California
EPA Grants California’s Waivers for Clean Cars and Clean Trucks
By finally granting the Advanced Clean Car II waiver, the agency just undercut Trump’s planned attack on electric vehicles.
EPA just made the incoming Trump Administration’s efforts to stop the move toward clean, zero emission vehicles a whole lot tougher. And ironically, the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial decision overturning deference to agency actions, Loper Bright v Raimondo, may help California in any litigation over the legitimacy of the waiver request. EPA finally granted California …
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CONTINUE READINGHow to Make Climate as Compelling as Egg Prices
While politicians are right to focus on cost of living, it’s dangerously wrong to assume voters rejected climate policies in the 2024 election.
How do we make the climate crisis as compelling to voters as the price of eggs? That’s a question—an existential question—I’ve been asking myself for weeks now. My UCLA Emmett Institute colleagues and I have some ideas that I’ll be sharing over the next weeks and months. We’re hardly alone: Two months after a disheartening …
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CONTINUE READINGA Framework for Equity and Local Leadership in the EV Transition
New tools to help local governments plan for equitable and effective investments
Eliminating fossil fuel-powered vehicles from the road is necessary to fight climate change and save thousands of lives at risk due to poor air quality. As governments and the auto industry advance the switch to electric vehicles, this rapid technology transition may disrupt traditional mobility patterns–and, without equitable planning and policy, it has the potential …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Can Protect Climate Policies—and Pocketbooks
Lawmakers can use climate policies to alleviate some cost burdens. They should also resist the narrative that climate progress is driving affordability concerns.
Affordability is the name of the game at the California Legislature this session, with leaders in both the Assembly and the Senate talking explicitly about cost of living. But legislators’ focus on bringing costs down for average Californians doesn’t need to come at the expense of forward-thinking climate policy. Here are a few things legislators …
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CONTINUE READINGCPUC Should Set a Date for Closing Aliso Canyon
A proposed decision on the gas facility gives too much deference to SoCalGas regarding the future of gas demand and misses an opportunity to set a clear mandate.
The Aliso Canyon gas storage facility blowout in 2015-16 was the largest methane gas leak in the history of the United States. In addition to the climate effects from the methane leakage — 109,000 metric tons, the equivalent of burning over 1 billion gallons of gasoline — there were tremendous health impacts on neighboring communities …
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CONTINUE READINGCommunity Benefits Tools and Policy Drivers:
Select mechanisms can help ensure that energy projects deliver meaningful benefits for California communities
This is the third in a series of posts detailing CLEE’s new set of resources on Equitable Climate Infrastructure Investment. Communities and local and state governments are increasingly turning to community benefits tools to support an equitable climate transition, catalyze substantive long-term investments in community priorities, and achieve effective, durable projects. CLEE’s new report, Community Benefits Tools and California …
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CONTINUE READINGMeeting information needs for water markets: Understanding water diversion and use
New CLEE report examines a prerequisite for fair and effective water markets
by Nell Green Nylen and Molly Bruce Water scarcity is a growing problem for agriculture and ecosystems across the U.S. Southwest. In many areas, unsustainable water use has overstretched local water supplies, and climate change is making these supplies more volatile. Water markets have the potential to enhance climate resilience by helping water users adapt …
CONTINUE READINGTrump-Proofing Time at the California Legislature?
Governor Newsom has called a special session for December 2nd. How can California lawmakers ensure California’s climate and environmental progress in the years ahead?
During the last Trump administration, California emerged as a serious counterweight to federal government backsliding on climate and the environment, and last week, some California lawmakers publicly recommitted to resisting future Trump administration efforts to reduce environmental and climate protections. On November 7, Governor Newsom issued a proclamation calling the Legislature into a special session …
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CONTINUE READINGPresident-Elect Trump vs. California: What Lies Ahead?
Will It Be Environmental Law & Policy Deja Vu All Over Again? Or Even Worse?
Californians who care about the environment likely–and justifiably–feel whipsawed this week. Former President Trump (#45) has re-emerged as President-elect Trump (#47), interrupted by the intervening four years of the Biden-Harris presidential administration. (Actually, this presidential whipsaw has been going on for decades: think Bush Sr.-Clinton-Bush Jr.-Obama-Trump-Biden-Trump redux.) In general, California’s progressive environmental laws and policies …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Dangerous Hypocrisy of Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to slash government and regulations for a Trump administration—even though California regulations helped build his companies.
Our chances of helping avoid the most catastrophic climate disruptions just dimmed dramatically. Donald Trump’s victory and self-declared mandate means a lot of things—among them, that crucial climate and environmental policies are threatened like never before. There will be plenty to say in coming days about what this means for America’s role in the world …
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