Research Library

A bitter dispute about one of Poland's largest lignite mines — the source of electricity for millions, jobs for thousands, and serious environmental concerns for the region — highlights the hurdles communities around the world could face during attempts to phase out coal.

The term “sustainability” is a frequently misconstrued descriptor, oftentimes used synonymously with the concept of a circular economy. In this issue brief, energy fellow Rachel Meidl explains the distinction between circularity and sustainability and how a systems-level approach to waste management can build an economy that is resilient to future global disruptions.

This brief explores a potential hydrogen pathway that also creates opportunities for advanced carbon-based materials in a clean energy future.

As a potential producer and exporter of green hydrogen — a fuel that can be burned without producing greenhouse gas emissions — Chile is at the forefront of the global energy transition. However, becoming a major exporter of green hydrogen is not without its challenges, writes the author.

Fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen examines where the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council currently stand in their outlook and approaches toward the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Changes in Russian natural gas policy point to a new strategy where Gazprom and Novatek follow different operating rules, allowing Russia to adjust to a changing natural gas market. The authors explain how this arrangement is playing out on the world energy landscape.

The authors present a case study that considers the technological merits of methane pyrolysis while also addressing real-world implications including health and safety risks and commercial risks for introducing new carbon supply chains. This issue brief is a preliminary paper introducing forthcoming research that will be expounded upon in future publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25613/7tvg-6k39

Mexico’s 2013 energy reform, which opened its hydrocarbon and electricity industries to private investors, increased the autonomy and independence of its regulatory commissions. However, recent decisions by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador now threaten these institutions, writes nonresident scholar Miriam Grunstein.

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.