John Podesta, Counselor to the President, who oversees climate change and energy policy for the administration is departing the White House and will now be a top adviser to presumed Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. He discussed the administration’s efforts on climate policy in an interview with the Washington Post. “I think we’ve done a very,… Keep reading →
The Climate Department of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently published an article entitled “Regarding the Fundamental Conditions and Operational Thinking Behind the Promotion and Establishment of the National Carbon Emissions Rights Trading Market” (National Market Plan).
This speech is important. Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden says that it is time for the oil industry to join the debate over climate change. Shell has long advocated for a price on carbon, but in a speech Thursday in London he took the message farther by saying: “Our sector needs to enter… Keep reading →
A new report from Oxford University says that the most promising “Negative Emissions Technologies” (NETs) for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the near term are also among the simplest: afforestation, soil carbon improvements and biochar. These are considered “No Regret” technologies because they offer co-benefits such as improved soil vitality, low cost, and… Keep reading →
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a robust Clean Air Act agenda for 2015. Not only has a new interstate pollution and allowance trading regime kicked in (effective Jan. 1), but the agency has announced that it will publish final carbon standards this summer for new and existing power plants and embark on an aggressive strategy to reduce methane emissions.
Global supply chains could be headed for big trouble. “Marginal or no improvements”, tantamount to a lack of preparation, leave supply chains in the US, China, India and Brazil more exposed to climate risks than those in France, the UK and Japan finds a new global study from CDP – formerly known as ‘Carbon Disclosure… Keep reading →
The EPA has added fuel to the fire in the debate over Keystone XL. The EPA filed new comments with the State Department that could give the White House additional cover to deny approval of the controversial project. The EPA said that the recent drop in oil prices could mean that construction of the pipeline… Keep reading →
Following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2014 proposal to regulate carbon emissions from electric power plants and other major sources, federal energy regulators have scheduled a series of public technical conferences on how the Clean Power Plan may affect electric reliability, wholesale electric markets and operations, and energy infrastructure.
The World Resources Institute, a highly respected environmental think tank issued a new report this week arguing against the widespread use of biofuels. While acknowledging that waste biomass, such as food waste or urban tree trimmings can be efficiently harvested for fuel, the overall quantities would be relatively limited. Biomass crops on the other… Keep reading →
The Obama administration interrupted Washington’s Keystone XL focus on Wednesday with an announcement that could have more profound long-term impact than the controversial pipeline – a regulatory push to cut methane emissions from the surging U.S. oil and gas industry. The administration said the Environmental Protection Agency would craft a new rule to set standards… Keep reading →
