Mark Bond Columbia Law School, Class of 2015 In 2011, governments around the world committed to deliver a new, universal, and binding greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction agreement for the period beyond 2020 by 2015. This agreement is to be adopted this December at the twenty-first Conference of the Parties to […]
Congress
Meredith Wilensky, CCCL Associate Director & Fellow The United States is currently negotiating the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade and investment agreement, with 11 other Pacific Rim countries. From the outset of TPP negotiations, the Obama Administration has said it would “insist on a robust, fully […]
Ethan I. Strell, Esq. Associate Director & Fellow Columbia Center for Climate Change Law Earlier this week, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a massive 1582-page, over $1 trillion consolidated appropriations bill. On page 706 of the current version of the bill, a one-sentence rider was inserted that would delay […]
by Shelley Welton, Fellow Although President Obama’s climate change speech on Tuesday, June 25 was relatively vague about the details of how carbon emissions from existing power plants would be regulated, the memorandum he issued to the EPA on that same day provides a few more interesting details.
On March 15, 2013, President Obama formally announced his plan to create an “Energy Security Trust” to promote research and development of clean energy technologies. The Trust was first mentioned by President Obama in his State of the Union address earlier this year, but he had not elaborated on the […]
The Doha talks this week, particularly in the Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA), have discussed greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation and maritime transport. In particular, the question is whether these emissions are best addressed within the UNFCCC framework or by the relevant specialist international organizations: the […]
By Adam Riedel, Associate Director The U.S. Energy Information Administration has just published a new study, commissioned by Representative Ralph Hall (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, examining the climate and financial impacts of pursuing a national “clean energy standard” (CES).[1] Hall specified the structure of […]
by Ross Wolfarth JD Candidate, 2012 On July 27, 2011, the House Transportation Committee Subcommittee on Aviation held a contentious hearing on the European Union’s plan to incorporate aviation into its CO2 cap-and-trade plan, known as the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). Beginning in 2012, the EU will require airlines to […]