The Boston Air Pollution Control Commission has formally adopted its “Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance Phase 1 Regulations.” The Phase 1 regulations are really all about the “disclosure” side of BERDO. The “reduction” side will be addressed by the Phase 2 regulations, which at this point are scheduled to be completed by the
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The Social Cost of Carbon Lives! The Red States Have Nothing To Complain About
The Fifth Circuit has stayed an order blocking Biden administration use of the “Interim Estimates” of the social cost of greenhouse gases. The Court did not leave much doubt that the administration will prevail on the merits. 
Issuance of a stay is based on criteria very similar to those regarding entry of an injunction. The
The D.C. Circuit Again Requires FERC to Consider the Environmental Impacts of Downstream Use of Gas: How Big a Deal Is It?
Last week, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals again rejected a FERC NEPA review for failure to assess the climate impacts resulting from the downstream use of natural gas supplied by a gas pipeline upgrade project approved by FERC. The Court found that FERC was too quick to conclude that those downstream impacts could
EPA Restores the California Advanced Clean Car Program; GHG Emissions From Transportation Will Continue For Some Time
EPA has now formally restored its waiver under § 209(b) of the Clean Air Act that allows California’s greenhouse gas emissions standards and Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, notwithstanding the preemption of state vehicle emission standards contained in § 209(a) of the CAA. EPA also restored the authority of other states under § 177 of the
The Impact of Exposure to Leaded Gasoline Was Horrific: Will We Say the Same in 2050 About the Impact of PM2.5 Exposure?
An article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (login required) has documented the devastating impact caused by the use of leaded gasoline. The study estimates that more than half of Americans alive in 2015 had been subject to unsafe blood lead levels as children. The study further estimates that the impact of
DOJ Gets Off Its Moral High Horse: Ameren Missouri Will Close Early
In January, I noted that Ameren Missouri had surrendered in its defense of the NSR enforcement action brought by DOJ with respect to the Rush Island generating facility. Ameren Missouri submitted to the Court a proposal to shut Rush Island early rather than install expensive pollution control equipment. 
None of this was really news. What
AIG Integrates Climate Into Its Investment and Underwriting Decisions: It’s Progress, But Is It Enough?
Last week, AIG significantly restricted its underwriting of and investment in fossil fuel projects. Specifically, it announced the following actions:
- With immediate effect, committed to no longer invest in or provide insurance for construction of any new coal-fired power plants, thermal coal mines or oil sands;
- With immediate effect, committed to no longer invest in
In a Grim World, Even a Sliver of Positive Environmental News Is a Good Thing
Earlier this week, the United National Environmental Programme (doesn’t everything just look better with British spelling!) announced that 175 nations had approved a resolution titled “End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument.” If the ambition of the resolution wasn’t clear from the title, perhaps this quote from the UNEP press release
Shareholder Activism or Divestment? The Massachusetts Pension Fund Chooses Activism
The Boston Globe reported yesterday that the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board approved investment guidelines that would have the Board vote against directors of companies in which the Board invests where the company does not have a plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. 
As the Globe notes, there is something of
Some Say the World Will End in Climate Change, Some Say in Plastic
For those of you who don’t think that worrying about climate change is enough to keep you busy, you might want to take a look at this study commissioned by the WWF, Impacts of Plastic Pollution in the Oceans on Marine Species, Biodiversity and Ecosystems. 
The report estimates that approximately 20 million metric tons