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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).
The responsibilities of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) are clearly spelled out in the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). But the gap between Republicans and Democrats over how the CEQ should implement those responsibilities is so wide that an objective observer might conclude that the two parties are not talking about […]
Hundreds of U.S. cities of all sizes are not waiting for the federal government to recommit to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and regain its position as the world leader in stemming climate change. At an April 2, 2019, House hearing, the mayors of three of those cities told their stories of commitment to a […]
It is that time of year again. Regulatory agencies across the country want to know, “What did you emit?” From February through June, sources of air emissions are required to submit annual emissions statements or reports to the appropriate regulatory agency quantifying the pollutants they emitted during 2018.
In the latest of its periodic reports on what the legislative branch is doing about climate change, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) notes that lawmakers in eight Congresses over the last 15 years have introduced bills to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 60 times.
Several days after the United Nations’ (U.N.) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued the latest of its reports on the global consequences of climate change, President Donald Trump surprised observers by not dismissing the report’s predictions and warnings. Instead, in a response to a reporter’s question, the president said he intends to “look at” […]
In a deregulatory action, the EPA is proposing to amend an Obama-era rule that extended certain regulations promulgated under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 608, which apply to Class I and II refrigerants that are ozone-depleting substances (ODSs), to non-ODSs used as substitute for ODSs.
In a majority opinion, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found that Oregon state violated neither the dormant Interstate Commerce Clause nor a provision of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) when it assigned a carbon intensity value to transportation fuels produced out of state and imported into Oregon, […]
Shortly after the Trump EPA proposed to replace the Obama EPA’s Clean Power Plan with its more industry-friendly Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, the Massachusetts Supreme Court went in the opposite direction by denying a petition to overturn a state regulation imposing a progressive cap on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the power sector.
The EPA’s proposed Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule (August 31, 2018, Federal Register (FR)) to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing power plants includes a new approach to the Agency’s New Source Review (NSR) program.