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Strategy and planning to redouble climate adaptation in AfricaPayne Institute Fellow Jamil Saghir, Julia Eichhorn, Daniel Flores, and Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez write about how mounting evidence continues to show that Africa is the most vulnerable continent to the adverse impacts of climate change. Ramping up climate finance flows for adaptation is critical to addressing the irreversible impacts of climate change, but financing alone will not be enough to protect the continent. Having a clear set of priorities, with institutions that have the capacity to plan properly and take adaptation actions at scale, is equally important.
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The state of critical minerals report 2023The Payne Institute for Public Policy and the Colorado School of Mines has released our inaugural annual State of Critical Minerals Report. The report is aimed at contributing to the important discourse on critical minerals and how to harness them in a more sustainable manner as a catalyst to the energy transition and by extension, climate action. It explores various parts of the critical minerals value chain and the interplay of these segments in driving a successful minerals industry. The report covers geopolitics and what that means for national security, the demand and supply dynamics of critical minerals markets, financial markets and investments, the future of sustainable mining and the environment, and social governance (ESG) factors confronting the industry.
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The African Climate Summit – averting the climate crisisPayne Institute Research Associate Juliet Akamboe and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how climate change poses a significant threat to Africa, a continent already grappling with challenges including poverty and a lack of access to basic human needs like clean water, healthcare, education, jobs and electricity. Africa is already witnessing severe environmental consequences with changing rainfall patterns, severe droughts and extreme weather conditions, which are stalling socio-economic development. The inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) taking place in Nairobi, this week is a great forum to discuss the role Africa can play in bridging the gap between the Global North and South in addressing the climate crisis.
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Niger, uranium, and the coup d'etatPayne Institute ESG Researcher Baba Freeman writes about how the recent coup d'etat in Niger, a key supplier of uranium, has created some level of anxiety in the market and brought forward new questions for stakeholders across the industry and the West African sub-region. The event calls for a fresh look at the potential market impact and the way forward to resolving the current disputation in a manner that preserves Niger's development agenda, minimizes political risk to investors, and aids the emergence of a more resilient global critical minerals supply chain.
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Proposed West Africa-Europe gas pipelines will fail without a radical shift in thinkingPayne Institute ESG Researcher Baba Freeman writes about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 injected a renewed urgency into Western European countries' energy security concerns and led to an increase in demand for non-Russian sources of oil and gas. Consequently, Europe is expected to take a larger share of future LNG supplies even as greenfield pipeline projects are being conceived to supply West African gas to Western Europe. These projects include the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline (TSGP) and the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) but may not be able to adequately meet these projects' future obligations.
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Investors in African mining ventures must refresh their risk management processesPayne Institute Research Associate Baba Freeman writes about how the frequency of coup d'etats in the Sahel region is troubling and calls for mining investors to refresh their political risk assessment processes. The recent trend of militarization must surely prod investors to further assess the likelihood and possible impact of military interventions and incorporate key takeaways from current events into their risk management tools and processes. While the risk of a total loss of capital due to outright warfare can be assessed deterministically, subjective measures of political instability can substantially impact the "country risk" premium that mining investors must pay over and above the risk-free cost of capital.
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Renewable energy in Africa: Kenya's success and its possible implementation in AngolaPayne Institute student researcher Yara Alexandra Lima writes about how Africa represents some of the world's largest reserves of both renewable and non-renewable energy sources, however, it accounts for half of the world's power deficit. Many African countries are working towards developing their energy sector and, consequently, improving their economic, social, and political framework. This paper will discuss the key strategies employed by Kenya to develop its energy sector and increase its electrification rate, and the possibility of applying these policies in other African countries, namely Angola.
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Rising costs' impact on renewable power generationPayne Institute Program Manager Brad Handler and student researcher Mason Shandy write about how the inflationary pressures that have gripped the global economy over the last 18 months, along with central banks' efforts to lessen them, are weighing on the economics of building new power generation. Despite recent evidence of some moderation in these inflationary pressures, it is reasonable to expect that they will persist for some time. These higher costs disproportionately impact development of variable renewable energy (VRE), such as wind and solar, and in emerging market (EM) economies.
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Colorado (CDPHE/AQD) rule making verifying methane emissions reportingPayne Institute Faculty Fellow Jim Crompton, and Student Researchers Ebenezer Manful-Sam, Wyatt Lindsay and Pierluigi Nichilo write about how reducing greenhouse gases, especially methane emissions, from oil and gas production activities is one of the major themes of regulatory actions both at state, provincial and federal levels in North America as part of society's path for addressing climate change. One of the biggest barriers for methane reduction is not financial or technology, but rather a lack of rigorous and transparent data. In 2021, Colorado's Air Quality Control Commission adopted a rule that limits how much greenhouse gas can be emitted per barrel of oil and gas produced.
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Ambitious EPA rules to face stark permitting realityPayne Institute Program Managers Anna Littlefield and Brad Handler, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how in early May EPA proposed major new carbon emissions standards for coal and many gas-fired electric power plants. Prominent among the options is carbon capture and storage (CCS)—this represents a unique and significant possibility for the technology. The proposal highlights the pressing need to accelerate permitting of CO2 pipelines and injection wells.
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China's consolidation of rare earth elements sectorPayne Institute student researcher Tinzar Htun writes about how today China is the biggest global supplier of rare earth elements (REEs), accounting for around 70 percent of global mine production (1.2 million tons) in 2022. More importantly, China holds the dominant role in the downstream process of REE, separating and processing. The partial shutdown of the Lynas facility in Malaysia will grant China near-exclusive control over the production and distribution of REEs in the global market.
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Applying post-quantum cryptography – survey and application of machine learningPayne Institute student researcher Mack Osborne writes about how quantum computing poses a considerable threat in the world of cyber security. Policy makers are largely unprepared for a post-quantum world, significantly due to a lack of understanding and awareness. The goal of this paper is to improve understanding and provide a new and effective way to analyze post-quantum cryptography, for researchers and security engineers alike.
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The mining boom is coming, but where can their workers live?Payne Institute Research Associate Caitlin McKennie writes about how building out a robust talent pipeline for the mining sector through providing quality jobs to workers and advancement opportunities (i.e., training, upskilling, and next skilling efforts) will be a central factor for ramping up domestic critical mineral production and strengthening U.S. energy security. Yet, the labor force associated with nonfuel mineral mining in the U.S. has remained roughly stagnate over the last five years, and aligns with new statistics coming from employers.
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Critical mineral mining and sustainable development in AfricaPayne Institute student researcher Mama Nissi Abanga Abugnaba writes about how as a continent with abundant natural resources, such as large reserves of vital minerals, Africa could play a critical role in facilitating the energy transition. This will be possible through a just energy transition that supports the retention of jobs, social aid for affected workers, upskilling of current employees, environmental restoration, and the development of local businesses. April 10, 2023.
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Burning landfill in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan detected by VIIRS NightfirePayne Institute Earth Observation Group Director Christopher Elvidge writes about a landfill burning in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan as seen through the VIIRS Nightfire satellite imaging systems as part of their global monitoring program.
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The regulation of CO₂ pipelines and ensuring public safetyThe 45Q tax credit is anticipated to play an important role in accelerating the expansion of the CO₂ pipeline network in the United States by providing a financial incentive for businesses to invest in carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies and supporting infrastructure. The Inflation Reduction Act's amplification of this credit has already increased the number of CCUS projects. This activity, in addition to continuing demand for CO₂ for oil and gas operations, will require an expansion of the US CO₂ pipeline network. This expansion has raised questions and concerns among landowners, project stakeholders and the public regarding the safety of these pipelines and to what extent regulations should be consistent with or more stringent than those for the more abundant natural gas pipelines.
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Securing mineral supply: backwards vertical integration for technology companiesThe demand for minerals has increased with the growing production of standard technologies, such as EV car batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels. However, major mining companies need help to satisfy the demand at the current rate, leading to inconsistent and expensive supply chains and environmental and geopolitical concerns. Technology companies should consider backward vertical integration strategies to mitigate against risks associated with supply chain issues, which would merge upstream processes essential to companies' value chains. By doing so, they can mitigate the mine's health, safety, and ecological impacts by employing the latest mining technologies.
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Addressing the need for accurate and comparable greenhouse gas data: the COMET frameworkThe Coalition on Materials Emissions Transparency (COMET) began as a collaboration between the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), RMI (formerly known as the Rocky Mountain Institute), and the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN Climate Change). Its objective is to advance accurate and transparent greenhouse gas accounting through a harmonized set of principles, standards, and reporting requirements.
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VIIRS day/night band power outage analysis for the February 6, 2023 earthquake in Turkey and SyriaOn February 6, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of about 11 miles (17.9 km) in Gaziantep province in Turkey (https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2023-turkey-and-syria-earthquake-faqs). At least 120 aftershocks have been felt around the region, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). At least 41,000 people have lost their lives till date (February 15th, 2023) and the number continues to rise. The natural disaster has aggravated the preexisting humanitarian need in the region as many Syrian refugees are concentrated in the 10 affected provinces of southern Turkey, and Syria, and have been already suffering from over a decade of civil war.
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Turning wastes to rare valueThere remain considerable uncertainties surrounding critical mineral supply chains, and their relationship to energy transitions and energy security. There is clear evidence that they will play an increasing role, but the pathways to the future are unclear. As we strive for answers, one clear area to look is in recycling and circular economy concepts.
