Research Library

Circular processes cannot solve the sustainability problem, but critically implementing circularity with system-level thinking can help to urgently adopt a more resilient, regenerative model for avoiding resource scarcity while fostering economic growth, argues a Forbes piece co-authored by Rachel Meidl.

Circular economy principles are oftentimes used in conjunction or synonymously with the term “sustainability.” However, although there is a relationship between sustainability and circularity, these two concepts are very different. Energy fellow Rachel A. Meidl explains the distinction in a new post for the Baker Institute Blog.

U.S. producers have sustained oil supply by feathering their beds with “DUCs down” — their large inventory of drilled-but-uncompleted wells. Could they exhaust the DUCs? What then? Energy fellow Mark Finley explains on the Baker Institute Blog.

The term “sustainability” is a frequently misconstrued descriptor, oftentimes used synonymously with the concept of a circular economy. In this issue brief, energy fellow Rachel Meidl explains the distinction between circularity and sustainability and how a systems-level approach to waste management can build an economy that is resilient to future global disruptions.

In this report, the authors outline the U.S. federal budget process for scientific R&D, discuss trends in federal R&D funding and provide an outlook for federal scientific R&D funding during the Biden administration.

The authors examine the legacy and outcomes of Japanese foreign direct investment in the Persian Gulf from the late 1950s until the early 1980s.

The first of a two-part series on the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party analyzes the rise to power of President Xi Jinping and his use of propaganda to transform a celebration of the CCP into a celebration of China and its leader.

Amid recent disputes on oil trade, "fractious Saudi-UAE relations are ... better understood as a return to the pre-2015 status quo than a unique diplomatic breach," write Jim Krane and Kristian Coates Ulrichsen.

How did the pandemic impact energy markets around the world? The results of this year's bp Statistical Review of World Energy show how the U.S. led the widespread decline in energy production, oil was the energy type most impacted by shutdowns, and global trade for fossil fuels fell more rapidly than production.

The authors use household-level data and hourly industry data from Mexico to show how more efficient pricing mechanisms, combined with well-designed environmental regulations, can significantly improve economic, social and environmental outcomes.