Research Library

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.”

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.

Gabriel Collins, the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs, explains why Section 625 of the CLEAN Future Act — which aims to classify oilfield-produced water as a hazardous waste — would likely induce multi-system disruptions severe enough to prevent the act from achieving its climate, energy, environmental, and social objectives.

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.

In a comprehensive update to their 2014 study on the future of American innovation, the Baker Institute and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences conclude that significant policy and funding actions are required to ensure the U.S. does not lose its preeminent position in discovery and innovation.

Energy fellow Rachel A. Meidl describes how to ensure energy infrastructure resilience when dealing with catastrophic weather events like hurricanes.

Fellow David A. Gantz discusses several provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement that have been carried over to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) including regulations for government procurement, trade remedies, temporary entry for business visitors, and general exceptions or limitations on the application of the trade agreement. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25613/334z-tp66

The authors examine recent trends in vaping, research on its effectiveness for smoking cessation, the role of industry marketing and policy responses to increased use.

In this report, author David Gantz continues his series on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by discussing some of the changes adopted from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, including those relating to state-owned enterprises and special sectoral standards, which may have a major impact on North American trade.

The USMCA will have potentially significant impacts for the textiles and apparel industry, but the free agricultural trade that is vital to all three NAFTA parties remains largely untouched, writes David A. Gantz.