In the first part of a Duke Today series called "Disaster 101," several Duke experts provided an introduction to the disaster management cycle. The number and cost of billion-dollar extreme weather events in the United States has been steadily increasing for decades. Lydia Olander, director of the Nature Activation Hub at the Nicholas Institute, explained that climate change and people moving into high-risk areas are combining to drive the increase.

President Donald Trump issued a broad slew of energy policies and efforts to roll back environmental protections on his first day in office. Jackson Ewing, director of energy and climate policy at the Nicholas Institute, told The Hill that Trump’s declaration of a “national energy emergency” could be among the most impactful policies because it unlocks more rapid leasing, siting and permitting for oil and gas production. 

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders, including one withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate treaty. Brian Murray, director of the Nicholas Institute, spoke with German broadcaster DW News about the implications for climate action domestically and abroad, and he discussed other steps Trump may take to reverse former President Joe Biden's climate and energy policies.

A new article in Nature, coauthored by the Nicholas Institute’s John Virdin, reveals how small-scale fisheries make large contributions to communities, economies and diets around the world. The work builds on research started through Illuminating Hidden Harvests, a global initiative of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Duke University and WorldFish.

The Nature Activation Hub brings together tools, guidance and resources to help decision-makers and practitioners integrate nature's benefits into decision-making. The hub builds on the Nicholas Institute’s two decades of actionable research and purposeful partnerships focused on nature-based solutions, ecosystem services and natural and working lands.

Duke's Heat Policy Innovation Hub will receive $500,000 in federal funding to advance heat action through a two-year project. The hub will partner with the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) to map district-level heat impacts across sectors, inform heat policies, assess heat risks in rural and coastal communities and facilitate private sector collaboration on heat.

If all new car sales in the U.S. right now were electric vehicles, it could still take decades to fully transition to EVs. We should use that time effectively to plan accordingly and fully realize the benefits of the technology, writes Nicholas Institute research lead Trey Gowdy in an op-ed in Utility Dive.

World leaders gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November for the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP29—and Duke University experts and students were on the scene.

The Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University has released the latest update to a resource for policymakers and researchers exploring how governments are responding to the plastics crisis.

Duke Ph.D. student Tyler Norris joins the latest episode of "Energy Unplugged" by Aurora Energy Research to discuss the interconnection processes within U.S. power markets.