Region: California
National Monuments: a Rebuttal to Commentators who Support Trump’s Actions to Undo Public Lands Protections
This post is co-authored with Sean Hecht. For the past three months, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has been reviewing some of the national monuments designated under the Antiquities Act by Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton. Since the end of last year, we and others at Legal Planet have been writing on the scope …
CONTINUE READINGCap-And-Trade Extension A Lifeline For High Speed Rail
Auction proceeds will continue to fund the train and other transit, housing and energy programs
As Cara posted, the California Legislature scored a super-majority victory last night to extend the state’s signature cap-and-trade program through 2030. It was a rare bipartisan vote, although it leaned mostly on Democrats. Lost in the politics is what this means for high speed rail. The system has a fixed and dwindling amount of federal …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Extends its Cap-and-Trade Program Through 2030
It wasn’t pretty, but it passed
What tools will California regulators be able to use to reach the state’s ambitious 2030 climate emissions goal? That commitment, enshrined into law last year, says that California will reduce its statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in the ten years between 2020 and 2030, and forms the core of California’s climate leadership. But important …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court Upholds Regional Planning Agency’s Greenhouse Gas CEQA Analysis, and Sets Out Principles to Ensure Better Analysis in the Future
Decision Will Help Ensure Development and Transportation Planning in California Supports GHG Reduction Efforts
In May, Rick Frank posted his reflections on the oral argument in the California Supreme Court on Cleveland National Forest Association v. San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), and predicted that SANDAG would win the case. His prediction has proved correct with the release of the Court’s opinion last week – but SANDAG’s narrow win provides a …
CONTINUE READINGThoughts on AB 398
New bill to extend state’s cap-and-trade program is a compromise worth making
The Governor and state legislative leaders announced a deal on a bill to extend the state’s cap-and-trade program to control greenhouse gas emissions through 2030, along with companion legislation to increase emissions reductions for conventional pollutants from major stationary industrial sources (a key point for environmental justice groups). Some leading business groups have endorsed the …
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CONTINUE READINGNew Research Shows California’s Cap-And-Trade Program Is Net Economic Benefit For San Joaquin Valley & Inland Empire
Results from forthcoming economic study included in new op-ed
The California Legislature may vote on reauthorizing California’s cap-and-trade program as soon as Monday. The program needs a two-thirds vote to inoculate the auction mechanism to distribute allowances from legal challenges, which is a heavy political lift that has required a lot of compromise and concession. But in the midst of the debate, state legislators …
CONTINUE READINGHoping New Reservoirs Will Immediately Store More Water in California? That’s Unlikely.
Emmett Institute’s Latest Pritzker Brief Looks at the Timeline and Legal Requirements for Implementing New Surface Water Storage Facilities
Surface water storage has become a hot topic in California. The recent drought led voters in 2014 to approve California’s Proposition 1 water bond, which, in part, earmarked $2.7 billion for the public benefits of storage projects. It’s very likely that at least some of that money will go to a large surface water storage …
CONTINUE READINGNew Report: How To Boost EV Charging Infrastructure
UCLA Law hosts free report release lunch event at noon, with live webcast & keynote by Energy Commissioner Janea Scott
Electric vehicles (EVs) represent one of the most promising clean technologies, in terms of their potential benefits for the electricity grid, local air pollution, and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Not to mention they’re fun to drive. The good news is that as EV prices have dropped by nearly half the …
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CONTINUE READINGYikes, Is It Pledge Week Already?
Yes, this is your biannual opportunity to invest in our work.
Like everyone else, I’m sure you find fundraising appeals annoying. That’s why we hardly ever do them. But twice a year doesn’t seem like too much of an imposition, and this is a really important time. This is our first “ask” since the new Administration took office. There’s an especially critical need today for policy-driven research …
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CONTINUE READINGBreaking News: California Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Appeal On Industry Challenge To Cap-And-Trade Auction
Industry once again loses leverage over shaping the program post 2020
The California Chamber of Commerce has just lost its case against the state’s cap-and-trade auction, with the news from the Los Angeles Times that the California Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from the state appellate court. This means the auction mechanism in the cap-and-trade program is valid at least through 2020. As …
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