Climate Change Policy Partnership Welcomes Fall 2006 Student Fellows

Fellows will be busy preparing synthesis report on policy options, renewable energy technologies, and other emission mitigation opportunities.

September 6, 2006 (Durham, NC)—The Climate Change Policy Partnership, a research program begun last fall at Duke University, hosted its first fall meeting of students and staff, as a second group of student researchers enters the project.

Students were competitively selected following review of applications and interviews.  Seven of the fellows are returning from last year; eight are new to the project.  The continuing fellows are: Maura Barr, Kevin Dudney, Keith Herrmann, Katharine Kollins, Melissa Semcer, and Bradley Strode, all second-year Master of Environmental Management (MEM) students; and Sarah Zaleski, a third-year joint MEM/Master of Public Policy student.  The project is also adding the following new fellows: David Carlson, Allison Carr, Kristin Igusky, Michael Leff, and Garrett Martin, all first-year MEMs; Ben Moore, a second-year MEM; Brigham Daniels, a PhD student at the Nicholas School of the Environment; and Raghuram Jandhyala, a Master of Engineering Management student at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering.

“We’re going to be busy this fall finishing the scoping phase of the project and drilling down into our research,” commented Eric Williams, CCPP Project Director for Economic Analysis, and staff at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, one of the three primary Duke University participant groups in the CCPP.  “We are going to rely on the students to dig into the data and synthesize it in accurate, relevant ways.”

The first phase of the project ends this year; a synthesis document on the current state of knowledge of carbon policy, alternative energy technologies, and economic incentives will be produced this fall.  Planning will also begin for the second phase of the project.  Fellows will work alongside Climate Change Policy Partnership staff from the Duke University Center on Global Change and Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, along with faculty from the Nicholas School, Duke and other universities.

The Climate Change Policy Partnership began in fall 2005 through a $2.5 million gift from Duke Energy.  Duke Energy is a diversified energy company, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, with a portfolio of natural gas and electric businesses, both regulated and unregulated, and an affiliated real estate company.  For more information on the Climate Change Policy Partnership, please visit the website at http://www.env.duke.edu/institute/ccpp/