In a report published last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that, to keep global average temperatures within 1.5oC above pre-industrial levels, greenhouse gas emissions must reach net zero by mid-century. According to the IPCC, to achieve net zero emissions, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will be […]
Romany Webb
32 posts
On April 20, 2022, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized revisions to the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The revisions undo changes made to the regulations during the Trump administration, which critics alleged could prevent federal agencies’ considering climate change in NEPA reviews. […]
On Monday, March 21, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new rules aimed at enhancing public companies’ disclosure of climate-related risks. The proposed rule, which was supported by three of the four sitting SEC Commissioners, notes that “climate-related risks have present financial consequences that investors in public companies […]
By Jennifer Danis and Romany Webb The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)—i.e., the federal agency responsible for approving interstate gas pipelines—yesterday announced two major statements explaining how it proposes to: (1) realign its fossil fuel infrastructure approval process with the Natural Gas Act (NGA)’s mandate to only approve projects that […]
By Romany Webb During his campaign for President, Joe Biden promised to “use the full authority of the executive branch to . . . significantly reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions,” including by “banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters.” Consistent with that promise, one week after taking […]
This post was co-authored by the Sabin Center’s Romany Webb and Stephanie Jones and Michael Panfil of Environmental Defense Fund. From pipelines destabilized by melting permafrost to power line-sparked wildfires exacerbated by drought, the impacts of climate change are affecting infrastructure across the U.S. and heightening the risks it poses […]
By Romany M. Webb On Tuesday, November 2, the Biden administration unveiled a suite of measures aimed at controlling methane emissions from oil and natural gas facilities. Key among those measures are new emissions controls proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under section 111 of the Clean Air Act. […]
By Korey Silverman-Roati and Romany M. Webb The Sabin Center today released the second in a series of white papers discussing legal issues associated with different ocean-based carbon dioxide removal techniques. Today’s paper focuses on seaweed cultivation—i.e., the growing of kelp and other macroalgae which may be harvested for food, […]