Climate Change
Legal Planet reviews the IPCC
Congratulations to our LP colleagues Sean Hecht and Dan Farber for having been designated as expert reviewers of the IPCC 5th assessment report, to be published in 2014. They will be reviewing the drafts issued by Working Group II, which assesses climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. The IPCC’s assessment reports, written every five to seven years, have not been without …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Climate Misinformation Nation
Scientists are more confident than ever that climate change is happening and is largely caused by human activities. Yet, according to a recent poll, the American public is less likely to believe that climate change is caused by humans than they were even last year. When it comes to climate science, are we a misinformation …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Oil Companies Might Want to Kill Renewable Energy
Dan’s post about the connections among various efforts to decrease renewable energy production raises the question of why fossil fuel interests would want to take those steps. One obvious answer is the potential for economic competition in the future – though to the extent that renewable energy continues to be more expensive than many fossil …
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CONTINUE READINGWhen green isn’t greener — Part 2
In a recent commentary, I suggested that the Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s new Green Option, pursuant to which consumers can subscribe to 100% renewable electricity, would not result in reduced greenhouse gas emissions. That is because under California’s cap and trade program, the utility can sell any unneeded carbon allowance for someone else to …
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CONTINUE READINGWhen a green option doesn’t make things greener…
California’s largest electric utility, the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), has proposed to offer a Green Option Program through which individual customers could choose to pay a little extra for power that is 100% renewable. In a move clearly designed to discourage local governments from starting their own green power programs, PG&E displays endorsement …
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CONTINUE READINGGuest Bloggers Erica Morehouse and Tim O’Connor of Environmental Defense Fund: 9th Circuit Allows CARB to Enforce the LCFS
(It’s exam season; so, for any remedies students out there this post can count as review!) On Monday, a motions panel at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) can continue enforcing the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). This decision stayed (pending appeal) a trial court judge’s preliminary …
CONTINUE READINGNew journal issue on using the Clean Air Act to address greenhouse gas emissions
UCLA’s Journal of Environmental Law and Policy has just published its current issue, Volume 30, with all its content available free online in pdf format. This volume is a special symposium issue, featuring articles relating to the use of the Clean Air Act to address greenhouse gas emissions. Several of the articles’ authors were speakers …
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CONTINUE READINGFollow the Sun: Mexico On Target to Pass National Climate Change Law
With Friday’s lower chamber passage of a new national climate change law, Mexico is poised to become a pioneer in climate change policy, proving the United States and the rest of the world that environmental protection and economic growth are both critical and achievable goals. On April 13, Mexico’s 500-member Chamber of Deputies passed the …
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CONTINUE READINGHow California could surpass $1 billion in cap-and-trade auction revenue by 2013
Last week I did a series of posts examining the amount and potential price ranges for allowances in California’s upcoming cap-and-trade auctions for greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Knowing the estimated auction clearing price plus the estimated number of allowances to be sold at auction tells us the estimated revenue from that auction. Several estimates of …
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CONTINUE READINGBelieving in Climate Change
For many years, I didn’t really believe in climate change. Not in the sense of skeptics or deniers. It’s not like I didn’t intellectually understand the science behind climate change, and didn’t understand in my head that greenhouse gases were contributing to significant alterations in global climate systems, and that those alterations have the potential …
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