It’s not always the case, but my speculation about the Massachusetts climate bill was correct. On Friday, Governor Baker signed it into law. If I haven’t succeeded in making this clear previously, I want to emphasize that...more
In January, when Governor Baker vetoed the Legislature’s effort to go big on climate, my colleague Zach Gerson made clear that the bill was not even “mostly dead.” I am pleased to say that Zach’s diagnosis was correct. The...more
3/23/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Governor Baker ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Net Zero ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Renewable Energy ,
Renewable Energy Incentives ,
State and Local Government
According to E&E News (subscription required), FERC yesterday, for the first time, assessed the impacts of a gas pipeline’s downstream GHG emissions. (As of this writing, the decision is not yet available on FERC’s web...more
On March 1, the Transportation Climate Initiative jurisdictions released a draft “model rule” that would provide a template for individual state rules governing the operation of the TCI Program. Although only three states...more
It’s only a slight rhetorical exaggeration to say that the limited bandwidth left to environmental issues other than climate change in recent years has been largely occupied by concerns about PFAS – Per-and polyfluoroalkyl...more
Climate risk is investment risk.
So says BlackRock. And when you manage $8.7 trillion, people tend to listen to what you say. I’ve been noting for some time that BlackRock’s statements seemed to presage increasing...more
Last month, I posted about the Biden administration’s effort to develop a new estimate of the social cost of carbon. The EO requires a new interim SCC within 30 days and a new longer-term SCC by January 2022...more
The evidence of the harm resulting from PM2.5 exposures keeps rolling in. Earlier this month, Environmental Research published an article titled “Global mortality from outdoor fine particle pollution generated by fossil fuel...more
Last week, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed vacatur of the easement issued to the Dakota Access Pipeline by the Army Corps of Engineers. As I noted last month in connection with the Biden Executive Order...more
2/4/2021
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Dakota Access Pipeline ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Executive Orders ,
NEPA ,
New Legislation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
Last month, I noted that the Trump administration had suffered “one final judicial defeat” – the rejection of its Affordable Clean Energy Rule. Of course, I spoke to soon. Last week, Judge Brian Morris rejected EPA’s rule...more
Yesterday, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. It’s even more comprehensive than last week’s order. Indeed, my main reaction to the order isn’t to any of the specific...more
Among the important provisions of President Biden’s Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis is the requirement to review and revise estimates of the...more
Yesterday, President Biden hit the ground running on environmental policy, issuing an Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis. There’s a lot in it,...more
Yesterday was the last full day of President Trump’s term. On environmental issues, it closed on a fitting note – another major judicial defeat. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals vacated EPA’s Affordable Clean...more
Last month, I posted that EPA’s decision to retain the current PM2.5 NAAQS of 12 ug/m3 was the single worst decision by Trump’s EPA. Since then, I have not received any comments suggesting that my ranking was incorrect. In...more
Over the past four years, while the Trump Administration did everything possible to ignore climate change, optimists continued to find progress at the state level. And while President-elect Biden has put together an A-team on...more
1/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Net Zero ,
Offshore Wind ,
Renewable Energy ,
Renewable Energy Incentives ,
State and Local Government ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration ,
Wind Power
On December 21, 2020, three of the states participating in the Transportation Climate Initiative – Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island – and the District of Columbia released a Memorandum of Understanding describing...more
Yesterday, Massachusetts released its “2050 Decarbonization Roadmap.” I’m tempted to call it a tour de force. At the very least, it’s jam-packed with important issues. One of the most valuable aspects of the Roadmap is its...more
On December 23, 2020, EPA formalized its decision to leave the ozone NAAQS unchanged, at 70 ppb. I don’t think that this decision is in the same category of egregiousness as EPA’s recent decision not to reduce the PM2.5...more
Today, three of the states participating in the Transportation Climate Initiative – Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island – and the District of Columbia released a Memorandum of Understanding describing a “cap and...more
Yesterday, EPA finalized its decision to retain the existing PM2.5 NAAQS of 12 ug/m3, rejecting substantial scientific evidence that PM2.5 causes significant harm at concentrations below 12 ug/m3. In fact, as noted in one of...more
The Lancet’s Countdown on Health and Climate Change for 2020 offers a pretty sobering assessment of the impacts of climate change. As I noted the last time I posted about one of these reports, it’s important to remember...more
Over the past decade, there has been an unprecedented shift in investor focus toward the analysis use of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) risks and impacts in investment decision-making. While the...more
12/4/2020
/ Alaska ,
Chevron Deference ,
Citizen Suits ,
Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Mining ,
Non-Delegation Doctrine ,
Permits ,
SCOTUS
Last week, Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts released a study titled “The high persistence of PFAS is sufficient for their management as a chemical class.” The title is one of the two big takeaways from the...more
According to ClimateWire (subscription required), Miami Beach is planning an underwater park just off the coast. Not that I would ever be snarky, but given how often parts of Miami Beach are now under water during high tides,...more