2019 - Page 3 of 34 - Legal Planet

Year: 2019

Coal in 2019: A Tale of Decline

Like Canute & the ocean, Trump may wave his hands, but he can’t stop the tide.

Coal is just about the worst possible way of generating electricity in terms of its climate impacts. It’s also a serious public health hazard due to the particulates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides it produces. Thus, reducing the use of coal is a high priority. How did we do in 2019? The short answer is …

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Bless the Rains Down in Los Angeles

As a wet winter approaches, Los Angeles County focuses on initiatives to capture rainwater and reduce ocean runoff

(Note: I previously wrote a law review article published in 2016 in the Villanova Environmental Law Journal, accessible here, about related policy suggestions for improving rainwater capture in reference to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.) If you live in California, or have been in the state over the last couple weeks, you’ll know that we …

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Climate Change, Ozone Depletion, and the New York Times

The Montreal Protocol offers lessons for climate change, but not a role model

In an extended piece yesterday, The New York Times editorial board wrote that “The World Solved the Ozone Problem. It Can Solve Climate Change. The same tools that fixed the ozone hole — science, innovation and international action — can address.” Although the editorial was mostly correct, it missed what I believe to be the …

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New Report: California Climate Risk and Insurance

Santa Clarita wildfire California climate change

UCLA & UC Berkeley Researchers Issue Report on Climate Change and Insurance in California

(This post is part of a series on the issue of climate change and insurance that my colleague Sean Hecht and I are writing, inspired by a symposium that the law schools co-organized with the California Department of Insurance earlier this year. You can find more information on the symposium here. My initial post is available …

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Deregulating Methane No Matter What

Emmett Institute faculty submit letter opposing Trump’s proposed rollback on methane regulations

Recently, my colleague Sean Hecht and I jointly submitted a comment letter opposing a new EPA Proposed Rule that would roll back standards limiting methane emissions from oil and natural gas production, processing, transmission, and storage facilities. This Proposed Rule essentially revokes two Obama-era regulations, finalized in 2012 and 2016, that first established these methane …

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Youth Energy at Madrid COP

Report from the UCLA Law delegation

Along with my UCLA Law colleagues Ted Parson, Alex Wang, and Siyi Shen, I’m in Madrid with three intrepid law students for the annual conference of the major international treaty addressing climate change, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. As these conferences go, this iteration was expected to be pretty sleepy. The conference remains …

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2019 in Renewable Energy

The move toward renewables is continuing despite Trump.

Despite the efforts of the Trump Administration, renewable energy has continued to thrive. Key states are imposing rigorous deadlines for reducing power generation from fossil fuels. Economic trends are also supporting renewables. In the first half of 2019, Texas produced more power from renewables than coal. Texas may be content to rely on market forces, …

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Glacial Geoengineering and the Law of Antarctica

Could mega-adaptation projects in Antarctica slow the rise of global sea levels?

As the planet warms over the coming centuries, glacial melt in Greenland and Antarctica will lead to significant sea level rise. This phenomenon threatens to flood coastal cities, submerge island nations, and displace hundreds of millions of people. Coastal adaptation projects underway give us a glimpse into how we will respond to this future. Some …

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Yes, It’s That Time of Year Again

If you read Legal Planet, you know why the work we do matters.

There couldn’t be a more important time for the work we do, given the urgency of the climate crisis and the ongoing policy disaster in D.C. Like everyone else, I’m sure you find fundraising appeals annoying. That’s why we hardly ever do them on Legal Planet. But twice a year doesn’t seem like too much …

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OK Boomer

Sadly, all too many people in my generation are part of the problem.

The phrase “OK Boomer” got to be front-page news when Chlöe Swarbrick, a youthful member of the New Zealand parliament, used the phrase against a heckler. She had been trying to explain why her generation was unwilling to accept delays in addressing climate change. She pointed out that her generation, and the ones to follow, …

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The Supreme Court’s Top-10 Environmental Law Decisions

If these decisions had come out differently, environmental law would look very different than it does today.

Ninth Circuit Short-Circuits Juliana v. U.S. Climate Change Lawsuit

Iconic Children Plaintiffs Lack Legal Standing to Pursue Case, Court of Appeals Rules

30 Major Climate Initiatives Under Biden

By any measure, it has been an eventful four years for climate policy, with billions in spending and many major regulations finalized. Here’s a timeline of the Top 30 actions.

Pouring Gas on a Five Alarm Fire

That’s Trump’s climate policy in a nutshell. His campaign slogan should be, “Burn, Baby, Burn.”

Can GoGreen Advance California’s Home Decarbonization Goals?

The state’s home energy financing program remains modest and needs to scale

Mobilizing Environmental Voters

People who care about the environment may not be voters. Can that be changed?

Little Hoover Commission Releases Flawed CEQA Report

The long-awaited report proposes sweeping exemptions and process changes—even though its own reasoning points in the opposite direction.

California Seeks to Protect Homes from Excessive Indoor Heat

Guest contributor Cassandra Vo writes that the state should do more to protect mobile homes dwellers from heat. Work by a UCLA Law Clinic on behalf of Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability points the way forward on inclusive heat resiliency standards.

Western States Should Opt In to Regionalized Electricity Markets

Guest contributor Kelly Cook writes that regionalization efforts present a low risk that federal control will threaten state authority.

Temporary Takings and the Adaptation Dilemma

Current law penalizes adaptation measures because of the risk of takings liability.

A New Era for Protecting Public Lands

The Bureau of Land Management has always prioritized extraction activities. Now the agency has announced a rule that could elevate conservation.

Climate Action for Earth Day

“We have a long way to go, but we’ve started down the path.” I asked my UCLA Emmett Institute colleagues what climate actions give them hope on Earth Day. Here’s how they answered.

Could Trump Cancel the IRA?

Probably not. But also possibly yes.

We Need a True Debate Over Income-Graduated Fixed Charges

A state bill to cap the fixed charges utilities can collect in California would shut down an important debate about equity and rate design. Here’s a better way forward.

Why the New Climate Reg for Coal is a Perfectly Normal EPA Rule

EPA’s approach isn’t a novel innovation. It’s just EPA applying its usual approach.

Climate Policy and the Audacity of Hope

The barriers are still huge — but we can also envision a path to success.

Judicial Deference to Agencies: A Timeline

Decisions about judicial deference to agencies on legal issues didn’t begin or end with Chevron.

California Seeks to Protect Homes from Excessive Indoor Heat

Guest contributor Cassandra Vo writes that the state should do more to protect mobile homes dwellers from heat. Work by a UCLA Law Clinic on behalf of Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability points the way forward on inclusive heat resiliency standards.

Year: 2019

Like Canute & the ocean, Trump may wave his hands, but he can’t stop the tide.

As a wet winter approaches, Los Angeles County focuses on initiatives to capture rainwater and reduce ocean runoff

The Montreal Protocol offers lessons for climate change, but not a role model

UCLA & UC Berkeley Researchers Issue Report on Climate Change and Insurance in California

Emmett Institute faculty submit letter opposing Trump’s proposed rollback on methane regulations

Report from the UCLA Law delegation

The move toward renewables is continuing despite Trump.

Could mega-adaptation projects in Antarctica slow the rise of global sea levels?

If you read Legal Planet, you know why the work we do matters.

Sadly, all too many people in my generation are part of the problem.

TRENDING

If these decisions had come out differently, environmental law would look very different than it does today.

Iconic Children Plaintiffs Lack Legal Standing to Pursue Case, Court of Appeals Rules

By any measure, it has been an eventful four years for climate policy, with billions in spending and many major regulations finalized. Here’s a timeline of the Top 30 actions.

That’s Trump’s climate policy in a nutshell. His campaign slogan should be, “Burn, Baby, Burn.”

The state’s home energy financing program remains modest and needs to scale

People who care about the environment may not be voters. Can that be changed?

The long-awaited report proposes sweeping exemptions and process changes—even though its own reasoning points in the opposite direction.

Guest contributor Cassandra Vo writes that the state should do more to protect mobile homes dwellers from heat. Work by a UCLA Law Clinic on behalf of Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability points the way forward on inclusive heat resiliency standards.

Guest contributor Kelly Cook writes that regionalization efforts present a low risk that federal control will threaten state authority.

Current law penalizes adaptation measures because of the risk of takings liability.

The Bureau of Land Management has always prioritized extraction activities. Now the agency has announced a rule that could elevate conservation.

“We have a long way to go, but we’ve started down the path.” I asked my UCLA Emmett Institute colleagues what climate actions give them hope on Earth Day. Here’s how they answered.

Probably not. But also possibly yes.

A state bill to cap the fixed charges utilities can collect in California would shut down an important debate about equity and rate design. Here’s a better way forward.

EPA’s approach isn’t a novel innovation. It’s just EPA applying its usual approach.

The barriers are still huge — but we can also envision a path to success.

Decisions about judicial deference to agencies on legal issues didn’t begin or end with Chevron.

Guest contributor Cassandra Vo writes that the state should do more to protect mobile homes dwellers from heat. Work by a UCLA Law Clinic on behalf of Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability points the way forward on inclusive heat resiliency standards.

The long-awaited report proposes sweeping exemptions and process changes—even though its own reasoning points in the opposite direction.

That’s Trump’s climate policy in a nutshell. His campaign slogan should be, “Burn, Baby, Burn.”