Politics
Straws in the Wind
Businesses have intensified public support for climate action. That could presage a major shift in climate politics.
In the past few weeks, there’s been a notable growth of business support for climate action. A letter from the CEOs of 300 hundred major companies called for a 50% cut from 2005 carbon emissions by 2030. The companies ranged from the utilities to tobacco to investment management. Google, McDonalds, Walmart, and Philip Morris were …
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CONTINUE READINGDesigning Policy to Advance Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide
Direct air capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide will be central to climate policy this century, but how can we advance it through policy?
It is becoming increasingly likely that if the world is to avoid warming beyond 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius that we will have to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, rather only rapidly decarbonizing global economies. Without carbon dioxide removal, the rate of decarbonization that would be required to meet a 1.5 or 2 …
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CONTINUE READINGWhen “Stay In Your Lane” Is Wrong
Technical policy questions often involve ethical political questions that the public must have a say in
As vaccination for the coronavirus in the United States ramps up, I want to take a look back to a policy dispute over the initial plans for vaccine distribution at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 – in part because that fight (like “follow the science,” which I blogged about recently) also …
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CONTINUE READINGIf Liberals Were the Ones Who Favored Fossil Fuels. . .
Here’s what the conservative response might look like.
Conservatives often come to the defense of fossil fuels and disdain renewable energy. Is that really consistent with their principles? Let’s imagine what conservatives might say if the table were turned, Suppose liberals proposed government support for fossil fuels. The conservative response might look something like this: Another Liberal Boondoggle Now they want to prop …
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CONTINUE READING2021-2022 California Environmental Legislation: What’s Been Introduced?
Climate change and wildfire prevention remain top priorities, while environmental justice issues gain more attention
The California State Legislature is back in session, and legislators have introduced thousands of bills. The 2021-2022 session kicks off a new two-year legislative cycle, which means bills that are not passed in this session have the opportunity to be considered and passed in the subsequent session. While legislators will likely spend a significant amount …
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CONTINUE READINGImplementing the “Biden Environmental Litigation Bounce-Back”
Encouraging Signals As To How Biden’s USDOJ Will Resolve Environmental Lawsuits Originally Brought Against the Trump Administration
The transition from the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration makes for fascinating spectator sport. President Biden’s first month in office reveals that he and his Administration are committed to undoing the widespread damage former President Trump and his minions engineered across so many policy and legal areas. The environment is a particularly prominent example. …
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CONTINUE READINGLegal Planeteer Ann Carlson Joins Biden Administration
UCLA Environmental Law Professor Named NHTSA General Counsel
President Joe Biden has appointed UCLA environmental law professor–and frequent Legal Planet contributor–Ann Carlson to serve as General Counsel of the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). NHTSA, part of the U.S. Department of Administration (USDOT), plays a key regulatory role in charting federal transportation policy. Professor Carlson has anchored UCLA School of Law’s …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Controversial Congressional Review Act
Biden has a congressional shortcut to cancel Trump’s regulatory rollbacks, but it comes with risks.
The Trump administration dedicated itself to deregulation with unprecedented fervor. It rolled back scores of regulations across government agencies, including more than 80 environmental rules. The Biden administration can reverse some of those actions quickly – for instance, as president, Joe Biden can undo Donald Trump’s executive orders with a stroke of the pen. He …
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CONTINUE READINGRenewable Energy in the Carolinas
While we were focusing on DC, there has been a lot of action at the state level.
Trump has dominated the national conversation for the past four years. While our eyes were on his efforts to rollback climate action, a lot has been happening at the state level. This post is the one of an episodic series of posts on state renewable energy policy. Today, the focus will be on North and …
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CONTINUE READINGThe CRA is Back in Play
What you need to know about the Congressional Review Act and Trump’s regulatory legacy
This post is co-authored by Beth Kent and Cara Horowitz Last week’s Georgia Senate victories have given Democrats (bare) control of the Senate—and, with it, the potential to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to erase some of the Trump Administration’s regulatory rollbacks. Here are four key things to know about this unique legislative oversight …
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