By Julia Ciardullo Fellow On May 26, 2011, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced that New Jersey will withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”) by the end of the year. RGGI is a regional cap-and-trade system encompassing 10 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.[1] Governor Christie’s authority to withdraw arises […]
State Activity
29 posts
Laura Mulry Fellow April 2011 was an eventful month for massive solar projects in California and their unlikely opponent: the desert tortoise. As climate change, overpopulation, and development place ever more plant and animal species at risk of extinction, prominent environmental groups, Native Americans, and local residents have brought a […]
By Julia Ciardullo Fellow On April 19, 2011, the same day the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in American Electric Power Co. Inc., et al., v. Connecticut, et al., the Supreme Court of Virginia heard oral arguments in a less well known climate-related case, AES Corp. v. Steadfast […]
By Danielle Sugarman Fellow On Wednesday May 11, 2011 the New Hampshire State Senate voted to remain in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The move followed months of speculation after the passage of House Bill 519 in February, in which the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to withdraw […]
On May 4, 2011 a group of five teenager plaintiffs, together with two non-profit environmental groups, filed suit against the federal government in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, in San Francisco. The complaint (PDF), seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, contains only one cause of action: […]
By Danielle Sugarman Fellow Recently New York has taken a step forward in ramping up its solar energy commitment. In February of 2011 New York Assembly member Steven Englebright (D), along with Energy Committee Chair Assembly member Kevin Cahill (D), introduced The Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act of 2011 […]
Gregory E. Wannier Deputy Director In the secondary round of activity regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from stationary sources, EPA has sought to establish permitting programs under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) section of the Clean Air Act, in conjunction with individual states through their State Implementation Plans (SIPs). […]
Laura Mulry Fellow Implementation of California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 was recently placed on hold, putting its 2012 start date in doubt following a California Superior Court decision. The law, which California voters defended in rejecting referendum 23, is now facing a major setback from environmental justice […]