Month: December 2011
What Happened in Durban?
The outcome in Durban seems to be better than expected, although admittedly that’s partly because expectations were low. From the official press release: In Durban, governments decided to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, but not later than 2015. Work will begin on this immediately under a new group …
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CONTINUE READINGPrimary Colors with a Green Overtone
Frederick Anderson, a leading Washington lawyer who works on energy and environment issues, has written a novel about the current primary campaign. It features a candidate who starts thinking for himself, with predictably negative political effects. Gary Hart, who knows a thing or two about how a primary campaign can go wrong, calls it a …
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CONTINUE READINGLegal Planet is selected as one of ABA’s Blawg 100: Vote online for Legal Planet for best “niche” blog
Each year, the editors of the American Bar Association’s ABA Journal selects the 100 best blogs by and for lawyers. This year, they selected Legal Planet as one of them, out of 3,500 eligible blogs. Now, blog readers get to vote for their favorites, and we’d love to have your vote. The journal editors categorize the …
CONTINUE READINGPotential for 2015 roadmap from Durban?
Reuters reports on a potential roadmap for future climate change action that is developing at COP17 in Durban. Under the EU plan, parties would agree to a road map that would lead to legally binding commitments for GHG emission reductions in 2015. Up to this point, the head of the U.S. delegation, Jonathan Pershing, had …
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CONTINUE READINGRon Paul: The Most Anti-Environmental Candidate Ever
We already tried Ron Paul’s environmental approach, and it didn’t work. This is more or less where the law stood fifty years ago. The result then was massive air and water pollution, and that’s where Ron Paul would take us back to.
CONTINUE READINGImages from Durban
If you want a flavor of it, here are some images from COP17 (all credits mine):
CONTINUE READINGThe “21st Century Contract with America”
I’ve just been reading Gingrich’s new version of the Contract with America. It repeats Gingrich’s desire to end most federal regulations in favor of federal coaching and subsidies for businesses and state governments: We must also replace the EPA, which pursues an anti-jobs agenda the economy simply cannot sustain. A pro-growth Environmental Solutions Agency in …
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CONTINUE READINGFederalism and the Electrification of the Auto Fleet
Many commentators assume that if the federal government ever adopts a national policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, states and localities will largely take a backseat to federal regulators. But one highly necessary means to reducing carbon emissions — the electrification of the automobile fleet — will require active and involved participation by all levels of …
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CONTINUE READINGThe First Federal Environmental Law Decision
Of course, it’s a bit arbitrary to pick one case as the first environmental law decision. Many people would probably name the Scenic Hudson opinion, but my nominee would be a decision many decades earlier: Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Co., 18 F. 753 (C.C.Cal. 1884). What makes it reasonable to call this the …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia cap-and-trade a topic of interest at Durban
California’s cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions has gotten some interest here at the climate change negotiations in Durban. At a discussion of Australia’s new carbon pricing program, panelists discussed how Australia considered California’s economic modeling of cap-and-trade during the development of Australia’s system. And a panel on linking between different carbon and offset markets, …
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