CEQ announced the availability of and seeks comment on an interim guidance document, Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration Guidance, to assist federal agencies with the regulation and permitting of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration activities in the United States.
EPA announced the availability of and seek comment on the Draft Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2020.
Agriculture’s contribution to climate change is much more substantial than official figures suggest. We will not be able to achieve our overall mitigation goals unless agricultural emissions sharply decline. Farms and ranches can be a major part of the climate solution, while protecting biodiversity, strengthening rural communities, and improving the lives of the workers who cultivate our crops and rear our animals. Agriculture climate solutions are critical elements both in ensuring our food security and in limiting climate change.
The rapid transition of energy resources from fossil fuels toward renewables has been widely recognized as an essential tool in mitigating climate change. Yet, renewable energy development projects and facilities can be land use-intensive and have the potential to negatively impact conservation areas. To attempt to tackle these issues, President Joseph Biden signed Executive Order No.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program announced the availability of and seeks comment on the proposed themes and framework of the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
Courts across the globe recognize that human-induced climate change leads to more frequent and severe extreme weather and other events, resulting in significant damages to persons and property. Although courts have therefore ordered countries and corporations to take more aggressive actions to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, no court has yet required any emitter to pay damages for injuries from a climate changerelated event. Causation issues remain a significant obstacle to such claims.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration repealed in full "The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule Part One: One National Program," in which the agency codified regulatory text and made additional pronouncements regarding the preemption of state and local laws related to fuel economy standards.
The president issued Executive Order No. 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability; the order sets forth a governmentwide approach for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and catalyzing private sector investment to expand the economy and American industry to be clean and sustainable.
Environmentally conscious financiers are increasingly pursuing green ventures, especially through green bonds and stocks, social investing, and social benefit corporations. On September 21, 2021, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts for its Environmental Law and Finance Series that explored the regulatory process for green bonds and stocks, best practices for advising stakeholders and clients interested in green bonds, and the opportunities and challenges of leveraging green financial tools to combat climate change.
Over the last few decades, 30 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted renewable portfolio standard (RPS) programs. These programs vary substantially, with most states having a restriction or preference with respect to whether renewables are located in-state or in-region. This Article takes a cross-disciplinary approach to analyzing these programs: first, by looking at how geographic limitations may run afoul of the dormant Commerce Clause (DCC); and second, by considering empirical research on how geographic provisions affect RPS programs’ cost-effectiveness.