Climate Change
Mexico y el Cambio Climático
There is much to celebrate tomorrow on Cinco de Mayo. But probably not Mexican climate policy.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (generally known as AMLO) could be described as a left-leaning populist. Like other populist leaders, he has not been friendly to climate action. In November, Mexico ramped up its 2030 commitment under the Paris Agreement from 22% to 35%. That sounds like great news, but there may be less to …
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CONTINUE READINGSupreme Court Allows Major State, Local Government Climate Change Litigation to Proceed on Merits
Justices Decline to Intervene in Government Lawsuits Seeking Damages from Fossil Fuel Industry
This week the U.S. Supreme Court gave state and local governments a big–if preliminary–legal win against the fossil fuel industry. The justices declined to take up numerous cases in which government entities have sued oil, gas and coal companies, seeking compensation for the climate change-related damage the jurisdictions they claim to have suffered, and which …
CONTINUE READING2150 and Beyond
Climate change’s long term effects on the planet will be profound.
Most climate change projections end at the end of this century. When the IPCC issued its first report, however, 2100 was 110 years in the future. Looking that far ahead right now would bring us closer to 2150 than to 2100. We’re only beginning to get a sense of the impacts of climate change that …
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CONTINUE READINGCan the New Climate Laws Transform our Transportation Infrastructure?
The IIJA and IRA will spend a lot of money on transportation—but whether they’ll create fundamental change in our infrastructure or continue business as usual will depend on how that money is used.
This is the last in our series of posts previewing the Emmett Institute’s 2023 Symposium, coming up on April 12. Check out the first post, introducing some of the big questions around the IIJA and IRA, the second post, on transmission infrastructure, and RSVP for the Symposium here! Transportation is one of the most complicated …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Social Cost of George W. Bush
Bush promised climate action but reversed himself. The result: billions of dollars in global harm.
When Bush ran for President in 2000, he endorsed mandatory limits on CO2 emissions. Within three months of taking office, he reversed himself to the dismay of some members of his own administration. The upshot was that the US resisted any effort to address climate change and embraced a “drill baby drill” energy policy. You …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy the Bay Area’s Zero-Emission Appliance Rule is a Big Deal
BAAQMD’s trailblazing rule will ban the sale of new gas furnaces and water heaters to combat nitrogen oxide pollution. It marks a big victory for public health and the planet.
Air quality officials in the San Francisco Bay Area just made history by moving to adopt the nation’s first rules phasing out new gas-fueled water heaters and furnaces in homes and businesses within about eight years. This action serves as a major step in the effort to curb health-harming and planet-warming emissions from buildings. Several cities …
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CONTINUE READINGSolar Geoengineering in the News — Again and Again
An update on the serious and the silly
Solar geoengineering has been prominent in the news lately. It looks like the long-predicted spike of attention to these potential climate responses may finally be starting – with many attendant opportunities for controversy and confusion. For background on solar geoengineering, why it’s important to research, and what the debates over it are, check out various …
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CONTINUE READINGCap and Trade Heats Up—For Better or Worse
Prices are high and markets are proliferating as program designers lean away from the more controversial elements of carbon trading.
This past year has been big for cap-and-trade-style systems, and that momentum looks like it’s continuing in 2023. Recently, we’ve seen new programs start up in Oregon and Washington, a proposal in New York State for new carbon markets, and sustained high prices in existing programs in California and the Northeast. Although these programs differ …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Buildout Begins
New billion-dollar factories to produce EVs and their batteries are popping up across the country, with important political implicationss.
There’s been a surge of new EV and battery manufacturing projects in the past year. According to NPR, “In 2022 alone, companies announced more than $73 billion in planned projects — more than three times the previous record, set in 2021.” We read a lot about the rapid expansion of EV and battery manufacturing. It …
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CONTINUE READINGBiden’s silent climate victory lap
The president talks up his climate laws without saying “climate.” Can the U.S. meet its climate goals without telling voters about them?
Well, we finally got a real “Infrastructure Week.” President Biden has been traveling from Baltimore to New York to Kentucky, touting his major legislative achievements in front of trains, tunnels and bridges. He’s talking up both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as a warm-up for his State …
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