California
U.C. Davis Law School to Host “Clean Water Act at 50” Conference
Interdisciplinary Event Will Assess Landmark Law’s Past, Assess Its Future
On Friday, October 7th, the California Environmental Law & Policy Center at U.C. Davis School of Law will convene a major, day-long conference to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the federal Clean Water Act. The event will assess the progress the U.S. has made over the past half-century in abating water pollution; focus on some …
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CONTINUE READINGAddressing Livestock Methane in California
New CLEE/UCLA report identifies policy solutions to reduce emissions | Webinar Nov. 10
Methane is a climate super-pollutant that is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Given its potency and short life, experts believe that reducing methane emissions is the highest-yield action that governments and businesses can take to curb near-term warming. In the US, livestock are responsible for over one third of …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Most Important Climate Bill You Haven’t Heard Of
Parking reform on Gov. Newsom’s desk could deliver major environmental & equity wins
It took a decade, but the California legislature has finally delivered to the governor one of the most critical climate and equity bills in the country. No, it’s not mandating carbon neutrality or increasing renewable energy. It’s finally ending local mandates that all new housing and infill projects must include car storage, even if they’re …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Policy: What’s Happening at the State Level?
Important developments in late summer, some impacting multiple states.
States have played a critical role in U.S. climate policy. The federal government is now supporting that role with federal funding for states. In the meantime, a number of states have moved a step further in plans to phase out gas and diesel vehicles. Two key states have ramped up their plans for carbon neutrality, …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Inflation Reduction Act and California Offshore Wind
There May Be Workarounds for Delays in Offshore Wind Created by IRA Section 50265
Various measures in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law on August 16, 2022, create new momentum for offshore wind in California. However, as with all things in life, it’s never that simple. In this case, the IRA ties offshore wind (OSW) leases to offshore oil and gas auctions and prevents OSW leases from …
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CONTINUE READINGNew Frameworks to Address Vehicle Travel Impacts
CLEE report proposes banking and exchange strategies for CEQA mitigation
When Caltrans and other state and local agencies build or approve projects that increase car traffic, state law requires them to mitigate those impacts. A new report from CLEE proposes development of state and regional programs that would allow these agencies to mitigate by investing in offsite bike lanes, bus-only lanes, transit passes, and other …
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CONTINUE READINGDon’t hamstring carbon removal
California needs to lead in developing critical carbon removal technologies
Assessments by the IPCC have made clear that the most feasible way for the world to meet its target of restricting climate change to below two degrees Celsius of warming includes rapid and massive expansion of carbon removal technology – technology that would extract carbon dioxide and permanently sequester that carbon dioxide underground. California has …
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CONTINUE READINGMaking Heat Pumps Accessible and Affordable to Decarbonize Buildings
New policy report on solutions to improve deployment of heat pump technologies in existing buildings | Webinar July 19
Join us for a webinar to discuss the report findings with leaders on July 19 at 1 pm PT. RSVP here You may have seen heat pumps (or #heatpumpnation) in the news recently and wondered, what really is this device? How do heat pumps relate to building decarbonization goals, national security, and climate mitigation efforts? …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Adopts Nation-Leading Legislation to Cut Plastic Pollution
Extended producer responsibility law will reduce single-use waste and shift responsibility to industry
In a welcome reprieve from news coming out of the Supreme Court, here’s an uplifting story from the Golden State: On Thursday, Governor Newsom signed SB 54, a comprehensive piece of legislation aimed at significantly reducing single-use waste. The law will affect just about every type of plastic packaging you see walking down the supermarket …
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CONTINUE READINGTwo FERC Cases and Why They Matter
Last week’s D.C. Circuit cases illustrate why environmental lawyers need to understand FERC.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has been called the most important environmental agency that no one has heard of. At the end of last week, the D.C. Circuit decided two undramatic FERC cases that illustrate FERC’s environmental significance. One involved a bailout to coal and nuclear plants, the other involved water quality. The first …
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