Regulation
A Trumped-Up Energy Emergency
We have weathered past threats to energy security through democratic processes, not by executive fiat.
The Executive Order has fabricated an energy emergency and is doubly wrongheaded. First, as the statistics bear out, there is neither a domestic energy emergency nor an energy crisis. The U.S. has effectively secured energy independence. More significantly, Trump’s politically driven, fossil fuel-dependent energy portfolio is neither diversified nor economically sound.
CONTINUE READINGCrisis 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.
The Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) of the Department of Justice faces its most profound crisis since it was established in 1909. In a little over a week, the Trump administration has (1) reassigned four career managers (leading nearly half of ENRD’s sections) to the newly formed Office of Sanctuary Cities Enforcement; (2) placed …
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CONTINUE READINGAre Climate Pledges on Life Support?
A Q&A with Catherine McKenna, who led the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State Entities.
Catherine McKenna knows firsthand how to persist in the face of pushback on climate policies. She was Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change during the first Trump Administration, and she led negotiations of that country’s first national climate plan over intense oil industry opposition. “The oil sands sector and the politicians they sponsor aren’t just greenwashing a product,” …
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CONTINUE READINGLitigating Against Trump
Trump’s agencies had a terrible litigation record the first time. It will probably get better – but not that much better.
In his first term, Trump’s litigation record was awful – winning only one case in four by some estimates.The Trump folks should do a better this time. But they may not improve that much, and could still lose more often than they win. Money invested in litigating against the Administration will be well spent. Meticulous attention to evidence and legal requirements is likely to remain a weak point.
CONTINUE READINGDOGE: A Dodgy Path to Deregulation
It’s supposed to be cost-saving, but the savings are trivial on the scale of the federal budget.
Musk and Ramaswami have said that their DOGE project will cut the federal budget by eliminating unnecessary regulations and cutting regulatory agencies. Putting aside what “unnecessary” means here, that’s not even going to be a downpayment on the kind of budget cuts they’re seeking. The numbers are pretty simple. Suppose they eliminated EPA entirely. That …
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CONTINUE READINGGood & Bad Environmental News From the U.S. Supreme Court
Escalating Legal Attacks on California’s Longstanding Clean Air Act “Waiver” Authority
This past week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued important orders in two closely-related environmental cases previously decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Last Friday the justices granted review in Diamond Alternative Energy v. Environmental Protection Agency, agreeing to decide whether fossil fuel manufacturers have legal standing to challenge an …
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CONTINUE READINGCan the Major Question Doctrine Block Trump’s Excesses?
The doctrine has been hailed by conservatives. But it may come back to bite them.
The major question doctrine tells judges to be skeptical when the government leverage some vague or obscure law to support a dramatic, unprecedented action. Dramatic, unprecedented actions are Trump’ stock in trade. The major question doctrine just might be what we need to block him.
CONTINUE READINGCPUC Should Set a Date for Closing Aliso Canyon
A proposed decision on the gas facility gives too much deference to SoCalGas regarding the future of gas demand and misses an opportunity to set a clear mandate.
The Aliso Canyon gas storage facility blowout in 2015-16 was the largest methane gas leak in the history of the United States. In addition to the climate effects from the methane leakage — 109,000 metric tons, the equivalent of burning over 1 billion gallons of gasoline — there were tremendous health impacts on neighboring communities …
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CONTINUE READINGPresident-Elect Trump vs. California: What Lies Ahead?
Will It Be Environmental Law & Policy Deja Vu All Over Again? Or Even Worse?
Californians who care about the environment likely–and justifiably–feel whipsawed this week. Former President Trump (#45) has re-emerged as President-elect Trump (#47), interrupted by the intervening four years of the Biden-Harris presidential administration. (Actually, this presidential whipsaw has been going on for decades: think Bush Sr.-Clinton-Bush Jr.-Obama-Trump-Biden-Trump redux.) In general, California’s progressive environmental laws and policies …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Must Not Abandon its Climate Leadership
California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard has been successful. CARB should update the program without undermining its fundamental features.
On November 8, the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, is slated to consider approving amendments to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The program has been so successful in replacing high carbon petroleum-based fuels with lower emissions vehicle fuels that interest groups from all sides of the political spectrum have come forward to demand radical …
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