California Archives - Page 2 of 124

Region: California

Misusing Carbon Removal as a Climate Response

Carbon removal is an alluring idea. That also makes it a tempting façade for bad policies.

It seems clear that in some form, carbon removal is going to be an important component of climate policy, especially later in the century to deal with carbon levels that overshoot the targets in the Paris Climate Agreement. The problem is not with the concept but with its misuse. One of the risks that …

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California’s Climate Leadership: A Timeline

California embraced climate action 2002 and has never looked back since.

The Golden State has adopted a slew of climate change laws over the past twenty years, and an even greater number of regulations . To help you keep track, here is a timeline of California’s most important actions. 2002 SB1078. California established first renewable portfolio standard (20% from renewables by 2010). AB 1493 (Pavley …

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New Bill Targets Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Leaks

Legislation introduced by Assemblymember Arambula, with research help from UCLA students, aims to protect Californians from the dangers of transporting captured carbon dioxide.

Guest contributor Jennifer Imm is a J.D. Candidate at UCLA Law (2L) Last week, Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula introduced AB 2623, a bill designed to guard California communities against the dangers of transporting carbon dioxide in pipelines. These risks aren’t hypothetical: A leak from a carbon dioxide pipeline already caused serious health harms in Satartia, …

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Delivering Workforce Benefits in an Emerging Industry

Observations on the workforce development provisions in the California Energy Commission (CEC) draft Offshore Wind Strategic Plan

California’s offshore wind (OSW) industry is transitioning from planning to implementation in a statewide effort to deliver 2-5 GW clean energy by 2030. In support of this goal, the California Energy Commission (CEC) released a draft of its Assembly Bill 525 Offshore Wind Strategic Plan (the Plan). In a nascent industry with complex community interests …

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California Water Law Symposium is this Saturday in San Francisco

This student-organized event will focus on “Diversifying Solutions to Water Governance in California”

If you’re interested in California water, the 20th Annual California Water Law Symposium is a great way to spend this Saturday! The symposium is a collaborative student-run event that consistently brings together leading minds in water law and policy to discuss California’s critical water issues. Students from 7 northern California law schools—led by a stellar …

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A New Strategic Plan for California Offshore Wind

The California Energy Commission has published a draft including strategies for impacted communities, but CBAs deserve more emphasis.

For those following offshore wind development in California, January 19, 2024, marked an important moment—the release of the long-awaited Draft Assembly Bill 525 Offshore Wind Strategic Plan from the California Energy Commission (CEC). Some important foundations for offshore wind, a new but growing industry in California, had already been laid. Assembly Bill 525 (AB 525, …

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Evaluating Voluntary Agreements in the Bay-Delta Watershed

Satellite image of California, centered on the Bay-Delta watershed. The Central Valley shows up prominently, with green agricultural fields rimmed by drier brown land, surrounded by mountains.

by Nell Green Nylen, Felicia Marcus, Dave Owen, and Michael Kiparsky

Updates to flow and other regulatory requirements for California’s Bay-Delta watershed are long overdue. For much of the last 12 years, state political leadership has prioritized efforts to develop voluntary agreements (VAs) with water users over completing updates to the watershed’s water quality standards. Now the State Water Resources Control Board has restarted the regulatory …

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7 Reasons California Should Get Tougher on Methane from Dairies

California lawmakers should rethink the role of dairy digesters in the state’s dairy and livestock mitigation strategy.

Even though California aims to decrease the emissions of methane, dairy operations are rewarded for creating, and capturing, more and more of the planet-warming super pollutant in the form of manure-derived biogas. Today, California lawmakers declined to correct that perverse incentive, but they still have opportunities to rethink the state’s embrace of digesters as its …

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How Can Cities Ensure EV Charging Accessibility for Lower-Income Drivers?

Watsonville, California as a Case Study for Policymakers

California’s ambitious goal to end the sale of internal combustion engine passenger vehicles by 2035 will require addressing the challenges faced by lower- and moderate-income drivers in accessing battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs). Chief among these concerns is their need to have a convenient and affordable place to charge the vehicles. Currently these residents too often …

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The Year Ahead in California Climate Laws

Facing a $37.9 billion deficit, California’s 2024 legislative session is likely to be about minor fixes, cleanup bills, and the ballot box. Plus: Will 2023’s disclosure bills get funded?

Though I do not have a crystal ball — wish I did! — there are some clear markers we can evaluate to foresee environmental priorities, and possibilities, as we start another exciting year in the California Legislature. The California Legislature kicked off the 2024 session on January 3 with notable changes in leadership. Robert Rivas, who …

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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.

EPA’s New Power Plant Rules Have Dropped. What Happens Next?

Media battles. Lawsuits. Stay requests. And political mayhem.

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.

Could Trump Cancel the IRA?

Probably not. But also possibly yes.

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.

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.

Don’t Count Your Judicial Vultures Before They Hatch

The conservative Supreme Court majority may turn out as bad as we fear. Or maybe not.

Filling in the Picture: The Latest From Kennedy about Climate

Here’s what Kennedy says about his campaign, its effect on the race, and climate change.

Five Myths and Half-Truths About California Cap and Trade

California has spent years fine-tuning its trading system, with results that aren’t always easy to gauge.

U.S. Supreme Court Revisits, Tightens Regulatory Takings Limits on Land Use Regulation

California Homeowner’s Takings Challenge to County’s Traffic Impact Fee Heads Back to State Court

California Wins Major Clean Air Act/Climate Change Case in D.C. Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals Rejects Red States’ Challenge to California’s CAA “Waiver Authority”

Florida is a Climate-Denying Hellscape

Florida lawmakers want to erase climate change from their laws and ban local heat protection ordinances ahead of what could be another summer of record-breaking heat.

U.S. Supreme Court Revisits, Tightens Regulatory Takings Limits on Land Use Regulation

California Homeowner’s Takings Challenge to County’s Traffic Impact Fee Heads Back to State Court

Election 2024: The Current Outlook

The White House and the House are still up for grabs; Republicans are favored in the Senate.

A Word on Congestion Pricing

Time for local leaders to restart the discussion

The ‘Year of Climate’ in International Courts

Guest contributor Rebecca Hamilton previews several opinions that touch on the question of the international legal obligations of States in light of the climate emergency.

Ranking the Candidates’ Focus on Energy & Climate

Some campaign websites mention these issues only in passing. Others went into more detail.

No, EVs are Not Worse for the Planet

There’s an electric car culture war raging. It doesn’t hurt to say obvious things, like that electric cars reduce driving costs and pollute far less than gas-powered cars.

A Total Eclipse of the Heat

The eclipse mania gripping U.S. media and the entire nation is an opportunity to gaze in awe at the climate crisis we’ve unleashed and talk about our collective response.

Power of the People: Environmental Advocacy in China

Several of China’s most prominent environmental advocates will join a keynote talk at UCLA Law on the role of civil society in addressing China’s global environmental impacts.

Region: California

Carbon removal is an alluring idea. That also makes it a tempting façade for bad policies.

California embraced climate action 2002 and has never looked back since.

Legislation introduced by Assemblymember Arambula, with research help from UCLA students, aims to protect Californians from the dangers of transporting captured carbon dioxide.

Observations on the workforce development provisions in the California Energy Commission (CEC) draft Offshore Wind Strategic Plan

This student-organized event will focus on “Diversifying Solutions to Water Governance in California”

The California Energy Commission has published a draft including strategies for impacted communities, but CBAs deserve more emphasis.

by Nell Green Nylen, Felicia Marcus, Dave Owen, and Michael Kiparsky

California lawmakers should rethink the role of dairy digesters in the state’s dairy and livestock mitigation strategy.

Watsonville, California as a Case Study for Policymakers

Facing a $37.9 billion deficit, California’s 2024 legislative session is likely to be about minor fixes, cleanup bills, and the ballot box. Plus: Will 2023’s disclosure bills get funded?

TRENDING

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

Media battles. Lawsuits. Stay requests. And political mayhem.

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.

Probably not. But also possibly yes.

“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.

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

The conservative Supreme Court majority may turn out as bad as we fear. Or maybe not.

Here’s what Kennedy says about his campaign, its effect on the race, and climate change.

California has spent years fine-tuning its trading system, with results that aren’t always easy to gauge.

California Homeowner’s Takings Challenge to County’s Traffic Impact Fee Heads Back to State Court

U.S. Court of Appeals Rejects Red States’ Challenge to California’s CAA “Waiver Authority”

Florida lawmakers want to erase climate change from their laws and ban local heat protection ordinances ahead of what could be another summer of record-breaking heat.

California Homeowner’s Takings Challenge to County’s Traffic Impact Fee Heads Back to State Court

The White House and the House are still up for grabs; Republicans are favored in the Senate.

Time for local leaders to restart the discussion

Guest contributor Rebecca Hamilton previews several opinions that touch on the question of the international legal obligations of States in light of the climate emergency.

Some campaign websites mention these issues only in passing. Others went into more detail.

There’s an electric car culture war raging. It doesn’t hurt to say obvious things, like that electric cars reduce driving costs and pollute far less than gas-powered cars.

The eclipse mania gripping U.S. media and the entire nation is an opportunity to gaze in awe at the climate crisis we’ve unleashed and talk about our collective response.

Several of China’s most prominent environmental advocates will join a keynote talk at UCLA Law on the role of civil society in addressing China’s global environmental impacts.