Federal Climate Policy
Grid Experts Weigh In on the Clean Power Plan Repeal and ACE Rule
UCLA Emmett faculty share expert voices in an amicus brief filed last week in the D.C. Circuit
Among the many Trump Administration rollbacks of climate regulation, a big one is its decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan and to replace it with a rule that does almost nothing to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel-fired power plants. The electricity sector has made significant progress in reducing climate pollution recent years, but …
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CONTINUE READINGFighting to Preserve the Clean Power Plan
Ted Lamm and Sean Hecht Co-Author Amicus Brief on Behalf of Clean Air Act Expert Tom Jorling
On Monday, Sean Hecht and I filed an amicus brief with the DC Circuit in the legal challenge to the Trump Administration’s attempt to repeal and replace the Clean Power Plan. (We filed the brief in our personal capacities and not on behalf of our respective institutions. Dan Farber also contributed valuable input.) Our client …
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CONTINUE READINGWe Need an Environmental Dr. Fauci
Much of environmental law is about protecting public health. But the Trump Administration won’t listen.
During the coronavirus crisis, Dr. Anthony Fauci has become the voice of reason. Much of the public turns to him for critical information about public health, while even Trump finds it necessary to listen. In the Trump era, no one plays that role in the environmental area. The result is a mindless campaign of deregulation …
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CONTINUE READINGSeven Months to Election Day (and Counting)
You may have forgotten, but the clock is still ticking.
You may not have been focused on this, but there will be a Presidential election seven months from today. The stakes are enormous for environmental law. In fact, those stakes can be measured in megatons of carbon. There’s no question about Trump’s approach to environmental regulation. As of the beginning of this year, ninety-five environmental rollbacks …
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CONTINUE READINGDeciphering the SAFE Rule
When the agencies say x, they mean y
I’m one of many environmental lawyers this morning poring over the just-released final rule rolling back federal fuel economy and climate emission standards for cars. I’m finding it helpful to create a key, of sorts, to the Orwellian language I’m encountering. Here you go! Happy reading, everyone. What it says What it means …
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CONTINUE READINGWhile You Were Sleeping: Coronavirus Apparently Won’t Stop Trump Environmental Rollbacks
EPA May Roll Back Car Standards Next Week
The New York Times is reporting that, despite the corona crisis and the shelter in place orders affecting people around the country, Andrew Wheeler is pressuring his EPA staff to release a finalized rule rolling back greenhouse gas emissions/fuel economy standards for cars. These EPA staff are for the most part working from home with …
CONTINUE READINGCourt Rejects Trump Administration’s Cap-and-Trade Lawsuit Against California
Federal Government’s Constitutional Challenge to California’s Linked GHG Reduction Plan Fails
Since President Trump took office in early 2017, the State of California has filed over 70 different lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration’s policy initiatives on multiple fronts, including the environment, immigration policy and health care. Over 40 of California’s lawsuits have targeted the Administration’s efforts to roll back longstanding federal environmental protection, natural resource management …
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CONTINUE READINGHow Hot Will Things Get?
Identifying a realistic worst case scenario is complicated.
How hot will the world be in 2100? The answer partly depends on how much carbon we dump in the atmosphere between now and then. It also depends on how sensitive the climate system is to those emissions. Scientists have used 4.5 °C as the high end of the likely possibilities. That estimate derives from …
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CONTINUE READINGAn Easy, No-Fuss, Climate Fix for that Big First Day in Office
No, not rejoining the Paris Agreement, though that’s a good idea too. Something else.
This is kind of like one of those recipe things you see: putting a gourmet meal on the table in five minutes. But it’s more like: the one ingredient that will make all your recipes come out better. More seriously, what I’m about to propose is very conventional, easily integrated into agency procedures, and a …
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CONTINUE READINGTracing Trump’s Trillion Trees
The president’s embrace of massive tree planting has a remarkable — and questionable — backstory
During last week’s State of the Union address, US President Donald Trump said: To protect the environment, days ago I announced that the United States will join the One Trillion Trees Initiative, an ambitious effort to bring together government and private sector to plant new trees in America and all around the world. Astute regular …
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