Region: California
California Permits Pesticides the EU Has Banned
Guest contributor Julie Binot writes that farmworkers are paying the price of California’s weaker pesticide standards.
Guest contributor Julie Binot is an LL.M. graduate (’26) from UC Berkeley. Controversies in France over the reintroduction of acetamiprid, a pesticide, led me to look at California’s own protections. In France, the push to reinstate the neonicotinoid insecticide, banned since 2018 over risks to bees and human health, was ultimately blocked by the Constitutional …
Continue reading “California Permits Pesticides the EU Has Banned”
CONTINUE READINGWhat’s the Long-Term Plan to Decarbonize Aviation?
New CLEE Report on How to Deploy More Carbon-Neutral Electrofuels or “E-Fuels”
How can we decarbonize airplane flights? It’s a “hard to abate” sector of the economy, given that the usual transportation solutions like hydrogen or batteries will likely not work for long-distance flights, given their physics. Instead, some advocates and policymakers are betting on carbon-neutral electrofuels (or “e-fuels”) as an alternative to fossil jet fuel. E-fuels …
Continue reading “What’s the Long-Term Plan to Decarbonize Aviation?”
CONTINUE READINGOne Big Loser in the California Primary is Already Clear
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
The stakes are high for climate and energy policy in California’s primary election. In the gubernatorial race, we’ll either get a real runoff between a billionaire climate progressive and a moderate Democrat with big corporate backing OR, more likely, we’ll get to watch that moderate Dem do a cake walk against a Republican. The governor’s …
Continue reading “One Big Loser in the California Primary is Already Clear”
CONTINUE READINGGas Pains
Higher gas prices are inflicting real pain on lower-income families.
Commentators seem bemused by the intense political reaction to gasoline prices, which are up by about a dollar a gallon due to the war. No doubt the reaction is accentuated because gas prices are highly visible. People buy gas frequently and even more frequently see signs posting the prices. But to a greater extent than many in the upper income distribution appreciate, the actual economic pain is very real. Current price increases presumably won’t be permanent, but the problem isn’t going to go away quickly and might well get worse.
CONTINUE READINGProtecting Consumers in the Electric Vehicle Transition
Paul Hanaoka via Unsplash
UC Berkeley paper highlights opportunities for California to strengthen consumer protections in the EV transition.
Guest contributor Jackie Dall is a UC Berkeley School of Law student (J.D. Candidate, ’27) Personal vehicles are one of the most significant financial commitments American households make, providing mobility and access to economic opportunity in most communities. The electric vehicle (EV) transition is underway and has the potential to directly impact consumers through the entire …
Continue reading “Protecting Consumers in the Electric Vehicle Transition”
CONTINUE READINGReducing Deforestation from California to Colombia and Beyond
There are bright spots and opportunities for more work to do on improving data, governance, and access to finance.
This week marks the 16th Annual Meeting of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF Task Force), a unique network of states and provinces from 11 countries covering more than one-third of the world’s tropical forests. These subnational governments are convening to advance what we call the New Forest Economy – an economic transition …
Continue reading “Reducing Deforestation from California to Colombia and Beyond”
CONTINUE READINGReforming CEQA Part 6
Providing for quicker, more expert dispute resolution
This is the sixth in a series of blog posts on reforming the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The first post, discussing different paradigms for CEQA, is here. The second post, discussing the conceptual framework for reform, is here. The third post, discussing designating a state agency to set binding, clear standards for CEQA implementation, …
Continue reading “Reforming CEQA Part 6”
CONTINUE READINGReforming CEQA Part 5
Creating greater clarity for thresholds of signficance, and default methodologies and mitigation measures
This is the fifth in a series of blog posts on reforming the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The first post, discussing different paradigms for CEQA, is here. The second post, discussing the conceptual framework for reform, is here. The third post, discussing designating a state agency to set binding, clear standards for CEQA implementation, …
Continue reading “Reforming CEQA Part 5”
CONTINUE READINGReforming CEQA Part 4
Providing greater clarity on the types of impacts covered by CEQA
This is the fourth in a series of blog posts on reforming the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The first post, discussing different paradigms for CEQA, is here. The second post, discussing the conceptual framework for reform, is here. The third post, discussing designating a state agency to set binding, clear standards for CEQA implementation, …
Continue reading “Reforming CEQA Part 4”
CONTINUE READINGReforming CEQA Part 3
Adding more binding clear standards for CEQA plus focusing alternatives analysis
This is the third in a series of blog posts on reforming the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The first post, discussing different paradigms for CEQA, is here. The second post, discussing the conceptual framework for reform, is here. In this post, I will discuss two ways to reform CEQA: designating a state agency to …
Continue reading “Reforming CEQA Part 3”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
