DOE announced the availability of the preliminary list of potential national interest electric transmission corridors, the designation of which would focus public and policymaker attention on the areas of greatest transmission need and unlock valuable federal financing and permitting tools to advance transmission development.
DOE amended its regulations for the timely coordination of federal authorizations for proposed interstate electric transmission facilities pursuant to the Federal Power Act.
In July 2023, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) resolved to reduce international shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero “by or around, i.e., close to” 2050. There is a long-running debate about whether the sector should decarbonize and how it could do so in a way that is equitable for states and the shipping industry. This Article is the first to normatively define shipping’s fair share of the overall climate mitigation burden using principles of international environmental law.
Methane is estimated to be responsible for one-third of the global rise in temperatures from greenhouse gases; it is shorter-lived but much more potent than carbon dioxide. The United States and the European Union (E.U.) launched the Global Methane Pledge at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). At COP28’s Global Methane Pledge Ministerial last December, new strategies were announced, including the E.U.’s first-ever adoption of methane regulations and a final rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce methane from the oil and gas industry.
DOE established energy performance standards for the new construction and major renovation of federal buildings per the Energy Conservation and Production Act, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
BLM updated procedures governing the Bureau’s renewable energy and right-of-way programs, focusing on two main topics: solar and wind energy generation rents and fees; and agency discretion to process applications for solar and wind energy generation rights-of-way inside designated leasing areas.
EPA announced an opportunity for public input on ENERGY STAR product specification development activities.
Concerned by methane’s potent climate-altering emissions, a growing number of states and municipalities have embraced the phaseout of natural gas as a tool to mitigate climate change. But in April 2023, the California Restaurant Association successfully petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to overturn the city of Berkeley’s ban on natural gas infrastructure in new buildings. The three-judge panel found the ban preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act, and in January 2024, the Ninth Circuit denied Berkeley’s petition for rehearing.
Over the last three decades, numerous studies have concluded that African American, Hispanic, Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and working-class White communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental harms and risks. More recent studies have concluded that although the adverse effects of climate change are being felt throughout the United States, they are not evenly distributed. This Article explores how several states have initiated climate justice litigation to address this issue.
On October 7, 2023, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the most far-reaching corporate climate disclosure (CCD) requirements in the United States. This so-called California Climate Accountability Package consists of the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (Senate Bill (SB) 253), which requires certain companies to disclose greenhouse gas emission data, and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (SB 261), which requires certain companies to disclose climate-related financial risks.