Catherine Wolfram

⛽ The markets appears to be shrugging off Trump's decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel. With no diesel price response, does this at least mean that Russia will not benefit from the relief? Unfortunately, no. Sanctions drive a wedge between the market price and the price Russia receives.

New paper in @science.org: As of 2025, 80 carbon-pricing instruments were in place across 50 jurisdictions. By coordinating across systems, we can increase emission reductions and avoid trade barriers from a profusion of different border adjustments. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

We start with steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizer and find meaningful emission reductions and substantial public revenues. Stay tuned for our next report, out Sept. 8, which sets out a practical framework for how to operationalize cooperation across different carbon-pricing systems.

New paper in @science.org: As of 2025, 80 carbon-pricing instruments were in place across 50 jurisdictions. By coordinating across systems, we can increase emission reductions and avoid trade barriers from a profusion of different border adjustments. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🔥 Here in Boston, like elsewhere, we're seeing air pollution from Canadian wildfires — the odd-colored sun, the haze, and the real health risks that come with it. This has real costs. @kclausing.bsky.social, @knittelmit.bsky.social and I tallied ways that U.S. hhs have experienced climate change.

To date, the mortality effects of wildfire smoke came in as the second largest category of harm, behind only rising insurance and related flood costs.

A 🧵on two of my all-time favorite charts. The 1st, just published by the @iea.org in the “State of Energy Policy 2026” report shows that more than half of industrial CO2 emissions are now covered by carbon pricing. Reports linked below.

How? By joining forces on carbon pricing, e.g. for heavily traded goods like steel and aluminum, countries can both protect competitiveness and advance climate goals. A complementary way to drive action is to support decarb investments, as the EU is doing in India through the free trade agreement.

A 🧵on two of my all-time favorite charts. The 1st, just published by the @iea.org in the “State of Energy Policy 2026” report shows that more than half of industrial CO2 emissions are now covered by carbon pricing. Reports linked below.

Credit where it’s due: #CBAM deserves much of the credit for this recent explosion in carbon pricing. Huge kudos to the EU. www.rff.org/publications...

A 🧵on two of my all-time favorite charts. The 1st, just published by the @iea.org in the “State of Energy Policy 2026” report shows that more than half of industrial CO2 emissions are now covered by carbon pricing. Reports linked below.

I am a big fan of most of what @robin-j-brooks.bsky.social says about Russian oil but disagree strongly w this Substack.

For one, embargoes hurt both the sanctioning countries and the sanctioned, so they end up being games of chicken where each side is waiting for the other to relent. When the sanctioned are ruled by people like Putin or Khamenei, I think there’s no way the West wins.

I'm pleased to share my recent column in Project Syndicate. ⚙️ I argue that we can think of Europe’s climate leadership as a policy flywheel. Europe Must Not Abandon Its Climate Ambitions by Catherine Wolfram @projectsyndicate.bsky.social prosyn.org/KliboFD

Countries are responding by adopting their own carbon prices and now other countries, like Australia and Turkey, are considering their own CBAMs, which is like another spin of the flywheel. www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-chan...

I'm pleased to share my recent column in Project Syndicate. ⚙️ I argue that we can think of Europe’s climate leadership as a policy flywheel. Europe Must Not Abandon Its Climate Ambitions by Catherine Wolfram @projectsyndicate.bsky.social prosyn.org/KliboFD

Graham sanctions bill may be moving forward. Ideally, Graham would work with McCormick and adopt parts of the DROP Act. www.politico.com/live-updates...

Here’s an interesting fact about the Venezuelan oil and gas sector: it’s ridiculously, off-the-charts dirty when it comes to methane emissions. In some earlier work, we had to change the scale to show Venezuela’s methane emissions per unit of energy produced.

There are a lot of questions about what just happened in VZ and where things will go, but this is a specific example of two general points: 1. Governance matters. Corrupt regimes wreak lots of havoc, including to the environment.

Here’s an interesting fact about the Venezuelan oil and gas sector: it’s ridiculously, off-the-charts dirty when it comes to methane emissions. In some earlier work, we had to change the scale to show Venezuela’s methane emissions per unit of energy produced.

If we take the 20-year global warming potential, it’s like reducing over 300 mmt, comparable in magnitude to some early assessments of the damage done to US emissions by the OBBBA, but helpful this time!

Here’s an interesting fact about the Venezuelan oil and gas sector: it’s ridiculously, off-the-charts dirty when it comes to methane emissions. In some earlier work, we had to change the scale to show Venezuela’s methane emissions per unit of energy produced.