Region: California
A Crisis in Climate Communications
Deadly windstorms, wildfires, and hurricanes constitute something more horrific than just “climate change.”
What’s best for communicating urgency: phrases like “global warming” and “climate change” or “climate crisis” and “climate emergency”? What do audiences take away from these semantic choices? Does it matter what words we use? What about when the entire nation is watching a series of wildfires engulf Los Angeles, fueled by unusually dry vegetation during …
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CONTINUE READING2024: Ending on a Dark Note
It was a pretty good year for the environment – until November 5, that is.
2024 ended on a grim note for anyone who cares about the environment. Donald Trump is once again in the White House. His record in the first term made him in the most anti-environmental President in history. The story of the next four years will be a struggle to limit his damage while doing as much as we can to continue progress at the state level and in the private sector.
CONTINUE READINGLooking Ahead to the Second Trump Administration
Does the IRA have staying power?
This is the seventh in a series of posts. The first post is here. The second post is here. The third post is here. The fourth post is here. The fifth post is here. The sixth post is here. The incoming Trump Administration has, of course, called for ending efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, …
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CONTINUE READINGBroadening the Scope of Climate Policy
How to expand climate policy to new places and new sectors
This is the sixth in a series of posts. The first post is here. The second post is here. The third post is here. The fourth post is here. The fifth post is here. The political dynamics of decarbonization that I’ve sketched out are very specific to time, space, and economic sector. The policy approaches …
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CONTINUE READINGHow to Commit to Decarbonization
Feedback effects can lock in decarbonization policies, for better and for worse
This is the fifth in a series of posts. The first post is here. The second post is here. The third post is here. The fourth post is here. Decarbonization is a long-term challenge, and it requires commitments to drive the investments required for innovation and deployment of non-fossil-fuel energy sources. But long-term commitments, which …
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CONTINUE READINGOur Mission: Keeping Hope Alive
If you read Legal Planet, you know the work of the environmental law centers at Berkeley and UCLA is critical. Now is the time to support it.
The Trump Administration is planning a tsunami of anti-environmental actions.. States like California will be the best hope for making progress in the next four years. Keeping the torch burning — helping California succeed — will be challenging. So will fending off hostile actions from Washington. Our centers at Berkeley and UCLA are at the heart of this work.
CONTINUE READINGOn Carbon Pricing and Mass Climate Movements
Neither carbon pricing nor a mass climate movement can drive effective climate policy on their own
This is the fourth in a series of posts. The first post is here. The second post is here. The third post is here. What lessons can we draw from this analysis for key climate policy debates? Here, I will focus on two key lessons, first for carbon pricing, and second for the use of …
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CONTINUE READINGEPA Grants California’s Waivers for Clean Cars and Clean Trucks
By finally granting the Advanced Clean Car II waiver, the agency just undercut Trump’s planned attack on electric vehicles.
EPA just made the incoming Trump Administration’s efforts to stop the move toward clean, zero emission vehicles a whole lot tougher. And ironically, the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial decision overturning deference to agency actions, Loper Bright v Raimondo, may help California in any litigation over the legitimacy of the waiver request. EPA finally granted California …
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CONTINUE READINGStep-by-Step: The Role of Sequencing in Effective Climate Policy
The key to climate policy is to start by supporting investments in new technologies that produce both innovation and political change
This is the third in a series of posts. The first post is here. The second post is here. How might sequencing work in climate policy? And why is it important? I’ll explore these questions by walking through the most important stage of climate policy – initiating action on climate change. The initial steps of …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Multiple Goals of Climate Policy
Effective climate policy requires consideration of efficiency, equity, technological innovation, carbon reductions and political feasibility
This is the second in a series of posts. The first post is here. When people think about climate policy, they probably think that the goal of climate policy is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And of course, the ultimate goal of climate policy is to reduce emissions, eventually getting us to an economy that is …
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