General
Election 2024: Climate Action vs. Radical Deregulation
Voters should consider the radical, right-wing deregulation agenda that would await on Day One of a second Trump administration.
The Iowa Caucuses are 12 days away. The South Carolina Republican Primary comes 5 weeks later. And just two weeks after that is Super Tuesday. In the lead up to all these primary contests, anti-democracy candidate Donald Trump continues to march toward capturing the GOP nomination with a commanding lead in national polls. While headlines …
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CONTINUE READINGThe U.S. Supreme Court & Environmental Law in 2024
Numerous Key Environmental Issues and Doctrines Will Confront the Justices This Year
As we begin 2024, it’s useful to identify and assess the many environmental issues that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide this year. It seems likely that the conservative majority of the justices will erode or, perhaps, dramatically jettison longstanding principles of environmental law and policy in the coming months. Summarized below are …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Courts Foil Westlands Water District’s Grinch-Like Water Grab
Westlands’ Efforts to Permanently Privatize California Water Opposed by Unique Coalition & Rejected by Skeptical Judges
While there’s a great deal that’s dysfunctional and downright wrong about water law and policy in California, occasionally there are positive developments to report. So it’s most satisfying to end 2023 with some good news regarding water in the Golden State. This is the saga of how the Westlands Water District tried to privatize a …
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CONTINUE READINGA Big Year on Legal Planet
Here are the 12 most popular topics in environmental law and climate policy on Legal Planet based on our most-read posts from 2023.
It’s an understatement to say that 2023 was a transformative year for the U.S. climate movement. We saw rapid implementation of landmark federal climate laws, a series of big actions on methane emissions, a deal on Colorado River water usage, and bigger-than-expected climate victories in Sacramento. EPA’s control of toxic chemicals was tested, the U.S. …
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CONTINUE READINGHow Will Americans Learn to Love the Inflation Reduction Act?
Pres. Biden has toured the country to sell his climate victories, but polls show it isn’t resonating yet with voters. Will Trump attacks help?
Last February, on the eve of the State of the Union, President Joe Biden embarked on a victory lap for his landmark climate laws. At the time, the White House was focused on explaining to the American people how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act would boost jobs and lift the economy. …
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CONTINUE READINGA $1 Billion Investment in the ‘New Forest Economy’
A global group of governors just issued a call-to-action for more flexible funding for forest protection. Here’s why that’s important.
On December 5, as the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change continues full swing in Dubai, Governors, Indigenous Peoples, and other partners of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF Task Force), launched an urgent call-to-action to finance what they are calling the “New Forest …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Policy in the World’s Fourth Largest Country
In case you’re wondering, that would be Indonesia in terms of population.
Indonesia has the world’s fourth largest population, right after India, China, and the U.S. It has about the same GDP as Spain. Indonesia ranks in the top dozen carbon emitters. It gets relatively attention in the United States. Yet Indonesia’s role in cutting energy emissions is crucial. As an archipelago, Indonesia is at the prey …
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CONTINUE READINGGetting to Implementation
The Status of Local Climate Action in California
This post is co-authored by CLEE Climate Policy Fellow, Hanna Payne In the arc of climate action, we are firmly in the era of implementation. As climate change accelerates, communities across the state are experiencing the effects of a changing climate. To avoid the worst of these impacts, it is critical that we rapidly implement …
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CONTINUE READINGIt’s High Time to Ban “Monster Fracking” in California
Fracking consumes enormous amounts of water, pollutes aquifers & is contrary to our climate goals
Recently, the New York Times published an important and disturbing expose’ titled, “‘Monster Fracks’ Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.” The Times article focuses on the alarming intersection of three current environmental crises–water supply shortages, groundwater contamination, and excessive greenhouse gas emission levels–that threaten California and other states across the nation. Fracking (the shorthand …
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CONTINUE READINGGov. Newsom Goes to China to Talk Climate
Here’s what Newsom will see, say, and do on his China trip. He should also be listening for what California can learn from China.
We’re learning more about what Gov. Gavin Newsom will see, say, and do on his trip to China. All told, Newsom is slated to visit 6 cities in 5 provinces, including Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shanghai—where he’s signing a new climate agreement. He plans to meet with representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and the …
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