The newly expanded Climate TRACE database offers the most granular and comprehensive GHG emissions inventory available, including every country and territory, every major sector of the global economy, and nearly every major source of GHG emissions.

The Nicholas Institute is a new member of Climate TRACE, a global nonprofit coalition.

Returning for a second year and open to all Duke faculty and research staff, the Nicholas Institute is now accepting proposals for the 2024 round of Climate Research Innovation Seed Program (CRISP) grants. A virtual information session will be held on Dec. 12 for anyone interested in learning more about CRISP and the application process. Grant proposals are due by Feb. 26, 2024.

A small delegation of Duke experts and students will attend this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. The group includes Nicholas Institute experts Jackson Ewing and Ashley Ward, who both spoke to Duke Today about the conference.

As authorized by Provost Alec Gallimore, Vice President and Vice Provost Toddi Steelman and Vice Provost Ed Balleisen have appointed a committee to lead the search for Duke University’s next director of the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability.

The Department of Energy and others are looking to the "connect and manage" process employed by Texas grid operator ERCOT to connect energy generators to the grid more quickly. Tyler Norris, a Ph.D. student at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, talked with Utility Dive about his Nicholas Institute policy brief exploring how lessons from ERCOT's experience could influence interconnection reform across the country.

Ashley Ward, director of the Nicholas Institute's Heat Policy Innovation Hub, joined the Green Docs podcast to talk about why staying cool is a year-round job.  

At the eighth annual Energy Week at Duke, experts across diverse sectors shared insights on the global transition to clean energy. Hundreds of students, faculty, professionals and community members took part in the event series, which included a one-day conference in addition to panel discussions, a field trip, a business case competition and more.

Small-scale fisheries are “widely recognized as one of the most vulnerable food-production sectors in the face of climate change,” Tarub Bahri, fishery resources officer at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, told the Economist Impact blog. The Illuminating Hidden Harvests study estimates that 492 million people around the world depend at least partially on engagement with small-scale fisheries for their jobs and livelihoods.

While there are ways in which individuals can reduce their use of plastic in their daily activity, science and technology have pushed the boundaries of what is possible to address plastics pollution. Earth.org covered 10 scientific solutions, including the Nicholas Institute's Plastic Pollution Prevention and Collection Technology Inventory.

Rachel Karasik, a senior policy associate at the Nicholas Institute, told Grist that a successful case by the New York Attorney General's Office could spur PepsiCo to invest in reuse systems throughout the Buffalo area. In the absence of a statewide extended producer responsibility law for plastic packaging, Karasik also said litigation could yield financing for plastic cleanup and collection activities.