Federal Climate Policy Archives - Page 22 of 67

Federal Climate Policy

Hot off the Press: The New IPCC Report

The latest science confirms the need for urgent action.

The IPCC issued the massive first volume of its new report on climate change on Monday. This volume focuses on climate science: how much will the world warm, and what will the impacts be? The bottom line is that the evidence is becoming ever firmer that (a) humans are causing an unprecedented rate of climate …

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A Sleeper Provision in the Senate Infrastructure Bill

The bill gives the Feds broad authority to authorize transmission projects.

We will need a much more robust transmission in coming years. Sources of renewable energy, such as Iowa wind farms, are often located far from the urban centers that need the power. Transmission also helps to deal with weather issues that may impact renewables: even if it’s too cloudy for solar in one state, the …

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Towards Optimal Climate Policy, Part II

The future of effective climate policy requires balancing equity, efficiency, political feasibility, and technological innovation

In the prior blog post in this two-part series, I talked about how current debates on climate policy that are focused on equity and efficiency are inadequate. Today, I’ll explain how we might advance political feasibility through climate policy, how that is connected to technological innovation, and how we must necessarily balance between all four …

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Public Opinion and the Limits of Climate Policy

There’s a simple reason why it’s so hard to take bold climate actions nationally.

Gallup has studied environmental attitudes in America for several decades. Their historical compilation is very revealing about our present political situation. It sheds light on why it’s been so hard to develop momentum for real change at the national level, and also about why there’s so much more of a push for change within the …

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Towards Optimal Climate Policy, Part I

Moving the debate beyond equity and efficiency

As Congress debates two large pieces of legislation – both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a partisan reconciliation package – a key question is the extent to which either piece of legislation (assuming it is enacted) addresses climate policy. And the recent flooding in Europe, the wildfires in the western US and Russia, and more …

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Major International Climate Developments

China and the EU took important steps forward this week.

This week has seen some big climate moves on opposite sides of the world. The EU has proposed a major new climate plan. Meanwhile, China is ready to go live with its emissions trading system. The U.S. is at risk of being left behind. The EU’s proposal is impressive. The goal is to cut net …

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Climate News from Capitol Hill

There are small but hopeful signs of progress in overcoming legislative gridlock.

Over a decade ago, the Waxman-Markey carbon trading bill died in the Senate. President Obama then had to rely entirely on administrative actions to address climate change. Republicans united in a solid wall of violent opposition to climate action. There are some hopeful signs that things may not be quite so tough for President Biden. …

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Why I Was Wrong About Methane

I didn’t think cutting methane was a high priority. Now I do. Here’s why.

I didn’t use to think that eliminating methane emissions should be a priority. True, methane is a potent greenhouse gas. But it’s also a short-lived one, which only stays in the atmosphere for twenty years or so. In contrast, CO2 emissions cause warming for 2-3 centuries or more. So methane emissions seemed to be something …

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The Hidden Green-Infrastructure Bill

Every year, Congress provides lavish funding for clean energy and climate adaptation. No one notices.

Biden’s green-infrastructure bill is headline news. Republicans are up in arms. Yet every year there’s already a green-infrastructure bill. Hardly anyone notices. Republicans vote for it without a fuss. Why? It’s part of the annual funding bill for the military. The Defense Department remains the biggest single consumer of energy in the country, and it …

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Anti—Anti-#ClimateEmergency

Whether to declare a climate emergency is debatable. But some critics have gone way overboard.

Should Biden declare a national climate emergency? There are certainly arguments that, on balance, it would be better not to take that step. Some opponents argue that declaring a climate emergency would be horribly anti-democratic, polarizing, and counterproductive. Those arguments seem to me seriously overstated. I’d like to go through the major arguments against declaring …

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Crisis at DOJ’s Environment & Natural Resources Division

Guest contributors Sommer Engels, Andrew Mergen, and Justin Pidot write that dismantling ENRD will be disastrous for future administrations, the American people, and even for the Trump Administration.

Federal Climate Policy

The latest science confirms the need for urgent action.

The bill gives the Feds broad authority to authorize transmission projects.

The future of effective climate policy requires balancing equity, efficiency, political feasibility, and technological innovation

There’s a simple reason why it’s so hard to take bold climate actions nationally.

Moving the debate beyond equity and efficiency

China and the EU took important steps forward this week.

There are small but hopeful signs of progress in overcoming legislative gridlock.

I didn’t think cutting methane was a high priority. Now I do. Here’s why.

Every year, Congress provides lavish funding for clean energy and climate adaptation. No one notices.

Whether to declare a climate emergency is debatable. But some critics have gone way overboard.

Join Our Mailing List

Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.

TRENDING

Private recycling subscription services are helping my family divert our waste, though I wish we didn’t need them.

Don’t let the headlines deceive you. It’s not just the Supreme Court that shapes environmental law.

Guest contributors Mayahuel Hernandez and Ian Bertrando explain the air-quality benefits of SB 526, a bill they worked on with California State Sen. Caroline Menjivar.

It’s a complicated issue but the answer is clear: the Congressional Review Act does not apply.

Local action becomes even more important under a new federal regime

There were dozens of actions, all harmful to the environment. These are the worst of the worst.

The Torrance Refinery Action Alliance and Rep. Maxine Waters have renewed calls to ban hydrofluoric acid at SoCal refineries. Here’s why and how that could work.

New CLEE report with model policies to ensure a responsible EV battery supply chain

Trump has found a possible way to end run California’s legal arguments for the waiver. But there’s no reason to give up.

Zeldin’s actions face a major problem: the Congressional Review Act doesn’t apply to California waivers.

Guest contributors Sommer Engels, Andrew Mergen, and Justin Pidot write that dismantling ENRD will be disastrous for future administrations, the American people, and even for the Trump Administration.

Zeldin’s actions face a major problem: the Congressional Review Act doesn’t apply to California waivers.

The action would mean full-blown warfare against all things climate.

Why is the Trump administration kneecapping the U.S. offshore wind industry while China becomes a global giant?

Trump has found a possible way to end run California’s legal arguments for the waiver. But there’s no reason to give up.

There were dozens of actions, all harmful to the environment. These are the worst of the worst.

Trump and House Republicans are trying to ‘flood the zone’ when it comes to wrongly blaming California environmental regulations for the LA fires.

AKA it should be much easier to put in a heat pump water heater.

The effect of tariffs on energy markets is complex, and a lot depends on the details.

Flooding the zone has short-term benefits but possible long-term costs.