Deciding a Climate Case in the Shadow of the Supreme Court
Juliana Judges Surely Had The Higher Court in Mind in Drafting Their Decision
The irony of the Ninth Circuit decision dismissing the Juliana v. United States case this week is plain to see. Two branches of government -- the legislative and executive - have failed to act to address an environmental problem that may cause the destruction of the federal government itself. The third branch, the judiciary, recognizes the existential threat but refuses to step in to do anything to stop the destruction. As Judge Staton, who wrote a powerful di...
CONTINUE READINGPricing Carbon: What Does It Actually Accomplish?
Pricing carbon may not work the way economists thought.
In theory, pricing carbon should incentivize emissions reductions. In reality, it is unclear to what extent that takes place unless the carbon price is very high. This is not to say that pricing carbon is useless, but the main benefits may take different forms. Basically, there are two ways of putting a price on carbon. One is a carbon tax. The other is to cap total emissions, requiring companies to pay for the right to a share of the limited amount of allowed e...
CONTINUE READINGLooking Ahead: Inauguration Day, 2021.
There are 3 plausible scenarios for the new balance of power.
Inauguration day is a year from today. What will the balance of power be then? The House doesn't seem to be in play. Democrats have an uphill fight to win the Senate, so a GOP White House would probably mean a GOP Senate. That leaves three likely scenarios, with different implications for environmental law. Scenario 1 GOP White House and Senate, but Democratic House. Most likely the GOP President would be Donald Trump. However, this doesn’t really ma...
CONTINUE READINGJuliana and the Future of Climate Litigation
Asking judges to pass judgment on all U.S. energy policy was a bridge too far.
The Ninth Circuit threw out the Juliana litigation this morning. The two judges in the majority basically said, legalistic language, that you can't get the Green New Deal by court order. It was wrong for the Supreme Court to step in at the last minute to put the trial on hold, rather than giving the plaintiffs their day in court. But the ultimate result wasn't surprising, given the unprecedented, sweeping ruling that the plaintiffs were requesting. I don't blame t...
CONTINUE READINGNew California Report on State Climate Policies Released
Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee Recommends Focus on Transportation, Affordability, Allowance Banking, Allowance Supply and the Effects of Overlapping Policies in the Regional Electricity Market
The California Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee released its annual report yesterday making recommendations about California climate policy. I serve as the Vice Chair of the committee and as the Speaker of the Assembly's appointee. Our report makes five recommendations: that the state focus on the affordability of its carbon policies, with special concern about rising electricity rates and complementary policies; that the Air Resources Boa...
CONTINUE READINGThe Bleak California Housing Picture By Numbers
Key recent studies and data can inform the legislative debate
As the debate over SB 50 and other state legislative efforts to boost California's housing supply heats up, it's worth reviewing some of the data about how dire the housing situation is in the state. Here are some tidbits: High Home Prices and Rents: According to the California Legislative Analysts Office, the average California home costs about two-and-a-half times the average national home price, at $440,000 (and much higher in major metro areas). This price di...
CONTINUE READINGCongress Mandates Pentagon Climate Action
The GOP’s climate denial doesn’t extend to DOD.
Everyone says climate laws can never pass Congress. But there's a major exception. Each year since Trump took office, Congress has passed climate legislation as part of Defense Department spending. Trump has signed all of those laws. In 2017, there was a congressional finding that climate change is a threat to national security. In 2018, it was a mandate for climate and energy resilience. This year’s bill was no exception. Making military bases climate resilie...
CONTINUE READINGDark Waters in Dark Times
Citizen Petition Presses EPA To Call Chemicals in Environmental Docudrama "Hazardous Waste"
This holiday season, A-list actors drew moviegoers to a film with a distinctly un-Hollywood plot line: A company dumps thousands of pounds of toxic, long-lived chemicals (PFAS, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) into unlined pits that drain into a farming community’s drinking water. Local residents fall ill, some terminally. A heroic attorney (Mark Ruffalo) represents them pro bono for years at great personal cost (neglected spouse Anne Hathaway). When ...
CONTINUE READINGThe Real Lesson From Madrid’s Failed Climate Conference? Spain’s Success On Urban Quality of Life & Carbon Emissions
Southern European nation excels at walkability, reduced emissions & resident happiness
Tea in Madrid's Plaza de San Ildefonso The UN climate conference in Madrid last month may have ended poorly, but conference attendees had a big success story right in front of them in the host country. Spain’s success achieving efficient – and enjoyable – land use and transportation outcomes is a model other countries and states should emulate to address climate change. Spanish cities and towns feature many remarkable urban spaces, not unlike those found ...
CONTINUE READINGMisunderstanding the Law of Causation
Trump's NEPA proposal flunks Torts as well as Environmental Science 101.
Last week's NEPA proposal bars agencies from considering many of the harms their actions will produce, such as climate change. These restrictions profoundly misunderstand the nature of environmental problems and are based on the flimsiest of legal foundations. Specifically, the proposal tells agencies they do not need to consider environmental “effects if they are remote in time, geographically remote, or the product of a lengthy causal chain.” The proposal also...
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