You can’t open a newspaper (or news website) these days without seeing an article about global warming. The discussion is generally shifting from whether or not climate change is occurring, to mitigation and adaptation strategies. Along with several popular climate change mitigation measures, this infographic features some creative ideas about how humans might slow atmospheric… Keep reading →
EPA has issued final Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations to conditionally exclude carbon dioxide (CO2) streams in geologic sequestration activities from the definition of hazardous waste. On January 3, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final revisions for hazardous waste management under RCRA to conditionally exclude CO2 streams from the definition of… Keep reading →
The intragency panel price per ton of carbon incorporated into the Environmental Protection Agency’s microwave rule seems to set the standard, or at least the starting point, for the federal government’s estimate of the social cost of carbon. Benjamin Zycher, visiting scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, has argued that that cost “fails”. Zycher hosted… Keep reading →
Even the Tea Party is pushing back on the conservative political group’s claims. A curious thing happened in Georgia this month. As the state’s public service commission was considering a proposal for 525 megawatts of solar PV — a program fiercely opposed by Georgia Power — an unlikely alliance formed to support more solar. The… Keep reading →
Logging could result in large amounts of carbon being released from deep in forest soils, according to a new study. It’s a timely report given Europe’s growing embrace of wood as a carbon neutral energy source. That Europe is relying on wood to meet its renewable energy goal of 20 percent by 2020 might surprise… Keep reading →
Today the International Energy Agency released a World Energy Outlook special report: Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, which highlights the need for intensive action before 2020. The analysts suggest 4 policy measures that can limit global temperature increase with no net economic cost. The US carbon market shows signs of life, with carbon credit prices hitting… Keep reading →
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, in his State of the State address, proposed a tougher carbon cap for states covered under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) cap-and-trade program. The proposal underscores RGGI’s opportunity for achieving even greater emissions reductions in future years, as its current carbon cap remains significantly higher than actual emissions produced in the nine member states.
Laying out an energy- and climate-intensive policy agenda for New York, in his address on January 9, 2013, Governor Cuomo proposed a tougher RGGI carbon cap as part of efforts to address climate change and clean energy development in the state. RGGI, the nation’s first carbon cap-and-trade program, has helped reduce CO2 emissions levels by 30% across member states since inception in 2008. However, RGGI’s current carbon cap of 165 million tons of CO2 per year is now much higher than actual emissions produced in member states – only 91 million tons (expected total) in 2012. With a cap this high, RGGI states may have emitted 45% more carbon last year and still met program compliance. Keep reading →
When it comes to saving energy and pursuing sustainability, corporate peer pressure can be a wonderful thing.
That’s the experience of Walmart, which since 2010 has been using its own environmental policies, along with its considerable corporate muscle, to persuade suppliers to join its ongoing campaign to reduce carbon emissions. Keep reading →
