Amy Turner

22 posts
Amy Turner is the Director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.

Inflation Reduction Act: Implementation Gaps for Local Governments & How to Close Them

In the nine months since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, much has been made of the law’s potential to fund, support, and catalyze local climate action (including by me). The IRA promises to be transformative for climate action at the local level and beyond. Still, […]

Campanile, Clock Tower, UC Berkeley

Ninth Circuit Holds Berkeley’s Gas Ban Preempted by U.S. Energy Policy & Conservation Act

On Monday, April 17, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit handed down a decision in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley. The court overturned a District Court ruling to invalidate a Berkeley, California, prohibition on natural gas infrastructure in newly-constructed buildings. Berkeley’s so-called “natural gas […]

New Details about the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund & Takeaways for Cities

This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released preliminary program design details for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) established by Section 60103 of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Specifically, the EPA published two “assistance listings” designed to help potential applicants identify funding opportunities. The publication stops short […]

New York City’s Local Law 97: REC Mechanism Lacks Additionality; Will Set Price Too Low

By Amy Turner This blog post is adapted from testimony delivered at the New York City Department of Buildings hearing on proposed rule §103-14, Procedures for Reporting on and Complying with Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Certain Buildings in connection with the City’s building performance standard, Local Law 97. The […]

Cities: EPA Request for Information on Green Banks Established by the Inflation Reduction Act

By Amy Turner On October 21, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released a request for information (RFI) regarding Section 60103 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), also known as the IRA’s “green bank” provisions. These provisions add a new section 134 to the Clean Air Act establishing a […]

Cities & the Inflation Reduction Act

By Amy Turner On August 16, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (or “IRA”), widely hailed as the most ambitious piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. The bill is sprawling, covering climate and energy topics as diverse as electric vehicles, building decarbonization, clean energy manufacturing and supply chains, […]

Cooperative Federalism, As Applied: Building Electrification

By Amy Turner Earlier this month, groups supporting the City of Berkeley, California filed six amicus briefs in the appellate proceeding California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. At issue in the case is whether the U.S. Energy Policy […]

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATIONS FILE BRIEF TO NINTH CIRCUIT IN SUPPORT OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA’S NATURAL GAS RESTRICTION

By Amy Turner, Michael Burger & Jennifer Danis Today, the Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National League of Cities, the League of California Cities, and the California State Association of Counties in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, a case before the U.S. Court […]