Tag: GHG

Vehicle emissions

Consumer Choice Factored Heavily into Vehicle Rule

According to the EPA and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), ensuring that Americans can buy the types of cars and light trucks they prefer is at the heart of the EPA’s/NHTSA’s final rule amending and establishing carbon dioxide (CO2) and fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks.

Refrigerants, fridge

HFC Refrigerant Requirements Relaxed by EPA

Following a second look at its authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the EPA has issued a final rule rescinding the leak-repair requirements of a 2016 rule the Obama EPA issued for refrigerants used to replace Class I or II ozone-depleting substances (ODSs).

Energy infrastructure

EIA Forecasts U.S. and Global Energy Cases, CO2 Emissions

According to projections by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the United States from burning fossil fuels to generate energy will decrease during the early to mid-2020s but will then begin to increase all the way to 2050. The reason, says the EIA, is that “economic growth and increasing […]

Refrigerants

Most Industry Stakeholders Support HFC Reduction Bill

There is strong support in the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) industry for a bill in the U.S. Congress that would significantly reduce the nation’s use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), one of the world’s most common refrigerants and a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG).

Washington State

Washington State’s Indirect Emitter Regulation Found Invalid

In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court of Washington State upheld a ruling by a lower court that found that the state’s Department of Ecology (Ecology) exceeded its statutory authority by promulgating a regulation that imposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards on indirect emitters of those gases. According to the majority, the “plain language” of […]

exhaust coming out of car tailpipe

EPA’s Actions on Vehicle GHG Standards Not Reviewable

Seventeen states, the District of Columbia, and seven of the nation’s top environmental groups petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the legality of the Trump EPA’s decision to withdraw the Obama EPA’s January 2017 determination that the Agency’s 2012 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for model year (MY) 2022–2025 […]

Emissions, Clean Air Act

Many Processes—But Few Solutions—for Industrial GHG Emissions

In 2017, industrial activity accounted for 22% of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, third behind transportation (29%) and electricity (28%). When adding indirect emissions from the off-site generation of electricity needed to power industrial facilities, the share increases to 29.7%.

RFS Has Only a Small Impact on GHG Emissions

For the second time in 3 years, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has cast doubt on whether the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is having any more than a negligible effect on U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).