Research Library

The author analyzes the challenges Mexico’s 2013 energy reforms pose to the current administration, as well as the limitations the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement imposes on changes in Mexico’s energy policies.

Given the growing problems associated with plastics, what policy approaches are best equipped to manage global plastic pollution? Policies invoking a modified version of the precautionary principle might be a useful approach, writes energy fellow Rachel A. Meidl.

On Aug. 11, the Santa Cruz province of Argentina will hold elections for its governor and legislature. Fellow Mark P. Jones reviews the province’s Peronist history and discusses the impact of these elections on Argentina as a whole: https://bit.ly/2YrStjP

Over the last few months, five provinces in Argentina held local gubernatorial elections. In a new Forbes blog post, fellow Mark P. Jones recaps the elections and discusses their impact on national politics and energy policy: https://bit.ly/2S3MAnk

The number of energy-related social conflicts in Mexico has risen dramatically over the last several years. The authors review the reasons for these conflicts and the social impact assessments that should be required for firms developing energy projects in Mexico.

The author reviews the evolution of labor and environmental rights in U.S. free trade agreements and evaluates such provisions in the USMCA.

Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego province will hold local elections on June 16, 2019. Although the incumbent governor, Rosana Bertone, is favored to win, there is an outside chance that a radical left-wing candidate could be victorious, writes fellow Mark P. Jones for Forbes: https://bit.ly/2Ra4GU7

The rising use of low-speed electric vehicles (LSEVs) in China may have a dramatic effect on local gasoline demand and therefore global oil prices, writes energy fellow Gabriel Collins.

In the near term, a ban on shale development in Mexico will have little impact since factors like limited infrastructure and access to water would likely stall progress in any case, the authors conclude. In the long-run, a ban may adversely affect efforts to diversify Mexico’s gas supply.

Energy fellow Rachel A. Meidl examines federal and international efforts to assess the safe transport of crude oil by rail and to specifically consider the roles of vapor pressure and volatility in accident scenarios.