Energy Policy | Econofact

Why are Coal and Nuclear Power in Trouble?

By Stefan Koester·August 27, 2018
Tufts University

The Issue:

The Trump administration has proposed or is considering several policies that would provide economic relief to coal and nuclear electric plants. Proposals range from the Affordable Clean Energy rule, in which the Environmental Protection Agency is suggesting changes to policies regarding emissions standards ...
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Oil Prices: Is it Déjà vu All Over Again?

By Gilbert Metcalf·June 3, 2018
Tufts University

The Issue:

Oil prices topped $70 a barrel in May 2018 for the first time since late 2014. Rising gas prices at the fuel pumps were not far behind. Also not far behind were the politicians from both sides of the aisle blaming the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Saudi Arabia for driving ...
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Higher Gasoline Taxes and Infrastructure: An Idea Whose Time has Come?

By Dan Sichel·April 7, 2018
Wellesley College

The Issue:

President Trump recently floated the idea of raising the federal tax on motor fuels by 25 cents per gallon as a way to pay for improving the nation's roads, highways and bridges. Federal taxes on motor fuels (gasoline and diesel) have historically been important sources of funding for highways and mass ...
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Can U.S. and U.K. Forest Bioenergy Subsidies Have Adverse Climate Consequences?

By Stefan Koester and William Moomaw·August 15, 2017
Fletcher School, Tufts University

The Issue:

The UN Framework Convention in Climate Change aims to limit climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and removing carbon dioxide through its absorption by forests and soils. A policy to promote this goal has been favorable treatment of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels. But there are ...
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Carbon Taxes and U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness Concerns

By Stefan Koester and Gilbert Metcalf·April 11, 2017
Tufts University

The Issue:

As President Trump begins the process of rolling back Obama Administration environmental regulations like the Clean Power Plan, the question is now what climate change policies are possible under a Republican-controlled Congress. Recently, senior Republican statesmen proposed a $40 a ton carbon tax with ...
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New (Republican) Support for a Carbon Tax

By Gilbert Metcalf·February 10, 2017
Tufts University

The Issue:

Last year was the warmest since 1880 when recordkeeping began. There is widespread scientific support for the role that greenhouse gases play in the trend rise in temperatures. Yet efforts to combat climate change through policy have been contentious. With the 2009 failure of the Waxman-Markey cap and ...
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Will the Trump Energy Policy help Appalachia?

By Steve Cicala·January 26, 2017
Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago

The Issue:

President Trump has promised to revitalize the Appalachian coal industry by ending the so-called “War on Coal”—cutting regulations, opening up more federal land for energy extraction, and pursuing an “all of the above” energy policy that will increase demand for coal.

The major source of the