Climate Change
Climate Candidates Notch Victories in Major City Council Races Across Western U.S.
Voters choose new candidates with strong climate platforms in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, and other large cities across the West
While ballot counting continues across the country, city council races are now being called, with new climate champions set to take office in large Western U.S. cities that held elections this week. Many of the victors are taking on their first elected positions. Candidates with inspiring and ambitious climate platforms notched victories in six large …
CONTINUE READINGWhat Next for Climate Policy?
The election outcome is still contested. Here are three possible scenarios.
We probably won’t be sure for a while who will be our next President. The GOP will probably control the Senate but even that isn’t completely certain yet. Rather than play forecaster, I thought it would be helpful to look at how various outcomes will impact climate policy. Since we’re all suffering a lot of …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Could Trump Do with Four More Years?
He’s already rolled back almost everything Obama did. What next?
Given that Trump has rolled back nearly all of Obama’s regulatory efforts, what further harm could he do? Quite a bit as it turns out. If you agree with him that regulation achieves nothing and only stands in the way of prosperity, that should make you very happy. To begin with, Trump can do more …
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CONTINUE READINGGeoengineering: Ready for its Close-up?
After long being marginalized in climate debates, geoengineering is experiencing a surge in attention — which carries both opportunities and risks.
If you’re a long-time Legal Planet reader, you may have noticed that I weigh in once a year or so to say that geoengineering – active engineered response to global climate change – is going to get prominent, and intensely contentious, soon. Geoengineering? Before continuing, we need a brief aside about names. Even what to …
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CONTINUE READINGShort and Simple Climate Legislation
With a few sentences, Congress could do a lot to fix the law.
The last time Congress tried to pass climate change legislation, the bill was about 800 pages long. That bill, the Waxman-Markey Act, tried to adopt a comprehensive set of emissions reduction measures, which is a complicated business. But a much simpler law could allow the U.S. to move forward quickly with less ambitious but still …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Policymaking in the Shadow of the Supreme Court
Amy Coney Barrett could shift how the Supreme Court approaches environmental regulations. Policymakers should prepare accordingly
By Ann Carlson, Amelia Keyes, Ben Harris and Dallas Burtraw (Cross-posted at Resources for The Future’s blog The confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to fill the seat left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has catapulted the Supreme Court back onto the front pages of newspapers around the country. Though press attention has focused on …
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CONTINUE READING“The Gaffe”
Will Democrats pay a price for Biden’s “inconvenient truth” about the future of oil?
Although no one seemed to notice it while the debate was underway, political commentators are now abuzz about a “gaffe” by Biden about the future of gas and oil. Other aspects of the final presidential debate were covered in Cara Horowitz’s insightful post on Friday. I want to hone in on “the gaffe” in this …
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CONTINUE READING5 Takeaways from the Climate Section of the Presidential Debate
The fumes! The tiny windows!
Last night’s Presidential debate was the first in many years to feature an announced climate section. Having sat with the questions and answers for a bit, here are my top 5 takeaways. 5) The discussion came really late in the game, saved till the last few minutes of the final debate between these candidates. Before …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump and Fossil Fuels
How much has Trump helped fossil fuel production? Not as much as he probably thinks. But enough to make climate change worse.
Trump has a single energy policy: expand production and use of fossil fuels. That also dictates his environmental policy, which is to eliminate any regulation that might get in the way. How much effect has his love affair of fossil fuels had? Short answer: not as much he thinks, but more than environmentalists would like. …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump’s ACE Rule Hits a Judicial Speed Bump
The judges seemed skeptical of Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy rule last week
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments about Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule last week. The ACE rule is a feeble substitute for Obama’s Clean Power Rule, which was Obama’s signature climate action regulating power plants. The argument went badly for the Trump folks. Even Judge Justin Walker, a 38-year-old whose main …
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