New oils are emerging in the United States and worldwide. The degree to which global oils differ from one another is increasing, from carbon-laden oils that resist flow to ultra-light petroleum liquids trapped in tight shale oil. Developing these unconventional oils requires a clear departure from business-as-usual practices. The Carnegie Oil Initiative provides expert analysis, strategic guidance, and policy frameworks to manage new oil assets while protecting the climate.
Carnegie’s work to understand emerging new oils has been ongoing since our seminal publication, Understanding Unconventional Oil, in 2012. All publications from this project are archived here.
The decisions facing the Trump administration over the Paris Climate Agreement are not as simple as is often portrayed.
As the Trump administration casts doubt on the future of the U.S. role under the Paris climate accords, China finds itself positioned to lead.
More power to the states to price carbon can support emissions reduction from human activities that accelerate climate change.
By simply knowing more about its oil, California has an opportunity to further transform a critical sector that must rapidly respond to the realities of a warming world.
While recent actions in Washington cast doubt on the reliability of federal data, states stand to gain if they collect the data necessary to solve pressing problems, such as climate change.
California faces hidden climate risks from its oils.