http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/Recent publications from PESDen-usPublic domainhttp://pesd.stanford.edu/images/feed-icon-48x48.jpghttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/60http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22214PESD Working Paper,
PESD affiliates and collaborators from China have used rural household survey data in Hubei province to explore patterns of residential fuel use, specifically the use of biomass and coal for cooking. The study shows that incomes may have to rise substantially in order for absolute biomass use to fall, that residential fuel use varies between regions within the province and that coal is the principal substitute for biomass, raising concerns about health.]]>Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:27:36 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22214?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22205Council on Foreign Relations, October 2006
National Security Consequences of U.S. Oil Dependency, a report by the Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force on Energy, concludes that the "lack of sustained attention to energy issues is undercutting U.S. foreign policy and U.S. national security." The report goes on to examine how America's dependence on imported oil - which currently comprises 60 percent of consumption- increasingly puts it into competition with other energy importers, notably the rapidly growing economies of China and India.]]>Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:20:56 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22205?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22200Foreign Affairs vol. 87, 07/2008
David Victor and Sarah Eskreis-Winkler argue for reforming the US government's managment of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.]]>Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:10:13 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22200?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22199PESD Working Paper #78, 07/2008
In a region popularly associated with monolithic states controlling secretive but effective national oil companies, Kuwait presents a surprising picture of bitterly divided government and a chaotic and fragmented oil sector. PESD affiliate Paul Stevens dissects the historical legacies and tangled webs of interaction with government that explain the current performance and erratic strategy of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.]]>Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:32:05 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22199?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22196International Journal of Energy Sector vol. 2, 2008
Small scale power generation technologies (distributed generation) have the potential to significantly contribute to solving the rural electricity access problem in the developing world. This paper presents results from case studies in Brazil (part of a larger three country study) and shows that differences in business models and the influence of institutions are important factors for understanding success and failure in rural electrification and the contribution rural electrification can play in rural development.]]>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:10:45 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22196?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22195Program on Energy and Sustainable Development Working Paper #77, July 8, 2008
India's Sagar Island is renowned among Hindu devotees for its pilgrimage sites and in the renewable energy community for its locally-managed solar and wind projects. Field work by PESD Researcher Sam Shrank corroborates some of the benefits of these off-grid electricity generators but suggests that the business model for running them is not as sustainable or replicable as the literature implies.]]>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:12:13 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22195?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22191Program on Energy and Sustainable Development Working Paper #76, June 30, 2008
PESD researchers Varun Rai, Ngai-Chi Chung, Mark Thurber, and David Victor have released the PESD Carbon Storage Project Database, which tracks all publicly declared carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects worldwide. The database lays bare the slow pace of development of CCS projects relative to what is needed if CCS is to become an important wedge for fighting climate change.]]>Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:37:32 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22191?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22179The Aspen Institute, in "The Global Politics of Energy", 2008
]]>Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:05:03 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22179?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22176Program on Energy and Sustainable Development Working Paper #75, May 2008
]]>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:13:48 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22176?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22157Program on Energy and Sustainable Development Working Paper #74, April 2008
PESD scholars Michael Wara and David Victor suggest that a substantial fraction of the $12b market for international carbon offsets does not represent real reductions and that the market is unlikely to provide reliable cost-control for a domestic carbon market. Instead, they suggest that a broader array of strategies will be needed to make a real dent in developing world emissions and that more explicit cost control mechanisms be considered for a U.S. cap-and- trade market for greenhouse gases.]]>Mon, 12 May 2008 14:50:12 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22157?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22156Program on Energy and Sustainable Development Working Paper #73, Apirl 13, 2008
The world's third-ranked company in oil production, Mexico's Pemex, is beset by crises on reserves, financial, and oversight fronts, endangering in the process the health of the Mexican government budget which depends on it. Last week, President Felipe Calderón advanced an ambitious and politically fraught bill to the Mexican Senate that is aimed at reforming his country's oil behemoth; time will tell if he can succeed in this effort where others have failed. PESD has just released a detailed case study of Pemex in which researcher Ognen Stojanovski delves deeply into the functioning of the company and elucidates the profound challenges faced by reformers.]]>Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:07:46 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22156?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22150Program on Energy and Sustainable Development Working Paper #72, March 2008
]]>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:16:22 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22150?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22096Cambridge University Press, March 12, 2007
Over the last fifteen years the world's largest developing countries have initiated market reforms in their electric power sectors from generation to distribution. This book evaluates the experiences of five of those countries - Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa - as they have shifted from state-dominated systems to schemes allowing for a larger private sector role. As well as having the largest power systems in their regions and among the most rapidly rising consumption of electricity in the world, these countries are the locus of massive financial investment and the effects of their power systems are increasingly felt in world fuel markets. In-depth case studies also reveal important variations in reform efforts. This accessible volume explains the origins of these reform efforts and offers a theory as to why - despite diverse backgrounds - reform efforts in all five countries have stalled in similar ways.]]>Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:35:22 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22096?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22092Scientific American, September and December 2007
]]>Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:41:38 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22092?http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22090Program on Energy and Sustainable Development Working Paper #71, January 2008
]]>Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:27:12 PSThttp://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/22090?