Oil
When and How to Oppose Fossil Fuels
The answer is clear: “It depends.”
There’s been a lot of talk about whether climate policy should focus on promoting clean energy or should push hard to limit fossil fuels. To some extent, these are two side of the same coin. Yet, the politics could be very different. The debate has been too simplistic. What stance to take about opposing fossil fuels depends on who you are and where you sit, which fossil fuel is involved, and what kind of regulation is at issue. The nuances matter here, and the stakes are huge.
CONTINUE READINGWhat Explains Trump’s Energy Policy?
There’s no plausible economic explanation. It’s all about politics.
Trump’s energy policy rests on promotion of U.S. fossil fuel production and use. The instruments include orders forcing coal-fired generators to keep operating, relaxed air pollution standards for power plants, and repeal of as many energy efficiency standards as possible. Trump’s overall economic policy centers on mercantilism, the belief that countries get rich by exporting more than they import. That fits pieces of his energy policy but not others. There’s also some rhetoric about free choice by consumers, but Trump clearly is not a believer in free markets as a matter of principle.
CONTINUE READINGThe War and the Energy Transition
The Iran War it is hitting energy markets hard. Will that affect the energy transition?
The Iran War has been a big shock to the global energy system. It’s natural to wonder what the long terms will be. What it will lead to an orgy of oil and gas drilling, or will it speed up the energy transition? There are enormous uncertainties, and making confident predictions would be a clear mistake. In this post, I’ll try to unpack some of the issues and offer a semi-educated gas about the answers.
The “God Squad” is Subject to a Lot of Limits. But I’m still worried.
Getting an exemption from the Endangered Species Act is normally difficult. But there’s a scary exception.
The Endangered Species Act Committee has been nicknamed the God Squad, on the theory that it holds the power of life and death over endangered species. It does the have the power to exempt from projects from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), although that’s not quite as ominous as it sounds. It’s understandable that many people freaked out when a Federal Register notice appeared announcing a meeting of the Committee relating to offshore drilling in the Gulf. We don’t have any specifics , What we do know is that the process is complex and cumbersome, and that there are important limits on the Committee’s discretion. There’s still reason to worry, however, because Pete Hegseth actually is the one with godlike powers over endangered species.
CONTINUE READINGA Procedural Snarl in the Oil Patch
Can oil companies use World War II contracts to vault from state to federal court in cases about present-day coastal damage?
As a matter of common sense, however, it’s hard to see why oil production activities that would not otherwise be considered “federal” should change their statute because the producers also happen to own refineries — especially since in some instances it appears that all the oil from one of their fields might be going to a different refinery anyway. But textualist judges aren’t necessarily attended to common sense.
CONTINUE READINGWays of Price Making, Inflation, and Energy Price Shocks
This post was originally published on the Law and Political Economy blog as part of a symposium on inflation. Energy prices have been much in the news over the past several months, occupying a prominent place in mainstream discussions of inflation. Higher prices for oil, natural gas, coal, and electricity are all pushing up inflation across …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Turning Tide
Last week featured some remarkable developments relating to climate policy.
Some events last week sent a strong signal that the tide is turning against fossil fuels. Each of the events standing alone would have been noteworthy. The clustering of these events dramatizes an important shift. To paraphrase Churchill, this may not be beginning of the end for fossil fuels, but at least it is the …
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CONTINUE READINGNever Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste
Coronavirus, Climate Change, and the Global Energy Transition
There has been no shortage of commentary on what the Coronavirus pandemic means for climate action and for the energy industry. Obviously, it is too early to draw firm conclusions, but the last several weeks have made clear that the crisis is affecting the entire energy economy in profound ways and that our collective response …
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CONTINUE READINGDeregulating Methane No Matter What
Emmett Institute faculty submit letter opposing Trump’s proposed rollback on methane regulations
Recently, my colleague Sean Hecht and I jointly submitted a comment letter opposing a new EPA Proposed Rule that would roll back standards limiting methane emissions from oil and natural gas production, processing, transmission, and storage facilities. This Proposed Rule essentially revokes two Obama-era regulations, finalized in 2012 and 2016, that first established these methane …
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CONTINUE READINGGuest Blogger Gregory Dotson: Oregon May Join the Western Climate Initiative: What About Gasoline Prices?
Regardless of State Action, Surging Sales of Electric Vehicles Could Crash Gasoline Prices
Oregon is on the verge of taking historic action to establish an economy-wide cap and invest program and clean up the state’s carbon pollution. In doing so, Oregon could demonstrate how one state can do its part to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The concept dates back more than a decade, but the …
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