News Tip: Experts Available for Earth Day 2022 Coverage

News Tip: Experts Available for Earth Day 2022 Coverage

This year’s Earth Day comes at a heightened moment, more than two years into a global pandemic and following a recent United Nations report that concluded without immediate and substantial greenhouse gas reductions, we will be unable to limit global warming to 1.5°C — the point at which scientists predict more severe climate change effects will occur.

The following Duke University experts offer insight into the theme for Earth Day 2022, “Invest in Our Planet.” Their comments are available for your coverage and contact information is provided for additional comment.

Sara Sutherland
Quote:
“The key challenge we face is how to address an array of environmental challenges, such as climate change, air and water pollution and species conservation, with finite fiscal resources,” says Sara Sutherland, an environmental economist and lecturer at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy.

“The most effective environmental policies align the incentives of individuals and businesses with the goals of improving environmental quality and conserving natural resources. For instance, individual property rights and tradable permit systems have been effectively implemented in some regions to conserve fisheries stocks and reduce carbon emissions.”

Bio:
Sara Sutherland is an environmental economist whose research focuses in part on the political economy of natural resource management, with a focus on fisheries and water management. She is working on projects to inform legislatures on the economic value of North Carolina’s natural resources including commercial fisheries and seagrass.
https://scholars.duke.edu/person/Sara.Sutherland

For additional comment, contact Sara Sutherland at:
sara.sutherland@duke.edu


Daniel Vermeer
Quote:

“The pace of climate innovation is increasing dramatically as entrepreneurs pursue opportunities to produce carbon-free energy, removal carbon from the atmosphere, restore ecosystems, produce healthy food and build sustainable urban infrastructures. As individuals, we can amplify these efforts by asking more of our governments, employers, neighbors and products,” says Dan Vermeer, a professor of the practice of energy and the environment in Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

“On this Earth Day, we celebrate the arrival of powerful new tools to build a better world — as governments, investors, companies and consumers. This spring, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is finalizing regulation that will require all public companies to disclose the carbon emissions of their operations and supply chain. To address the growing demands of investors, employees and customers, hundreds of companies are pursuing plans to reduce their emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2050 or earlier.”

“While our window of opportunity is short, we have never had a more promising set of scalable solutions to build a world that enables humans and the planet to flourish.”

Bio:

Daniel Vermeer is a professor of the practice of energy and the environment in Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. He is the founder and director of the Center for Energy, Development and the Global Environment (EDGE), an initiative that harnesses the power of business to meet the global demand for energy, resources and improved quality of life.
https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/faculty/dan-vermeer

For additional comment, contact Daniel Vermeer at:
daniel.vermeer@duke.edu


Media Contact:
Amanda Solliday
amanda.solliday@duke.edu

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