Back in the game: Brazil’s reengagement in climate governance

  To say that Brazilians are an environmentally conscious people (and soccer afficionados) is an understatement. The country has an established reputation in both fields. Brazil is the most successful international team in World Cup history. Perhaps less excitingly, but more consequentially, Brazil also has a long tradition of progressive […]

New York City’s Local Law 97: REC Mechanism Lacks Additionality; Will Set Price Too Low

By Amy Turner This blog post is adapted from testimony delivered at the New York City Department of Buildings hearing on proposed rule §103-14, Procedures for Reporting on and Complying with Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Certain Buildings in connection with the City’s building performance standard, Local Law 97. The […]

Are Collective Net Zero Targets Anticompetitive?

  Over 150 business climate collaborations have arisen in recent years as the private sector has begun to grapple with its role in combatting climate change. The functions of these associations range from establishing shared net zero targets to developing frameworks for carbon accounting. As these groups have proliferated, they […]

Cities: EPA Request for Information on Green Banks Established by the Inflation Reduction Act

By Amy Turner On October 21, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released a request for information (RFI) regarding Section 60103 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), also known as the IRA’s “green bank” provisions. These provisions add a new section 134 to the Clean Air Act establishing a […]

Solar panels reduce CO2 emissions more per acre than trees – and much more than corn ethanol

On September 21, 2022, the New York Times published an essay by Gabriel Popkin titled “Are There Better Places to Put Large Solar Farms Than These Forests?” Popkin describes a recently approved 4,500-acre solar project in Virginia that will remove approximately 3,500 acres of forest and asks whether such projects […]

Siting Renewables in New York: Updates from ORES Executive Director Houtan Moaveni and Suggestions from Panelists on How to Further Improve the New Siting Process

On September 22, 2022, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Columbia Climate School co-hosted a Climate Week NYC webinar on “Siting Renewables in New York: Ambitious Climate Goals, a New Siting Process, and How It Is Going.” This blog post will summarize the highlights of the event, […]