by Daniel Firger Associate Director As a result of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, speculation is mounting that Japan will be unable to meet its greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol and may declare “force […]
By Julia Ciardullo Fellow On March 11, 2011, the plaintiff-appellees in American Electric Power Co. Inc., et al., v. Connecticut, et al. (No. 10-174) – six states,[1] the City of New York, and three land trusts[2] – filed their opposing briefs with the United States Supreme Court (the “Court”). In […]
Gregory E. Wannier Deputy Director As discussed previously, EPA has issued a series of four rules designed to initiate regulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act (“underlying regulations”). As litigation challenging the legality of these regulations moves forward in the DC Circuit, and legislation seeking to limit […]
by Daniel Firger Associate Director Europe is doubling down on decarbonization. On March 8, 2011, the European Commission (EC) released its widely anticipated “roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050.” The roadmap calls for both short- and longer-term cuts in EU-wide GHG emissions: 20% below 1990 […]
by Laura Mulry Fellow The national public interest in developing renewable energy projects, expedited by the Obama Administration’s goal of generating 80% of the nation’s electricity from clean energy sources by 2035, is being met with opposition from Native Americans seeking to preserve sites sacred to their cultural heritage, some […]
By Danielle Sugarman Fellow Taking advantage of the fact that government funding was set to run out on March 4th, House Republicans used the need for a Continuing Resolution (“CR”) on the Fiscal Year 2011 budget to push through radical cuts in the discretionary budget and additional provisions that, if […]
by Daniel Firger Associate Director When Ross Perot spoke of “that giant sucking sound” back in 1992, he was warning of NAFTA’s potential to drive manufacturing jobs south of the border to cheaper Mexican facilities. These days, the sucking sound is loudest in China – not Mexico – and it […]
Gregory E. Wannier Deputy Director CCCL recently released a report detailing options for implementing potential cap and trade regimes through federal-state partnerships under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act (§111). This report, written jointly with the World Resources Institute, asserts that cap and trade regulations are legally defensible under […]