Climate Change
Brazil Steps Ahead of the U.S. on Climate Policy
A new emissions trading system is a major step for Brazilian climate policy.
Hopefully, Brazil’s actions will encourage other countries, particularly in South America, to take similar actions. The EU and California have been leaders in this arena, but carbon trading systems are now beginning to get traction outside of the developed world in China and now Brazil. That’s an encouraging sign.
CONTINUE READINGDefunding the Energy Transition
The President Proposes Deep Cuts to Climate and Clean Energy Spending for FY 2026
On May 2nd, the White House released what is generally referred to as a “skinny” budget request outlining priorities for discretionary spending for fiscal year 2026. A full federal budget proposal is expected later this month. The “skinny” budget contains, by the White House’s calculations, $163 billion in non-defense discretionary spending cuts, which it argues …
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CONTINUE READINGFix Our Forests, version 2
A revised bipartisan proposal in the Senate is a step forward in the right direction
I wrote previously about the Fix Our Forests bill which has been passed by the House and is currently being considered by the Senate. I noted some concerns I had about its overuse of emergency authorities, its expansion of categorical exclusions, and some changes to litigation, as well as some positive features of the bill. …
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CONTINUE READINGDoes Deregulation Hypercharge the Economy?
If the economics effects are that huge, you’d expect the unemployment rate reflect major regulatory or deregulatory moves. It doesn’t.
EPA’s head sats that “EPA will be reconsidering many suffocating rules that restrict nearly every sector of our economy and cost Americans trillions of dollars.” If regulation and deregulation are that big a deal economically, we should clearly see their imprint on unemployment. It turns out that even the biggest regulatory and most dramatic deregulatory actions have no discernible effect on the job market.
CONTINUE READINGCommunity Benefits from Climate Infrastructure Investments
Tracking Investments Under BIL and IRA
Community Benefits tools, including Community Benefits Plans (CBPs), Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs), Host Community Agreements, and other variations are tools that can accompany infrastructure investments and bring benefits to communities that host those projects. There are different drivers that result in the use of community benefits tools and the tools employed (i.e., agreements, plans, etc) …
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CONTINUE READINGMake America’s Environment Filthy Again
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has launched a full-scale attack on climate, air and water pollution.
In what is one of the most mind-boggling press releases ever to come out of the Environmental Protection Agency, Administrator Lee Zeldin today declared that he wants to make America’s air and water dirty again and to make the planet still warmer. He announced 31 actions that will obliterate protections for cleaner air, cleaner water, …
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CONTINUE READINGTracking the Trump Administration
Rollbacks of Climate, Energy, and Environmental Policies and Investments
The first month of the Trump Administration has resulted in a dizzying flurry of actions and reactions. Many of us are wondering how to track the status of these actions, including the legal challenges to these actions. Luckily, a number of institutions are keeping track of the range of policy and legal actions that are …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Top-Ten Lower Court Decisions on Environmental Law
Don’t let the headlines deceive you. It’s not just the Supreme Court that shapes environmental law.
The Supreme Court tends to get all the attention, but for every Supreme Court opinion on environmental law there are probably fifty opinions in the lower federal courts. Collectively, the lower courts have done fat least as much to shape the law than the Supreme Court’s occasional interventions.
CONTINUE READINGCongress Lacks Authority to Review California’s Car Waiver
It’s a complicated issue but the answer is clear: the Congressional Review Act does not apply.
States get many kinds of waivers from the federal government. For example, many states (including quite a few Red states) have received waivers from some Medicaid requirements. Overturning the EPA vehicle waiver would expose all state waivers to the risk of being overturned under the Congressional Review Act, contrary to the plain language of that statute.
CONTINUE READINGNew Tools for Communities Seeking to Leverage Energy Infrastructure Projects for Community Priorities
Local action becomes even more important under a new federal regime
The Biden Administration placed substantial emphasis on community benefits mechanisms in federal climate infrastructure investments, building on years of legal and community advocacy work that laid the foundation for federal community engagement standards for project developers. With the Trump Administration taking a different approach at the federal level, the role of stakeholders at the local …
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