With prospects dead for federal cap and trade climate change legislation, the focus for market mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions shifts to the states. Meanwhile, as discussed in my last post, EPA is left moving forward with its command and control regulations to reduce GHGs under the Clean Air Act.
After the defeat of Proposition 23, California’s
As Congress failed to pass climate change legislation, U.S. EPA will begin regulating greenhouse gases (GHGs) using its existing authority under the Clean Air Act. Beginning 2011, major sources of GHGs will be required to analyze methods for reducing emissions when seeking federal permits for expansion or construction of new sources.
When is a federal review of GHGs
While the political and policy focus is clearly on the Country’s struggling economy, caught within that debate is U.S. policy on climate change. As the economy continued to languish this summer, any hope of a cap and trade bill emerging from Congress died.
The bill was a victim of a Congress that created a Christmas tree of
A coalition of business groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers, have filed a request to block the effectiveness of EPA’s climate change rulemaking. The business groups have filed a motion seeking a stay of the effectiveness of EPA regulations that will soon require stationary sources (factories, utilities and boilers) to reduce greenhouse gas
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By all accounts, Republicans are set to enjoy major gains in both the House and Senate following midterm elections. Speculation is that the Republicans could likely regain control of the House and could even get close in the Senate.
What implications could this change in the political landscape have for climate change regulation?
We have already
A group of eight states and conservation groups ("Plaintiffs") have been pushing a massive federal nuisance claim against utilities. The Plaintiffs claim that major emitters of carbon dioxide in twenty states have created, contributed to, or maintained a common-law public nuisance by contributing to global warming thereby injuring States and landowners feeling the impacts of climate change. (See
After this summer’s anti-climatic end to federal climate change legislation, some thought that perhaps there would be a temporary end of the discussion of climate change regulation. However, recent weather events (wildfires in Russia, floods in Pakistan and an ice sheet breaking off Greenland) and extreme heat have reinvigorated the debate.
Here is some highlights
There was a lot of anticipation this summer about the scope of the energy bill coming out of the U.S. Senate. Would the Senate try and tackle climate change? Would it develop a national renewable portfolio standard?
The bill was released yesterday and the answer was "no" on both accounts.
The White House kept a glimmer of hope that
President Obama is convening a meeting tomorrow to explore all possible alternatives that would lead to passage of a climate bill before the midterm elections. The most likely alternative that will receive consideration is a much narrower cap that would only be applied to utilities. Under this approach, the provisions covering large industrial emitters and
In a very close vote 53-47, the U.S. Senate defeated a resolution designed to block U.S. EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases utilizing its existing authority under the Clean Air Act. Six Democrats supported the Republican effort to block EPA. Republicans needed 51 votes to effectively block or delay EPA’s efforts. Now everyone is offering their opinions as