Climate Politics

Climate Change is Finally Heating Up Politics – But Not in a Good Way

Pitting defence of our ‘way of life’ against climate policies is a recipe for division and inaction

Climate impacts are growing rapidly in this El Niño affected summer. Despite calls to declare a climate emergency, President Biden has responded only with new measures to help Americans cope with extreme heat. The measures announced include hazard alerts, improved prediction of heatwaves, funding for air-conditioning and cool centers for low income groups, and guidance …

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Is Capitalism to Blame?

Some people think we need to abolish capitalism to save the environment.

Bernie Sanders has a  book called It’s OK to be Angry at Capitalism.  There are certainly a lot of people across the political spectrum who feel that way. Capitalism is blamed for environmental destruction by many of the more radical segments of the Left. That’s not too surprising given the historic connection between the more …

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Climate Change & the 1st GOP Debate

Mostly, they didn’t want to talk about the issue. They certainly didn’t want to talk about solutions.

Somewhat to my surprise, there was a question at the first GOP debate about climate change. The candidates’ pre-debates views, which the NY Times helpfully collected, provided insight into possible directions for GOP energy policy. It’s even possible that reality has started to make a dent into the party;’s reflexive climate denial. The climate question  …

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GOP Contenders and the Climate Issue

Flat-out denialism seems to be fading in the face of reality.

The first Republican presidential debate will be on Wednesday.  I doubt moderators will ask about climate change. It turns out, however, that there’s some spread of views among the candidates. Apart from Trump, each of them is jockeying to pick up enough GOP support to be a serious contender. Their views, which the NY Times …

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RFK Jr. and Climate Change

Even on the environment, his views are strange and unsettling.

Robert Kennedy, Jr., has polled surprisingly well so far. That may well be a fluke, but it may be worth taking a look at his views at this point.  Unlike his views on vaccines, his views on climate change don’t involve blanket denial of science. But they do involve some of the same populist fears …

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The Winding Path of Australian Climate Policy

After many travails, the country now seems to be headed in the right direction.

On a per capita basis, Australia’s carbon emissions are even higher than the United States. A decade ago, Australia had a climate tax. That was repealed in 2014, and the ensuing period saw little progress. In the past two years, however, the things have started trending upward after years of inaction by conservative governments. More …

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The Energy Transition and the Working Class

Is Biden right? Can we attack climate change while uplifting the lives of workers?

In most of the world, May 1 is International Worker’s Day. It celebrates the collective struggle of workers for better wages and working conditions. That made me start thinking about the efforts that have been made to unite climate action with the interests of workers.  That has been a particular emphasis of the Biden Administration …

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The Texas Paradox

Texas is firmly in the grip of conservative Republicans. So what’s the deal with renewables?

I sometimes ask students to guess what state produces the most wind power. They’re always shocked to find out the right answer: Texas.  Republicans have an iron grip on Texas government. And not just that, but Texas is by far the biggest producer of oil, with a governor who has pledged to protect the industry …

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Climate Policy’s “Plan B”

As the initial top-down approach failed, a new approach to climate policy crystalized.

My last blog post told the story of the original top-down approach to climate policy. It was supposed to feature binding restrictions on carbon emissions in a global treaty and federal legislation. By 2012, it was plain that neither half of this “Plan A” strategy was in the offing. Building on trends that had begun …

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When Bad Things Happen to Good Regulations

When Bad Things Happen to Good Regulations - Legal Planet

The GOP’s effort cancel a pension reg illustrates the evils of the Congressional Review Act.

In their crusade against “wokeness,” congressional Republicans are taking aim at Labor Department rule about pension plan investments. The rule’s transgression is apparently that it makes easier for pension plans to consider how climate-related risks might affect a company’s bottom line. To avoid being woke, the GOP would apparently prefer pension managers to close their …

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