Resources for the Future

Labor and environmental movements haven’t always worked together—but when they do join forces, they can shape a more sustainable and equitable future for everyone. ⚙️ 🌱 In this week’s episode of Resources Radio, host Daniel Raimi talks with Dave Foster of Energy Futures Initiative about how labor unions and environmental organizations have built common ground on shared challenges. As a former director of United Steelworkers District 11, Foster discusses the catalyst for the group’s initial interest in the environment. He also details the formation of the BlueGreen Alliance and shares a firsthand account of the struggles, successes, and key moments that brought these movements together. “Many people think about a union like the United Steelworkers, and they think of manufacturing and of people who are isolated from environmental issues. What few people realize is how deeply entrenched in the culture of the United Steelworkers’ respect and value for environmental issues really was.”  🎧 : https://lnkd.in/epQXkgpw

⚡🚘 If/Then Webinar: Charging Ahead on Transportation Policy 🚘⚡ Join RFF next Tuesday, November 4 for the next webinar in the If/Then series, where experts will dive into topics such as critical mineral development, electric vehicle sales, the domestic auto industry, greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable aviation, and more. Register Here! https://lnkd.in/e66iNwnk

New Webinar Series: The Future of Biofuels What are the true climate impacts of biofuel production and how can policies be designed to be effective while limiting unintended consequences? 🌱 Join RFF on Wednesday, November 5, for a webinar featuring a fireside chat between Billy Pizer and Robert Bonnie as they discuss biofuels’ mitigation potential and long-term viability; sectoral roles and deployment barriers; and the design of biofuel policies, including their economic and distributional consequences. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eGDSyxHM

📢 If/Then Webinar Alert! 📢 Recently, policies that aim to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector have been repealed or slated for repeal. Meanwhile, US biofuel policy has evolved in a different direction, with tax credits being extended and redesigned to favor domestic policy. How will these changes affect the vehicle market, technological innovation, and the environment? 🚗 🌍   Join RFF next Tuesday, November 4 for the next webinar in the If/Then series, where experts will dive deeper into these topics, as well as critical mineral development, electric vehicle sales, the domestic auto industry, greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable aviation, and more. Register here: https://lnkd.in/e66iNwnk

📢 I’m SO excited to share two new pieces we released today at Resources for the Future exploring the fast-evolving world of direct lithium extraction (DLE) through an economics lens. 🔹 In our new RFF report, "Can Emerging Industrial Technologies Compete? Scoping the Market Viability of Direct Lithium Extraction in the United States" , Frances Fitzgerald (Harvard Kennedy School MPP ’26) and I analyze the financial viability of several companies planning DLE projects in the US. 💡 Some key takeaways: 💲 Lithium prices can make or break US DLE. Projects are only profitable if prices rise well above current levels; fortunately, industry forecasts suggest that may happen as global EV demand grows. ⚙️ Technology risk remains high. DLE’s strong lab performance (up to 90% lithium recovery) hasn’t yet been proven at commercial scale, and cost overruns, production delays and underperforming recovery efficiency could quickly undermine project economics. 📉 Macroeconomic headwinds matter. Inflation, interest rates, and investor caution could affect early-stage DLE projects, which are especially sensitive to the cost of capital. 🏛️ Policy support could help—but at a cost. A government-backed price floor for lithium could provide a lifeline during downturns, but the cost of sustaining such support could quickly balloon, especially as the number of protected companies grows. 🔹 In a companion RFF blog, "Direct Lithium Extraction in Arkansas: A Golden Goose for the State?" —co-written with Frances and Andrew Beach (The George Washington University ’27)—we explore what a thriving DLE industry could mean for Arkansas' state and local revenues, and what happens if things don’t pan out as hoped. 💡 The takeaway: DLE could generate substantial royalties and taxes for the region, but only if projects scale up successfully. - Check out the blog here: https://lnkd.in/diU9cap5 I’m especially proud of Frances’s excellent work leading the report, and it was a real pleasure collaborating with both her and Andrew this summer- so thankful for RFF's amazing internship program! (Applications open early next year, so stay tuned!) Finally—if you’ll be at the Arkansas Lithium Innovation Hub's Innovation Summit starting tomorrow, I’d love to connect! It’ll be great to discuss how analysis like this can inform development of lithium resources - and the policies that support it - not just in Arkansas, but across the country. 📰 Download the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dd-cpw3x

✨ I’m thrilled to share that, after years of interdisciplinary and cross-organizational collaboration, our new Resources for the Future working paper is finally out: *Impact of Electric Tariffs on Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Charging Costs and Loads*!! This project brought together an incredible team — Ruolin Zhang and Eleftheria (Ria) Kontou (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Elizabeth Stein (Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law) and Alexander Yoshizumi (North Carolina State University and Applied Data Research Institute) — spanning economics, policy, and engineering. When we first started, Elizabeth and I were working at Environmental Defense Fund and Alex was still a master’s student- it’s been amazing to see how far the work (and our team!) has come. Our paper uses an economic-engineering simulation model to show how different electric tariff structures — especially the inclusion (or not) of time-of-use demand charges — can significantly influence charging costs and create incentives for large fleets to smooth and shift demand. 📄 Read the working paper here: https://lnkd.in/dHn5zYEk I’m also excited that we’ll be presenting this work at The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University 2025 Workshop on the Economics and Policy of Electric Transportation Charging Infrastructure. Hope to see some of you there! Key takeaways: ⚡ Tariff design—especially the inclusion of time-of-use charges—can be a great incentive for better use of the grid, though benefits vary depending on fleet composition and operations. 📊 Smart tariff structures can encourage off-peak charging, reducing grid stress. 🚛 Well-designed rates can support a cleaner, more efficient grid. 🙏 A special thank you to CALSTART, and in particular, Benjamin Mandel and team for generously providing analytical support and data as we launched the work. #ElectricVehicles #FleetElectrification #EVCharging #ElectricGrid #GridManagement #DemandResponse #InterdisciplinaryResearch 

Are you a researcher, professional, or student interested in extreme weather, natural disasters, and insurance? Then check out this Association of Environmental and Resource Economists Fall Virtual Workshop, organized by RFF’s Margaret Walls and the US EPA’s Will Wheeler! 🌊 🔥 This workshop on Thursday, October 23 and Friday, October 24 will highlight cutting-edge research and pressing policy questions at the intersection of climate-driven weather extremes, natural disasters, and insurance markets. Tune in to hear from RFF researchers and affiliated scholars including Carolyn Kousky, Hannah Druckenmiller, Yanjun Liao, Maximilian Auffhammer, and Lala Ma. Register today! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eGVRyUCA

Where natural gas comes from, and how it’s transported across regions, has an enormous impact on the emissions intensity of that gas. 🚢🌤️ In a recent episode of Resources Radio, we talk with Arvind Ravikumar (The University of Texas at Austin) about measuring the emissions from natural gas, what governments and companies are (and aren’t) doing to reduce those emissions, and more. “We found about a six-times difference between the least emissions-intensive pathway and the most emissions-intensive pathway between the Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania, all the way down to the Gulf Coast…We should be looking at specific pathways and specific supply chains and see what their emissions impacts are, and make decisions based on that.” Listen now: https://lnkd.in/ekvfuDB3

⚡Webinar Alert! ⚡   As a carbon-free source of reliable electricity, nuclear power has diverse support from a range of stakeholders. Increasing US electricity demand is driving interest in new, firm sources of carbon-free electricity alongside low-cost variable resources like wind and solar.    Join RFF on Tuesday, October 21 for a webinar discussing the challenges and opportunities for a potential nuclear renaissance in the United States. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eeCN4WHX 

Check out this webinar on #climate financial risk! 🌊 💵 On October 21, RFF’s Kevin Stiroh will be on a panel for a webinar entitled "Assessing the Link between Climate Change and Regulatory Capital," hosted by E-axes Forum and EBI - European Banking Institute. This webinar will focus on how #ClimateChange risks fundamentally challenge banking regulations and capital frameworks. The speakers will explore how physical and transition risks manifest as credit, market, operational, and liquidity risks, potentially threatening financial stability. Register here: ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e4_tHMqB