Climate Change Archives - Page 26 of 255

Climate Change

GCF Task Force Exchange of Experiences in San Martin, Peru

Notes from the Field

From October 10-13, 2022, the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF Task Force) – a project of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law and UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, in partnership with the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder – and …

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California’s Secret Weapon: The Scoping Plan

There’s no substitute for a comprehensive policy vision.

The scoping process has been key to California’s success in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The process requires the government to assess past progress, project future emissions, and come up with a strategy to meet its climate goals. In contrast, in many states – and at the federal level – there’s no real mechanism for a …

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Senate 2022: Wisconsin

Of all the states in play, the Wisconsin race may have the sharpest contrast between view on climate change.

Wisconsin has been a swing state in recent presidential elections. The Senate race there could help determine control of the Senate. The incumbent Republican is a climate change denier. The challenge highlights his support for climate action. Ron Johnson (R). Johnson, the incumbent, has a 7% lifetime LCV score, meaning he voted against the environment …

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Happy 50th Anniversary, Federal Clean Water Act

One of America’s Foundational Environmental Laws Has Proven Transformational, But Requires Updating a Half-Century Later

The Clean Water Act (CWA), one of the nation’s most important environmental laws, is 50 years old today. It’s proven to be one of the most successful of America’s bedrock federal environmental statutes. But the CWA is far from perfect, needs some important updating, and will probably never fully achieve the aspirational goals Congress proclaimed …

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Election 2022: Governors

Four tight races will have big impacts on their states.

Although their powers vary in different states, governors are key figures in setting and implementing climate and energy policies. There are several very tight races that could have significant policy impacts. They also have indirect impacts via the governor’s role in electoral matters. Elections in these four states are considered toss-ups. The Democrats are all …

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Are carbon taxes a thing of the past?

What is the role for carbon pricing in the future of decarbonization policy?

That’s the question implicitly raised by this article in the New York Times from late August. The article surveys a range of criticisms of the use of carbon taxes as a tool to address greenhouse gas emissions, and criticisms of the focus of many economists on carbon taxes as the primary tool to address climate …

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What Do Pig Pens Have To Do With Environmental Law?

Constitutional Challenge to California’s Animal Welfare Law Could Have Profound Impacts on State’s Environmental Laws

Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in an animal welfare case from California that could have profound, negative impacts on a host of the Golden State’s environmental laws and policies. The case is National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, No. 21-468. The National Pork Producers Council litigation arises from an initiative measure–Proposition …

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National Parks, Climate Change, and Active Management

When should park managers response to fire risk and climate change through active management?

This summer, the Earth Island Institute filed a lawsuit challenging active management projects in Yosemite National Park – those projects involve the cutting of trees to reduce the risk of fire (or that is the explanation of the National Park Service for the projects). The tree cutting was begun this past year, and the National …

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2021-2022 California Environmental Legislation: What’s Been Enacted?

Climate change and heat bills have been signed in two packages amidst other environmental legislation at the end of the 2021-2022 legislative session.

At the close of California’s legislative session on September 1, legislators sent a number of environmental bills to the Governor for his signature, including measures to mitigate climate change, cope with extreme heat, advance the state’s clean energy goals, deal with California’s ongoing drought, decarbonize buildings, build more transit-friendly affordable housing, and conserve our natural …

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Scenarios and Uncertainty

Imagining different futures can be the best way to think through options when we don’t know the odds.

In environmental law, we’re often operating at the limits of knowledge about the natural world and human behavior. Climate change is well understood in some ways, but it will set off a chain of reactions that we only partly understand. It’s also difficult to predict the future of ecosystems, future energy prices, technological changes, and …

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Here We Go Again! (Maybe)

The possibility of a second Trump presidency looms ahead. Time for some contingency planning!

Is 2025 the Year of the Carbon Tax?

Carbon border adjustment mechanisms are increasingly the talk of Washington. UCLA Law’s Kimberly Clausing explains some of the options on the table.

Renewable Energy: A Timeline

Today’s wind and solar resources didn’t come out of nowhere.

Understanding Loper: A Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing?

The real world effects may be limited. Or they may undercut presidential power, to the surprise of advocates of the unitary executive.

Understanding Loper: The Grandfather Clause

Hundreds of past federal cases relied on Chevron. They remain good law.

Understanding Loper: The Primacy of Skidmore

A previously obscure 1944 case will now be central to judicial review.

$10 Billion Climate Bond Heads to the California Ballot

Prop 4 would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10 billion toward safe drinking water and groundwater, wildfire and forest programs, and to combat sea level rise.

Understanding Loper: Delegation & Discretion

Something similar to Chevron deference may still apply to many (most?) regulations.

Playing fast and loose with reality

How the US Supreme Court’s recent decisions enable greater reliance on “alternative” facts

(Energy) Independence Day

A post in which I surprise readers — and myself — with strong praise for George W. Bush.

Losing Chevron: What Does It Mean for California?

The Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright will not necessarily impact how California courts review our state agency determinations. But we’ll feel it in other ways.

Climate Change

Notes from the Field

There’s no substitute for a comprehensive policy vision.

Of all the states in play, the Wisconsin race may have the sharpest contrast between view on climate change.

One of America’s Foundational Environmental Laws Has Proven Transformational, But Requires Updating a Half-Century Later

Four tight races will have big impacts on their states.

What is the role for carbon pricing in the future of decarbonization policy?

Constitutional Challenge to California’s Animal Welfare Law Could Have Profound Impacts on State’s Environmental Laws

When should park managers response to fire risk and climate change through active management?

Climate change and heat bills have been signed in two packages amidst other environmental legislation at the end of the 2021-2022 legislative session.

Imagining different futures can be the best way to think through options when we don’t know the odds.

TRENDING

The possibility of a second Trump presidency looms ahead. Time for some contingency planning!

Carbon border adjustment mechanisms are increasingly the talk of Washington. UCLA Law’s Kimberly Clausing explains some of the options on the table.

Today’s wind and solar resources didn’t come out of nowhere.

The real world effects may be limited. Or they may undercut presidential power, to the surprise of advocates of the unitary executive.

Hundreds of past federal cases relied on Chevron. They remain good law.

A previously obscure 1944 case will now be central to judicial review.

Prop 4 would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10 billion toward safe drinking water and groundwater, wildfire and forest programs, and to combat sea level rise.

Something similar to Chevron deference may still apply to many (most?) regulations.

How the US Supreme Court’s recent decisions enable greater reliance on “alternative” facts

A post in which I surprise readers — and myself — with strong praise for George W. Bush.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright will not necessarily impact how California courts review our state agency determinations. But we’ll feel it in other ways.

Perplexed? Worried? Here’s a guide to a fraught area of law.

The Supreme Court has already grabbed power from agencies through the major questions doctrine.

A previously obscure 1944 case will now be central to judicial review.

We used to have the Chevron test? What test do we have now?

Today’s wind and solar resources didn’t come out of nowhere.

Hundreds of past federal cases relied on Chevron. They remain good law.

Something similar to Chevron deference may still apply to many (most?) regulations.

How the US Supreme Court’s recent decisions enable greater reliance on “alternative” facts

A post in which I surprise readers — and myself — with strong praise for George W. Bush.