Climate and Energy Program

Climate Change Policy

A Transition to Hydrogen in a Greenhouse Gas Constrained World: With funding from NREL, SEI has conducted one of the first ever quantitative assessments of alternative hydrogen futures that attempts to link vehicle and infrastructure technology, environmental, regulatory, and economic systems into an integrated framework. We quantified the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction benefits of a transition to a hydrogen economy in four greater metropolitan areas of the US (Boston, Denver, Houston, and Seattle). The magnitude of the GHG reduction benefits depends upon a number of factors including demographic and spatial characteristics, technology cost and performance of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, regulatory contexts, timing and extent of transition pathways, technologies used for producing hydrogen, and features of the hydrogen distribution infrastructure.
Web site: http://ww.h2transitions.org
Linking Technology Development with Emissions Commitments in a Post-2012 Climate Framework: Funded by the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management, this research project explores metrics for comparing the effort and outcome associated with various national and regional climate policies.
Support to the UNFCCC. Building on our experience supporting several countries in their Initial National Communications, we have been working closely with the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), providing support in a range of projects. We are a major source of technical expertise in establishing procedures and methodologies for implementing the Clean Development Mechanism and SEI staff serve on the Methodology Panel of the CDM Executive Board. We have also conducted numerous training workshops and developed a wide range of research reports and training materials for the UNFCCC and the UNDP/GEF on the issues of climate mitigation and vulnerability and adaptation.
State and Regional Climate Change Advisory Group Processes: SEI staff provide analytical support and facilitation to local stakeholder processes that are developing comprehensive and innovative strategies to reverse GHG emissions growth (Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, Montana, Rhode Island, Puget Sound).
California Leadership Strategies to Reduce Global Warming Emissions: With support from the Energy Foundation, SEI staff have worked with state agencies to develop the analytical basis for the Governors' Climate Action Plan.
Turning the Corner on Global Warming Emissions: An Analysis of Ten Strategies for California, Oregon, and Washington. SEI staff developed a strategic assessment of climate change policies for the West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative.
Support for Climate Change Research and Analysis in the Middle East: SEI has provided technical assistance in the preparation of the UAE's First National Communication under the UNFCCC. This involves research and analysis regarding the development of a greenhouse gas inventory, sustainable energy strategies, and an assessment of coastal zone vulnerability to climate change.
Climate Change Courses: In collaboration with International Institute for Education and Alternative Energy Development, we designed and delivered a series of courses on key economic and policy issues facing both developing and transitional economies. (Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Ecuador, Zimbabwe, Senegal, and Bangladesh) Funded by USAID, these one week courses fostered active dialogue among government policy-makers and NGOs on climate science, impacts, mitigation, and policy mechanisms.
Benchmarking Projects for the Clean Development Mechanism: With ongoing work support of the US Environmental Protection Agency, we helped to resolve one of the central questions for implementing CDM: How should the baselines, which will quantify the amount of emissions reductions credited, be defined? Benchmarks have the prospect of introducing greater transparency, credibility, and simplicity into the baseline-setting process.
The World Bank Carbon Backcasting Study: With support from the World Bank's Swedish Trust Fund, we studied how a carbon shadow price might affect the Bank's economic analysis and its resulting energy portfolio.
National Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Studies: We have provided training and support for greenhouse gas mitigation studies in dozens of developing countries and economies in transition, most of these using the LEAP system. We have worked as part of the Mitigation Experts Team of US Country Studies (USCS) program, and have assisted UNEP and UNDP/GEF programs on the economics of climate change.
Towards a Fossil Free Energy Future: We prepared global energy and greenhouse gas scenarios that identified the cost-competitive potential for energy efficiency and fuel switching options to minimize greenhouse gas emissions in a more equitable world. Adopting Greenpeace International's normative target of zero carbon emissions from fossil fuel use by the year 2100, we developed a "technical fix" scenario and several variants that incorporated lifestyle and infrastructure changes.

Methods and Tools

LEAP (Long range Energy Alternatives Planning) System: LEAP is the center-piece of SEI's capacity building and energy-environment policy analysis efforts. It is the most widely-used tool of its kind in the World today with hundreds of users in more than 140 countries. LEAP has been adopted as the tool of choice by numerous countries wishing to plan their energy systems to meet sustainable development goals. Its policy-relevant focus on basic-needs energy use, energy efficiency, and the environmental dimensions of energy planning make it a powerful tool in SEI's mission to promote rational, environmentally-sound approaches in the energy sector.
Web site: http://www.energycommunity.org
COMMEND (COMMunity for ENergy environment & Development): is a five year international collaborative effort between SEI and four leading international institutions working on sustainable energy development, which is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS). A premise of the initiative is that institutional and human capacity for energy and environmental analysis is in acutely short supply, and that Southern analysts are isolated from their colleagues in other institutions. COMMEND is intended to foster a community among Southern energy analysts working on sustainability analyses , through a range of complementary approaches including annual training workshops, a biannual newsletter, support for regional centers of expertise, online support forums and resources, and continued development of SEI's LEAP system There has been huge interest in COMMEND which now has almost 2000 members from over 140 countries.
Web site: http://www.energycommunity.org
H₂M: As part of our work on Hydrogen transitions, we developed a new model called H₂M ("Hydrogen Model") to analyze hydrogen transitions in four study cities in the USA and for the USA as a whole.
Support to OLADE: SEI staff worked closely with OLADE, the Latin American Energy Agency, to help that organization rebuild its capacity to act as a regional center of expertise for energy planning. As part of this effort, we have worked with OLADE to develop a new software tool that will allow OLADE to develop LEAP data sets based on OLADE's SIEE database of national energy statistics for Latin American Countries.
NAPAssess: As part of our capacity building efforts around the U.N.'s National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA) for climate change adaptation, we have developed a new tool called NAPAssess that facilitates multi-criteria assessment (MCA) in a stakeholder context. The model helps stakeholders to identify vulnerable populations and potential adaptation initiatives, and then prioritize initiatives for meeting the needs of vulnerable communities in the least developed countries. The experience thus far in the countries of Yemen and Sudan suggests that NAPAssess is able to contribute to a transparent, user-friendly process for developing, weighting and applying adaptation project evaluation criteria and it can be helpful for organizing and simplifying the entire NAPA process.
CRISTAL: A New Screening Tool for Climate Risk Adaptation: As part of a collaboration with IISD, IUCN, and the Swiss organization, Intercooperation, we have developed a new software tool called CRISTAL (Community-based RIsk Screeening Tool - Adaptation & Livelihoods) to assist local communities, project planners, and project managers to assess climate risk management for planned or ongoing development projects. The tool provides a basis for improving community- and project-based decision-making so that adaptation opportunities can be maximized, and mal-adaptation minimized.
NEMS Energy Modeling Capabilities: Many of our US energy and climate analyses are built upon our unique expertise in modeling the costs and benefits of greenhouse gas reduction strategies using the U.S. DOE's National Energy Modeling System (NEMS). NEMS is a comprehensive model of the US energy system and is the official model used by the Government to make energy sector forecasts in the US. SEI has extensive expertise in using and adapting NEMS to evaluate energy policies and has applied the model for national, regional and state-level analyses.
Energy Efficiency in Developing Country Industries: For UNIDO, we developed a software tool called IDENTIFY, for identification and assessment of industrial energy projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Fuel Chain Analysis: Based on case studies and literature review, this UNEP-supported project developed analytical approaches for incorporating environmental considerations in major fuel choice decisions. In Venezuela, the case study looked at the net effects of switching bus fleets from diesel to natural gas. In Sri Lanka, a case study looked at the net effects of using biomass residues in various applications.
Beijing Environmental Master Planning: We developed the Beijing Environmental Master Plan Application System (BEMPAS) for the Beijing Municipal Environmental Planning Bureau. LEAP along with SEI-Boston's water and solid waste planning models, were used as the core planning model for BEMPAS. Main tasks included consultation on Beijing's environmental planning needs, building an integrated assessment tool, and training. Funded by the World Bank.

Sustainable Energy Strategies

Assessing Modern Biomass Energy: This initiative developed effective implementation strategies for bioenergy, based on an examination of risks, barriers, and technologies. In collaboration with Princeton University's Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, we prepared A Bioenergy Primer: Roles for Modernized Biomass Energy Systems in Promoting Sustainable Development, under the sponsorship of the UNDP's Initiative on Sustainable Energy.
Integrated Resource Plan for Syria: For the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs, we assisted the Syrian Ministry of Electricity to prepare its first-ever integrated resource plan for the electric sector. This capacity building project demonstrated the usefulness of the IRP approach in the Syrian context, showing the economic and environmental benefits of implementing DSM and alternative supply options.
Accelerating the Transition to Renewables and Efficiency in the Caribbean: Funded by the World Bank, we conducted a quantitative assessment of the costs, performance, environmental benefits of accelerating the transition to renewables and efficiency in Jamaica, Barbados, and St. Lucia. The results show that reduced oil consumption and lower emissions can be achieved at either modest cost or net economic savings, depending on key assumptions.
An Integrated Renewable Energy Program for Zimbabwe: Supported by UNDP/GEF, we assisted the Zimbabwe Department of Energy and to design a new initiative to create markets for a wide range of renewable energy technologies (e.g. PV, wind, biomass) using an integrated suite of financing mechanisms, policy initiatives, and capacity building efforts.