantages, and enhance environmental justice and energy independence.

As a nation, we need to immediately focus on the availability of advanced materials that can drive the performance of both legacy and alternative energy fuels and systems and ensure sustainable footprints. This brief lays out why it is vital to do so.

This brief assesses the strategic and economic challenges of energy security amid a transition to a lower-carbon energy future.

David A. Gantz, the Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics, analyzes a wide range of factors — including the U.S.-China trade war, the entry into force of the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the COVID-19 pandemic — that are all contributing to the pressure on the U.S. to decouple from China and to shift supply chains back to North America.

The authors offer strategies to counter an increasingly aggressive China and to position the Indo-Asia-Pacific for continued prosperity and growth under a rules-based regional system. Their recommendations comprise a dynamic blend of diplomatic, information, military and economic action.

The authors assert that the time is ripe for the United States and Europe to take the lead on shepherding a systems-level change in the recycling market, strengthened by government regulation and legislation. They examine the economic, social, and environmental impacts of mismanaged waste and argue that the Covid-19 pandemic could serve as a catalyst for action toward a global, circular economy.

On September 16, energy fellow Michelle Michot Foss provided an overview of the role of critical minerals in creating a clean economy during testimony before the U.S. House of Representative's Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change. She also discussed the challenges associated with energy transitions, including import dependency and considerations for meeting environment, social and governance (ESG) goals.