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 […]
By Adam D. Riedel Associate Director, Columbia Center for Climate Change Law International climate negotiators are meeting in Panama from October 1 -7 in a final round of talks prior to the next Conference of the Parties (“COP”) meeting in Durban, South Africa. The meeting, formally known as the third […]
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) […]
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 […]
by Ken Zhong JD Candidate, Columbia Law School On July 14th, 2011, Texas-based renewable energy developer Mesa Power Group, owned by billionaire T. Boone Pickens, initiated a complaint against Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The complaint alleges that Ontario arbitrarily instituted a rule change in June […]
By Danielle Sugarman Fellow In a major setback in the effort to limit carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, on July 14th, American Electric Power Company (AEP)[1] announced that it would be putting on hold its plans to build a full scale carbon capture plant at Mountaineer, a […]