Ranking the Candidates’ Focus on Energy & Climate
Some campaign websites mention these issues only in passing. Others went into more detail.
I thought it would be helpful to provide some kind of objective measure of how much various candidates focus on energy and climate. I based this on how extensively they discuss these issues on their websites. By this ranking, Biden came in first — surprisingly, ahead of progressives Jill Stein and Cornel West. Also surprisingly, RFK Jr. and Jill Stein came in last in terms of focus on climate change. In fairness, Stein endorsed the general idea of a Green New Deal b...
CONTINUE READINGThe ‘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.
"The Year of Climate in International Courts” by guest contributor Rebecca Hamilton was originally published on Just Security This year promises to be the ‘Year of Climate’ in international courts and tribunals with opinions slated to be coming down from the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the International Court of Justice. The European Court of Human Rights wil...
CONTINUE READINGRipped from the Headlines
This is not, unfortunately, an April Fool’s joke. Not at all.
Here’s a selection of recent headlines, which I only wish I had made up for April Fool’s Day. “Earth just had its hottest year ever recorded — by far.” — NBC “Hurricanes are getting so intense, scientists propose a Category 6”— Washington Post “Parts of Amazon rainforest could tip toward collapse by 2050, study warns.” – Washington Post “Critical Atlantic Ocean current system is showing early signs of collapse, prompting warning from scienti...
CONTINUE READINGA Word on Congestion Pricing
Time for local leaders to restart the discussion
Yesterday, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved the city’s long-planned and hotly debated congestion pricing program, the first of its kind in the US. The program will involve a $15 toll for vehicles entering midtown or lower Manhattan, with discounts for some qualifying drivers and credits for bridge and tunnel tolls so drivers aren’t double-charged. It is expected to raise about $1 billion annually for transit and transportation investments. ...
CONTINUE READINGElection 2024: The Current Outlook
The White House and the House are still up for grabs; Republicans are favored in the Senate.
Last November, it appeared that the Democrats had a small edge in terms of electoral votes. In congressional races, however, the Republicans had the edge in the Senate and perhaps the House. Since then, the electoral vote situation has become foggier, gerrymandering in North Carolina has given the Republicans a bit more of an advantage in the House, and the Senate has become an even tougher battle for the Democrats. As I said in November, not being a political expert,...
CONTINUE READINGFlorida 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.
Take the latest, science-backed climate policies that are gaining traction in state houses around the country — and then do the exact opposite. That seems to be the Florida playbook for dealing with the climate crisis facing Floridians in the form of rising sea levels and deadly temperatures. This legislative session, state lawmakers in the Sunshine State focused on erasing climate change from their laws, killing offshore wind, and banning local heat protectio...
CONTINUE READINGWill the NEPA Amendments Speed Up Permitting?
Probably not much. If at all.
I’ve blogged quite a bit about the challenges of interpreting the NEPA amendments, which snuck through as part of last year’s debt ceiling bill. I haven’t said much about their impact. Given the amount of energy infrastructure we need to build in the near future, a streamlined permitting process would be great. Alas, I don’t think the NEPA amendments will do much, if anything, to help. The first reason is that NEPA may not be a major reason why the process...
CONTINUE READINGNew Bill Takes Up Local Oil Drilling Phase-Outs
Oil and gas interests want to weaponize new case law from the California Supreme Court. AB 3233 would clarify the scope of local authority over drilling operations.
When the California Supreme Court ruled last August that Monterey County could not enforce its voter-approved ban on new oil and gas wells, lawyers for Chevron said the company was “pleased” to end the 7 years of litigation. Monterey County is home to the eighth-largest oil field in California, so there was plenty at stake on the face of the case. But this legal battle was about much more than the San Ardo Oil Field; it was the latest in a line of coordinated legal e...
CONTINUE READINGChevron Gets the Headlines, But State Farm May Be More Important
The abortion pill case could undermine the authority of agency’s expert judgments.
The Chevron doctrine requires judges to defer to an agency’s interpretation of a statute if that interpretation is reasonable. The State Farm case, which is much less widely known, requires courts to defer to an agency’s expert judgment unless its reasoning has ignored contrary evidence or has a logical hole. As you probably already know, two cases now before the Court will probably result in abandoning or revamping Chevron. But the “abortion pill” case that will...
CONTINUE READINGCritical Insights on the Mineral Boom: Part III
On the rise of resource nationalism and building an equitable supply chain: Insights from the Emmett Institute’s “Powering the Future” symposium.
The topic of critical minerals and the energy transition is one of choices and priorities, at least according to author and journalist Ernest Scheyder, who spoke at the second panel in our recent “Powering the Future” symposium. This panel, Critical Minerals and Global Supply Chains, discussed some of the fundamental choices that governments, industry, and individuals have made and will make in the coming years to facilitate the energy transition. It also spoke t...
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