Most recent 10 articles: Legal Planet
 |
Climate Action for Earth Day - Legal Planet (Apr 22) |
|
Apr 22 · Don’t believe what you’ve heard. There is one single thing you can give up that will help address climate change: voter apathy.
One-third of eligible voters - 80 million Americans - did not vote in the presidential election last time around. Why not? Because they just “weren’t registered” or they “weren’t interested in politics,” according to this Ipsos survey. It’s so much worse for local elections. Turnout in 10 of America’s largest cities was less than 15%, according to the Who Votes for Mayor project. In Dallas, just 6% voted in recent local elections.
Earth Day is a perfect day to register to vote and to make sure people in your life are registered - and fully aware ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Could Trump Cancel the IRA? - Legal Planet (Apr 22) |
|
Apr 22 · The Inflation Reduction Act is Biden’s signature climate initiative. Trump has already called for repealing it, and so have some Republicans in Congress. Given the IRA’s huge cuts in carbon emissions, that would be a tragedy. Can he do that?
He would certainly face some very significant barriers. Trump would need Republican majorities in the Senate (very likely) and the House (less likely). When Trump was in office before, the Republicans found it difficult to pass legislation, and today’s GOP House can barely manage to function. Although they’ve expressed vociferous opposition to the IRA, it wouldn’t be at the top of their list of legislative priorities. And the IRA is ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Filling in the Picture: The Latest From Kennedy about Climate - Legal Planet (Apr 16) |
|
Apr 16 · I did a post on Thursday flagging some “unanswered questions” about RFK, Jr. and climate change. I had no intention of ever posting about his campaign again, let alone this soon. But by a wild coincidence, E&E News released a story the very next day about its interview with Kennedy that addressed those questions. Some of his answers may be what you expected. Others may surprise you, like his embrace of natural gas as a fuel and his reservations about regulating emissions.
Climate policy
Kennedy hadn’t previously said much policy approach to climate change during the campaign. The interview filled in some of the picture, although other points remain ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Five Myths and Half-Truths About California Cap and Trade - Legal Planet (Apr 16) |
|
Apr 16 · A key part of California’s climate policy has always been its cap and trade system. Because the regulations aren’t very transparent, there have been a lot of misconceptions about the system. I’ve been digging into the rules, the explanatory website set up by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and secondary sources to try to figure some of these things out.
Despite complexities, the basic idea behind the trading system is simple. The state sets an annual cap on emissions, distributes allowances (permits to emit a ton of carbon), and then allows the recipients to trade those allowances amongst themselves. The idea is to allow the private market to figure out the cheapest ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
California Wins Major Clean Air Act/Climate Change Case in D.C. Circuit - Legal Planet (Apr 12) |
|
Apr 12 · This week California and the Biden Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency won a critically-important environmental lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The case involves a constitutional challenge brought by a coalition of conservative (“red”) states to E.P.A.’s delegation of federal Clean Air Act (CAA) authority for California to adopt regulations limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicles and mandating the state’s steady transition from sales of conventional cars and light trucks to electric vehicles.
The D.C. Circuit’s long-awaited decision is State of Ohio v. Environmental ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Shanahan, Kennedy and Climate Change: Unanswered Questions - Legal Planet (Apr 11) |
|
Apr 11 · In a flare-up between former allies last week, Rep. Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat, asked Nicole Shanahan to think twice about continuing as RFK Jr.’s running mate. His argument was that the campaign could ultimately send Donald Trump back to the White House, risking the destruction of U.S. climate efforts.
The resulting public exchange is revealing about what motivates independent candidates like Shanahan. It also points to a conundrum for the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket: how to address concerns about the climate implications of another Trump Administration.
Khanna’s point was simple: Shanahan cares about climate change, but the RFK candidacy might help elect Trump, who ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Power of the People: Environmental Advocacy in China - Legal Planet (Apr 10) |
|
Apr 10 · China’s global rise has raised concerns about impacts on the environment in a bewilderingly wide range of issues. These include global climate change, deforestation, impacts on rare and endangered species, harm to fisheries, environmental impacts of overseas infrastructure, mining, and energy sector investments, to name just a few. Popular attention has often focused on Chinese government action (or lack thereof) and the behavior of Chinese companies “going out” into the world. What role are Chinese civil society organizations playing these days?
Chinese environmental groups had somewhat of a renaissance in the early 2000s, with groups such as Friends of Nature, Global Village ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Not All Community Benefits Are Created Equal - Legal Planet (Apr 9) |
|
Apr 9 · CLEE has just released a new report, Offshore Wind & Community Benefits Agreements in California: CBA Examples, detailing the CBA and other community provisions in California’s offshore wind leases, as well as examples of CBA precursors and models from other industries. Read it here.
As California offshore wind moves forward, there are opportunities for underserved, environmental justice, and tribal communities to secure benefits and community investment (if communities are interested in negotiating with developers). This is because California’s current offshore wind leases contain different types of community-beneficial measures, including Community Benefits Agreements, or ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Climate Change and Nigeria - Legal Planet (Apr 8) |
|
Apr 8 · By the time my youngest granddaughter is thirty, Nigeria will be the world’s third-largest country. It’s also one of the countries that’s least prepared to adapt to climate change, which will be much worse by then.
Nigeria’s population is expected to roughly double by 2050, to around 400 million. The population was previously expected to double again by 2100, but the current estimate is that it will reach “only” about 550 million. In the meantime, China’s population is expected to fall; as a result, Nigeria’s population will be about three-fourths that of China.
The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative rankings show that Nigeria as the 17th most vulnerable ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
A Total Eclipse of the Heat - Legal Planet (Apr 7) |
|
Apr 7 · Millions of Americans traveled this week to the path of totality to hunker down with loved ones and total strangers to gaze upwards at one of the most amazing astronomical events of our lives and share something like a transcendent, spiritual experience. I hope we can collectively reckon with another terrifyingly awesome atmospheric event: the hottest year.
Multiple relentless heat waves occurred in 2023, with much of the globe experiencing 20 more “heatwave days” than in the previous three decades. The annual-average temperature was 1.48 C above the pre-industrial average, just shy of the 1.5 target set by the Paris Agreement – and an astonishing 0.17 C hotter than the ... Read more ...
|
|
|