Climate Change

Future Shock

The latest IPCC report contains crucial new information about how soon and how bad climate impacts will be.

When the IPCC released its latest climate science report a few weeks ago, many commentators observed that the report should heighten our sense of urgency about climate action. Most of that discussion was at a very general level. It’s worth taking a closer look at some key findings and their policy implications. Here, I want …

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 Carrying the Freight

Decarbonizing trucking comes with some unique challenges.

A quarter of carbon emissions from transportation come from heavy-duty trucks. They are also disproportionate sources of air pollution.  Addressing these emissions will be challenging and will require a multi-prong strategy. For distances under a few hundred miles, electrification offers the most promising solution.  California and fourteen other states plan to make 30% of new …

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Jason Gray Joins the Emmett Institute as Project Director, Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force

Jason Gray

Climate policy expert brings regulatory expertise to project focused on tropical deforestation and low-emissions development

This month, the Emmett Institute is excited to welcome climate policy expert Jason Gray as the newest member of our team. In his new role as Project Director of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force, Jason will help direct a major sub-national coalition focused on reducing tropical deforestation and advancing inclusive, equitable, low-emissions development …

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Major Questions About Today’s Big Climate Case

Here’s what you need to know about today’s oral argument in W. Va. v. EPA

The Supreme Court is hearing oral argument this morning in West Virginia v. EPA. The case is a challenge by the coal industry and coal states to EPA’s power to limit carbon emissions by power plants. Here’s what to look for today. Q: What is the case about? A: In practical terms, the question is what EPA …

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Sea Level Rise Legislation Gets Second Chance

Imperial Beach, CA

Senator Ben Allen introduces SB 1078, drawing on vetoed SB 83 (2021)

This week, Senator Ben Allen introduced SB 1078, a bill that would create a Sea Level Rise Revolving Loan Pilot Program to help coastal cities plan proactively for the effects of climate change.  The law draws heavily from the framework of SB 83, which students in the California Environmental Legislation and Policy Clinic worked on, …

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Mary Nichols’ new role at the Emmett Institute

Mary Nichols speaks at UCLA Law

This post is co-authored by Daniel Melling, communications manager at the Emmett Institute The New York Times reported last week that the Biden administration is preparing to restore California’s waiver to set greenhouse gas auto emissions standards stricter than the federal government’s rules. It’s the latest episode in a regulatory saga stretching back to the …

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Painful Tradeoffs

How do we manage the local environmental impacts of the energy transition?

Just before leaving office, the Trump Administration approved a huge lithium mine in Thacker Pass, Nevada. The mine could help supply the U.S. battery industry for decades. It might also impact habitat of the endangered grouse sage, deplete groundwater levels, and threaten the survival of an endangered trout. Local residents have sued to block the …

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Breaking Up with Fossil Fuels

It’s not us. It’s you.

WORLD: Thanks for the card. . . . But I think we need to talk. FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY: About what? W: About us. FFI: About us?? Can’t it wait until some other time? This is Valentine’s Day, and I’ve made plans for us.  Big plans. W: The pandemic has given me a lot of time …

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Climate Change and Black History

By Oregon State University

Some important people in the climate arena are Black. But there are far too few of them.

Since this is Black History Month, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about some of the prominent contributions by Blacks to understanding and addressing climate change. Blacks are badly underrepresented in STEM fields such as atmospheric science and in environmental groups, but there are some important exceptions.(STEM stands for ‘Science, Technology, Engineering, and …

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Defending EPA’s Authority to Fight Climate Change – at the Supreme Court

Sean Hecht and Ted Lamm co-author amicus brief on behalf of Clean Air Act expert Tom Jorling

This week, Sean Hecht and I filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court in West Virginia v. EPA in defense of EPA’s authority to effectively regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Our client is Tom Jorling, a former Senate staffer and EPA official who was directly involved in drafting the Act …

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