Region: California

California Issues the First State Guidance for Corporate Climate Risk Disclosure

CARB takes an important step in an emerging field of climate policy

The California Air Resources Board this week released draft guidance for corporate climate-related financial risk disclosure, providing some insight into what large companies will be required to report beginning in January 2026. This is a quiet but fairly monumental step in climate risk disclosure in the US, and a reminder of the power of state …

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Trump’s War on Wind is Dumb. It also Makes Sense.

The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.

The Trump administration’s attack on wind energy feels dumber and dumber every day. Let’s see if we can make it make some sense. After that, the major headlines of the week. Last Friday, his Transportation Department withdrew $679 million for offshore wind projects at 12 ports. Last month, the administration sent a stop-work order to …

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How to Dissent? Learn American History

LA Public Library

The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.

It sounds cliché, but when you face a crisis, it helps to remember times that you’ve overcome adversity. That’s the power of history. And it’s one of the reasons I think the new PBS documentary “Clearing the Air: The War on Smog” is crucial to share right now. In the 1940s, dark, smoky clouds crept …

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Why are California’s Zero-Emission Truck Standards Under Attack?

They are highly effective, as CLEE’s new Factsheet series on Zero-Emission Trucks documents.

The world of zero-emission trucks is at a pivotal moment. On one hand, the technology is rapidly advancing, and manufacturers are producing a growing number of zero-emission truck models in Europe, China, and here in California. Yet on the other hand, this clean transition is facing significant political and legal challenges from the U.S. federal …

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Leveraging Cap-And-Trade Proceeds for Long-Term Utility Bill Savings and Pollution Reduction

State leaders have an opportunity to expand the benefits with cap-and-trade reauthorization.

California’s decades-long role as a climate action pioneer is facing serious headwinds. While the Trump administration and its allies have launched a full-scale attack on clean technologies, state leaders are also wrestling with an electorate now more focused on lowering prices than environmental protection. Energy costs stand in the middle. This dynamic is playing out …

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Watch “Clearing the Air: The War on Smog”

LAPL

The American Experience’s “Clearing the Air: The War on Smog” tells an extraordinary story. It premieres on PBS this Tuesday.

A few years back, a colleague of mine, who I very much wanted to remain at UCLA, approached me because he was contemplating accepting an offer at a Washington, D.C. law school.  He feared remaining in Los Angeles, even though he wanted to stay, because he didn’t want his young daughter exposed to the southland’s …

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Owens Valley Redux: Los Angeles was Right

Far from a theft, the decision to divert water to Los Angeles made economic, environmental, and equitable sense.

I have a new piece out in The Urban Lawyer about the Owens Valley that might be of interest to Legal Planet readers. Here is an abstract: Everyone knows that Los Angeles stole its water from the Owens Valley, creating environmental devastation and a legacy of rapacity. It is such a commonplace that it needs …

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State Agencies Respond to Trump’s EV Threats

A solid list of proposals – are they enough?

The Trump Administration and Congress have spent much of the year attacking vehicle electrification efforts–everything from executive orders threatening electric vehicle policies and incentives (in the name of promoting “true consumer choice”) and the repeal of vehicle emission standards (backed by false claims of consumer savings) to the elimination of EV tax credits and manufacturing …

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Why Does Misinformation Follow Extreme Weather?

The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.

Nowadays when an extreme weather event strikes in America, what follows is a secondary emergency in the form of misinformation on social media. We’ve seen it play out after floods and heat waves, but this phenomenon really goes into overdrive after hurricanes and wildfires. A recent report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate looked …

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The Energy Secretary Pushes Pseudoscience

The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.

Remember alternative facts? That catch phrase from Season 1, Episode 1 where Trump officials lied about the size of his inauguration crowd has now metastasized into a governing philosophy for how federal agencies plan to ignore, and ultimately exacerbate, the climate crisis. Trump 2.0 is pushing alternative science. Late last month, Energy Secretary Chris Wright …

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