Region: California
Risky Business
Climate Change and the Insurance Sector
Founded in 1871, the National Association of Insurance Commission represents insurance regulators in all fifty states. It’s not a particularly woke group – the current president is the Director of the Idaho Department of Insurance. However, the group has just issued a new “voluntary” survey for insurance companies about climate risks. “Voluntary” is in quotes …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Energy Conservation Will Remain Crucial
Even after switching to clean power, we’ll still need to limit energy use.
If we switch to renewables, we won’t need to worry about saving energy. Right? Wrong! One reason to save energy is to limit carbon emissions from the energy we use. That’s going to important until the energy system has been completely cleaned up. But energy conservation is important for reasons that go beyond the direct …
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CONTINUE READINGRegan Hits His Stride
Under Administrator Michael Regan, the Biden EPA is beginning to churn out important new regulatory proposals.
The Trump Administration left a trail of regulatory destruction behind it. Cleaning up the mess and issuing new regulations is Priority #1 for the Biden Administration. Under EPA head Michael Regan, the effort is beginning to pick up steam. EPA has begun the year with several major new regulatory efforts. No one of them is …
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CONTINUE READINGGovernors’ Climate and Forests Task Force Kicks Off Annual Meeting in Heart of the Amazon Basin
12th Annual Meeting of GCF Task Force hosted by Governor of Amazonas in Manaus, Brazil, March 15-18, 2022
This week, on the banks of the largest river system in the world, Governors, environment secretaries and civil servants, Indigenous peoples and local community leaders, national governments, the private sector, and partner organizations will be meeting to discuss innovative partnerships and solutions to the threat of tropical deforestation at the 12th Annual Meeting of the …
CONTINUE READINGIt’s Not All CEQA’s Fault
Public process can actually be pretty important.
I first wrote a version of this post way back in July 2021, when Ezra Klein dropped a couple of lines knocking the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) into one of the op-eds The New York Times loves to perennially run about how California is actually the worst (I’m sorry it can’t be 80 degrees …
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CONTINUE READINGCLEE’s New Executive Director
Louise Bedsworth brings a unique depth of experience in environmental policy to the job.
I’m excited to announce that Louise Bedsworth is CLEE’s new Executive Director. It was no easy task to find the right person to run the center during such a crucial time for environmental and energy policy. Louise was previously the head of our land use program and a senior advisor to the California China Climate …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Legislators Call for More Stringent Requirements for Oil and Gas
Students in UCLA’s California Environmental Legislation and Policy Clinic partner with State Senator Sydney Kamlager to draft letter to CalGEM on proposed public health rule
This post is co-authored by Julia Stein and Beth Kent. Neighborhood oil and gas extraction poses serious public health and environmental risks to communities across California – and campaigns by local advocates and political leaders over the last decade have pressed state agencies and local governments, including the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles …
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CONTINUE READINGFuture Shock
The latest IPCC report contains crucial new information about how soon and how bad climate impacts will be.
When the IPCC released its latest climate science report a few weeks ago, many commentators observed that the report should heighten our sense of urgency about climate action. Most of that discussion was at a very general level. It’s worth taking a closer look at some key findings and their policy implications. Here, I want …
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CONTINUE READINGCarrying the Freight
Decarbonizing trucking comes with some unique challenges.
A quarter of carbon emissions from transportation come from heavy-duty trucks. They are also disproportionate sources of air pollution. Addressing these emissions will be challenging and will require a multi-prong strategy. For distances under a few hundred miles, electrification offers the most promising solution. California and fourteen other states plan to make 30% of new …
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CONTINUE READINGJason Gray Joins the Emmett Institute as Project Director, Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force
Climate policy expert brings regulatory expertise to project focused on tropical deforestation and low-emissions development
This month, the Emmett Institute is excited to welcome climate policy expert Jason Gray as the newest member of our team. In his new role as Project Director of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force, Jason will help direct a major sub-national coalition focused on reducing tropical deforestation and advancing inclusive, equitable, low-emissions development …
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