As the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow approaches, many countries are turning their sights on methane emission reductions as a major prong of their international climate commitments. Over the...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft of its 2022-2026 strategic plan, including a new foundational principle and several goals not seen in previous plans. Administrator Michael Regan has stated that...more
The U.S. Senate recently passed the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act (Act) by a 92-8 vote to help American farmers, ranchers and private forest owners adopt, and ultimately profit from, activities that reduce or...more
President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate has wrapped up. The event saw world leaders highlighting their countries’ respective climate commitments, calling for collective action, and attending breakout sessions designed to...more
Key Points
- On Earth Day, the Biden-Harris administration announced a new target for the United States to achieve a 50 to 52 percent reduction in economy-wide GHG emissions by 2030, which constitutes the country’s new NDC...more
5/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Electricity ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) ,
NHTSA ,
Paris Agreement ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
The Biden administration’s Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (the “Working Group”) took its first step to update the costs to society from carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide pollution....more
Yesterday, we wrote about the potential impact of the nomination of so-called “Money Cop” Gary Gensler to chair the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Well, now it appears that Gensler will have a new sheriff on...more
As we previewed yesterday morning, January 27 was the Biden administration’s “Climate Day.”
Yesterday’s actions—two executive orders and a presidential memorandum—provided further detail on the President’s roadmap for...more
Key Points
- President Biden’s Day One Executive Order on climate action reconvenes an interagency working group to establish interim and final social costs of three GHGs: carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane.
-...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NEPA ,
Net Zero ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Working Groups
- Democrats in the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis have released a Climate Crisis Action Plan that aims to achieve net-zero emissions throughout the United States by 2050 and “net-negative” emissions by 2100,...more
Key Points
- House Democrats have released draft text for the CLEAN Future Act, a comprehensive climate bill that aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas pollution throughout the United States by 2050 by directing federal...more
2/10/2020
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Trump Administration
In a victory for environmental groups, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling this week with far-reaching consequences for energy projects on federal lands and “the attention the government must...more
3/25/2019
/ Bureau of Land Management ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Violations ,
Federal Land ,
Government Agencies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas
Last week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) released more details on the much-anticipated “Green New Deal” in the form of a non-binding resolution. As the name suggests, the legislators modeled...more
2/13/2019
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Economic Development ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Green Infrastructure ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Job Creation ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Renewable Energy ,
Research and Development ,
Transportation Industry
On September 11, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed rule to amend various provisions of a key Obama-era regulation that sought to reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas...more
9/13/2018
/ Amended Regulation ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rollbacks
On Tuesday, August 21, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule, a proposal to replace the Clean Power Plan issued in 2015. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler...more
8/23/2018
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Coal-Fired Generation ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Proposed Rules ,
Renewable Energy
On Thursday, August 2, 2018, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly proposed a rule to freeze the fuel...more
8/3/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fuel Standards ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
NHTSA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Rules
Earlier this week, on April 30, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quietly modified its source determination test that is used to determine whether emissions from nearby and closely related sources should be...more
5/7/2018
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Landfills ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Separate Entity Rule ,
Source Determination Rule ,
Title V
A climate change lawsuit involving constitutional “issues of first impression” recently achieved a small victory as it pursues a court order directing the U.S. federal government to take actions to reduce greenhouse gas...more
President Trump’s decision earlier this month to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement—an international, nonbinding agreement to take steps to limit global temperature rise—followed a series of moves at the...more
6/20/2017
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Commercial Buildings ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Tax Incentives ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
Power Plants ,
Renewable Energy ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
On June 1, 2017, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement (the “Agreement”), describing it as “disadvantaging the United States” and indicating that the United States...more
6/14/2017
/ Article II ,
Barack Obama ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Green Climate Fund (GCF) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) ,
Modification ,
Paris Agreement ,
Trump Administration ,
UNFCCC ,
Withdrawal