Set in a climate of greenwashing and the unneeded building of novel new cities just because they are labeled green, comes a new set of urban design guidelines that specify how a green and smart city should look and what it should be capable of.

Gas prices have fallen by half, dropping an average of more than $2 a gallon since their most recent peak in 2011. As the global markets process the uncertainty ahead, Politico Magazine asked a panel of leading experts on energy, economics and geopolitics to tell us: As we cheer for cheap gas, what aftershocks should we be bracing for?

China’s urban population is projected to reach 1 billion by 2030, with 75 percent of the population living in cities by 2050. In this rush to urbanize, China has an enormous opportunity to move toward a “new pattern of urbanization.”

As we move into 2016 with an international climate agreement and policymakers thinking about how to meet national commitments, it’s time to review the current status of U.S. power sector emissions and preview the energy trends shaping the next decade.

California’s economy is hot, but its traffic congestion is not. Since the end of the recession, the number of jobs statewide has increased 15 percent. However, California also suffers from the worst traffic in the nation. Moving California Forward offers an essential solution: Apply smart growth principles to build up walkable and transit-oriented neighborhoods.

The money governments and firms have already pumped into renewables and energy-efficiency programmes mean that progress will continue. But even if Mr Trump reneges on America’s environmental promises, others will try to stop the worst of them.

Carbon pricing is China’s best bet to cut emissions and by strengthening the proposed emissions trading scheme the country could see its GHG output peak sooner, according to a group of think-tanks.

Independent system operators have empowered aggregators of distributed energy resources (DERs) to sell services into the transmission grid, but simply opening the door for DERs to join the party only goes so far. We still must identify and overcome challenges impeding progress at the interface between meters and transmission towers.

The China Development Bank Capital (CDBC) and two other partners have developed 18 guidelines to help China urbanise in a green and sustainable manner. CDBC is said to be the largest source of urbanisation funding in China.

A new set of guidelines titled “Green and Smart Urban Development Guidelines” have been published through a collaborative effort by the China Development Bank Capital, the biggest source of urbanization funding in China, Energy Innovation, a San Francisco based green solutions consultant, and Energy Foundation China, a grantmaking charity organization.

Instead of focusing on fixing diesel cars, Musk and his colleagues said, Volkswagen should be required to put its resources toward becoming a zero-emissions car company.

Elon Musk signed a letter urging California emissions regulators to require that Volkswagon put the resources it would have used to fix their cars instead into transitioning to a zero-emissions car company.

Communications expert Susan Hassol presents her top list of reasons to be hopeful about climate change and recommends four websites with resources that help people understand potential solutions to climate change issues

“In the last six years,” said Hal Harvey, C.E.O. of Energy Innovation, a policy research group, “solar prices have dropped by more than 80 percent, and now cost less than a new coal plant. Wind is down 60 percent, and LED lights more than 90 percent.” The point, said Harvey, is that today’s chief executive doesn’t “have to be a hero anymore” to invest in clean power.

The COP21 international climate agreement negotiations should be guided by California’s experience. While our transition is ongoing, smart policy and bipartisan leadership have reduced emissions and increased renewable energy while creating economic growth.

“A zero-carbon future will cost the same or less than a carbon future.”

– Hal Harvey, chief executive of Energy Innovation, a policy and technology institute, speaking at The International New York Times Energy for Tomorrow conference in Paris.

A conflicting range of policies is being put forth on how to deal with the threat of climate change. Given the complexity of sorting out the full range of options a new modeling tool has been developed which evaluates over 50 decarbonization strategies to meet the federal mandates from the Clean Power Plan. Known as the Energy Policy Simulator, it was developed by Energy Innovation of San Francisco and is the subject of an article by Gavin Bade.

Coal is in trouble, and that could be good news for a warming world. The representatives of nearly 200 nations who are gathered in Paris to discuss ways of limiting climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions will be talking a lot about coal.

A new set of case studies and lessons, titled Maximizing Performance of Public Power Utilities, illuminates examples of how publicly-owned utilities can deliver the outcomes desired by their customer-owners through high-level performance management.

Bill Gates will announce the creation of a multibillion-dollar clean energy fund on Monday at the opening of a Paris summit meeting intended to forge a global accord to cut planet-warming emissions, according to people with knowledge of the plans.