Federal Climate Policy
Nikki Haley & Climate Policy
She’s a departure from the GOP’s white male establishment. But on climate issues? Not so much.
Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign has gained a following. According to the NY Times, Haley’s performance “in front of crowds and in the first two Republican debates — during which she successfully fended off interruptions and delivered pithy, memorable one-liners — has delivered buzz, attention and money.” Unlike Trump, she’s not actively hostile to the very …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat’s Been Killing U.S. Coal?
No, it’s not Biden. Or EPA. The culprits are supply and demand.
From 1960 to 2005, coal use grew more or less steadily by 18 million tons per year. It then tread water for a few years and began a steep decline in 2008, going from half of U.S. electricity to about one-fifth today. What happened in the middle of the Bush Administration to halt growth? And …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Climate Crisis, the Tribes, and the IRA
Biden’s signature climate law spotlighted the need to support tribal responses to climate change.
Five hundred and thirty-one years ago today, Christopher Columbus went ashore at Guanahaní, an island in the Bahamas. That date marked the beginning of an era of European settlement and colonialism, accompanied by widespread destruction of existing American societies. Today, Native Americans communities face another crisis: climate change. Many tribes are at high risk from …
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CONTINUE READINGReading the Tea Leaves: Biden’s and California’s Vehicle Regs at the D.C. Circuit
A leading environmental lawyer gives his perspective.
Transportation is now the source of 28% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, more than the electric power sector. The transportation sector is also a substantial source of nitrogen oxides and particulates, both of which are dangerous to human health. The Biden Administration has taken important regulatory actions bearing on these problems, with others in the …
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CONTINUE READINGPredictions of IRA’s Success Solidify
IRA’s early impacts have been dramatic, and there’s a consensus that it will bend the US emissions curve downward.
My last blog post looked at some of the steps taken to implement the Inflation Reduction Act. Confirming initial projections when the law was passed, models now predict that IRA will significantly cut emissions by 2030. The impact by 2035 is likely to be even greater. Despite the IRA’s substantial assist to emission cuts, we …
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CONTINUE READINGAngry About Stalled Progress on Fossil Fuels? Biden’s Not the Culprit.
Sorry, no president can single-handedly fix climate policy. And certainly not with this Supreme Court.
With Biden two-thirds of the way through his term in office, he seems to be catching a lot of flack from climate activists. On Sunday, thousands of angry demonstrators gathered to protest Biden’s U.N. visit. “If you want our vote if you don’t want the blood of our generations to be on your hands, end …
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CONTINUE READINGIRA Implementation: The State of Play
It’s not easy to get a handle on IRA implementation, but some agencies are off to a good start.
The Inflation Reduction Act is Biden’s signature climate program. You’d think it would be easy to get an analysis of the government’s funding efforts in its first year. It’s not. This seems like an unforced error to me. In political terms, this seems like a lost opportunity to showcase the government’s achievements; it’s also a …
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CONTINUE READINGGovernor Gavin Newsom announces he will sign landmark climate disclosure bills SB 253 and SB 261!
SB 261 first proposed and drafted by CLEE Climate Risk Initiative
Breaking news! Governor Gavin Newsom just announced on stage at New York Climate Week that he will sign both of the landmark greenhouse gas emissions and climate risk disclosure bills, #SB253 (Wiener) and #SB261 (Stern), the later of which was first proposed and then drafted by our Climate Risk Initiative at the Center for Law, …
CONTINUE READINGThe Contradictory Attacks on Biden’s Climate Programs
“Job Killing” or “Overheating the Economy” — Which Is It?
“Job-killing regulations” is a longtime conservative meme. That attack has now been joined by the claim that major new spending for clean energy is overheating the economy. The inflation claim is new, prompted by the passage of the 2021 Infrastructure law and the 2022 IRA. And if they were both right, the two problems would …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change & the 1st GOP Debate
Mostly, they didn’t want to talk about the issue. They certainly didn’t want to talk about solutions.
Somewhat to my surprise, there was a question at the first GOP debate about climate change. The candidates’ pre-debates views, which the NY Times helpfully collected, provided insight into possible directions for GOP energy policy. It’s even possible that reality has started to make a dent into the party;’s reflexive climate denial. The climate question …
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