May 24th, 2010

PESD releases study of Norway's national oil company Statoil

Norway is lauded as the rare example of a major oil and gas exporting country that has managed to avoid the "resource curse." A new study by PESD Associate Director Mark Thurber and Consulting Research Associate Benedicte Tangen Istad looks more closely at the Norwegian petroleum experience and the role of national oil company Statoil in it. The reality is messy and political but nonetheless an impressive story of how Norway built a vibrant domestic oil and gas industry on the back of national champion Statoil and a robust system of governance that could curb Statoil's excesses as needed at a few key junctures.

• » Norway's Evolving Champion: Statoil and the Politics of State Enterprise
• » National Oil Companies

February 18th, 2009

David Victor in Newsweek: climate policy leadership should start at home

David Victor pinpoints some of the challenges ahead for the new Obama administration with respect to a coherent, national climate change policy. It will be tough to make Copenhagen successful if the U.S. lacks a national strategy to show off. Victor says that might be a good thing in that it will force the U.S to spend some time crafting real climate change policy leadership. Read more »

December 1st, 2006

Global impact of hydroelectric dams may be significant

Nature magazine included findings from Danny Cullenward's research analyzing emissions of greenhouse gases from hydroelectric dams in the tropics. He estimates that dams release between 95 million and 122 million tonnes of methane per year. His work has also been featured in a recent report by Berkeley-based International Rivers Network and in the San Francisco Chronicle.

• » The Dam Debate and its Discontents

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April 26th, 2006

Journal of Climatic Change editorial weighs in on dam debate

There is growing evidence that some hydro dams in tropical regions emit large quantities of greenhouse gases, but the results have been intensely controversial. PESD researchers Danny Cullenward and David Victor comment on the controversy and outline a plan, modeled on the IPCC, for getting to the bottom of the matter.
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