By Shelley Welton, Deputy Director An ongoing battle over the potential tensions between air quality regulations and electric grid reliability has picked up steam recently, as two EPA air pollution regulations near the implementation phase: the cross-state air-pollution rule and the mercury and air toxics standard. Congressional Republicans and many […]
Energy
298 posts
By Julia Dobtsis JD Candidate, 2012 Cornell Law School On October 20, 2011, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced the adoption its long awaited Air Resources Board Emissions Trading Program. The state-administered program is the first of its kind in the nation. It is considered to be a crucial […]
by Shelley Welton, Deputy Director & Legal Fellow The question of how to regulate emissions leakage is at the forefront of policy makers’ minds in both California and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) states. A previous post described the problem of leakage; this post gives an overview of how […]
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 Adam Riedel U.S. Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu has consistently touted the benefits of white or reflective roofs and “cool pavements” (white or lightly colored pavements) in combating climate change, and has even mandated that all new roofs on Energy Department buildings be either white or reflective. Studies have […]
By Shelley Welton Deputy Director & Fellow Yesterday (Tuesday, October 11), the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) held one of a series of stakeholder learning sessions devoted to possible program reforms. Tuesday’s session focused on electricity markets and electricity imports, tackling the important questions of whether RGGI should enact an […]
Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law (CCCL) has prepared a first draft of a model small-scale solar-siting ordinance. The model ordinance offers a framework that can enable municipalities to implement and enforce the effective and efficient use of solar energy resources. The ordinance would govern all new solar […]
by Daniel Firger Associate Director NOTE: This blog post is excerpted from a new report published on July 28, 2011 by the Columbia Center for Climate Change Law. The full report can be downloaded here (PDF). Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel, releasing far higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) […]