Biden Administration
What does the election mean for the EV transition?
Slower, less certain, and less equitable–with a new focus on local leadership
The election of Donald Trump and a Republican Congress poses a direct threat to environmental protection and climate policy across the board, including destructive agency heads, reduced clean energy funding, abandoned international agreements, and more federal judges openly hostile to science-based regulation in service of public and environmental health. It’s a bleak outlook from any …
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CONTINUE READINGA To-Do List For Biden
The clock is ticking, but there’s still time for a few important last things.
Biden has a little over two months left in office. There are some important things he can do in the meantime to protect the environment from the next administration. Here are a few of the most important efforts.
CONTINUE READINGTrump Can’t Stop the Clean Energy Transformation
The global transformation to an economy fueled by clean energy can’t be stopped. Trump could slow down U.S. progress though.
Here’s an uncontroversial proposition: if Donald Trump wins the election (a horrific thought), we will make less progress in attacking climate change than if Kamala Harris wins. His most recent remarks on climate were appalling: “They say global warming, they used to call it global warming but now they call it climate change. You know …
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CONTINUE READINGGrid Experts Weigh in on EPA’s Power Plant Emissions Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency stay in West Virginia v. EPA, a challenge to EPA’s rule. Our UCLA Law clinic submitted a brief on behalf of grid experts in the case at the D.C. Circuit.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized emissions standards for greenhouse gases from power plants under Clean Air Act, Section 111(d). The rule sets pollution limits for existing coal plants and some new gas plants based on carbon capture and sequestration. In West Virginia v. EPA, a spate of states and industry parties …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy is EPA “Faceless”?
People complain about faceless bureaucrats. At least in part, that could be fixed.
How many people can name the head of EPA or even know the title of that office? About 5% of the population, would be my guess. Apart from Scott Pruitt, who became famous for his $20,000 phone booth, few people outside of the field could name any previous holder of the office.
CONTINUE READINGHurricane Milton and this Climate Moment
We’re witnessing the collision of extreme weather, climate science, national news and politics. The question of “Who pays for climate disasters?” is about to become even more important.
When President Biden addressed the nation yesterday from the White House, he warned that Hurricane Milton could be one of the most destructive storms in more than a century, but he stopped short of explaining why — that climate change, fueled by our burning of fossil fuels, is making oceans warmer and storms stronger, capable …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Walz-Vance Debate and Environmental Policy
After Hurricane Helene, Vance and Walz were pressed on climate change during the VP debate. Here’s everything they said on energy and the environment.
The subject of climate-fueled disasters figured prominently in the vice presidential debate. The CBS News moderators asked a question about climate change within the first few minutes, although the multi-faceted answers weren’t always factual and much of the post-debate discussion in newsrooms and spin room interviews centered on contentious yet civil exchanges on immigration and …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Policy After the 2024 Election
In this UCLA Emmett Institute webinar, panelists discussed the climate implications of the 2024 election from the state, national, and international perspective.
Climate certainty. Legislative action. Whipsaw regulations. An exodus of civil servants. Chinese leadership despite being the world’s largest emitter. Those are a few of the possible outcomes of the Nov. 5 presidential election, according to our panelists. More than in any previous election, the two major candidates’ track records on environmental policies are well-established and …
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CONTINUE READINGEvolving Energy Positions, 2016-2024
The national debate over climate and energy has shifted since Trump’s first run in 2016.
Coal, once a political flash point, has almost disappeared as an issue, with oil and gas production in unchallenged first place for Republicans. Clean energy subsidies, a side-issue in 2016,, have now taken center stage, while EPA regulations get much less attention. The one thing that remains unchanged is the gulf between the parties.
CONTINUE READINGThe Case that Wouldn’t Die
The Juliana plaintiffs make a final effort to resurrect their case.
The district judge contemplates a wide-ranging trial about broad climate and energy policies, after which she would opine on their legality. The Supreme Court will likely think that putting an immense swathe of government policy on trial also violates the separation of powers — especially in a case where they are deeply skeptical of the underlying constitutional claim.
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