In a surprise procedural decision on Feb. 9, the U.S. Supreme Court put the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan on pause while a lower court reviews it. The Court did not weigh in on the merits of the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan, and didn’t explain its reasoning, so we don’t know the legal basis for this… Keep reading →
Royal Dutch Shell shares rose after it confirmed it would cut 10,000 jobs and a sharp fall in annual profits. [BBC News] According to new data just released in the 2016 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook — a project of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the shift from coal to clean energy may be occurring earlier… Keep reading →
If the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) were a candidate in this election year, its track record would invite landslide defeat. Editorial boards of major newspapers are now echoing what a diverse coalition of restaurant associations, grocers, producers of poultry, pork and beef, environmental non-profits and anti-hunger groups have been saying for years. Arguing that “there… Keep reading →
The Natural Gas STAR Methane Challenge Program unveiled last week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is a perfect example of what can go wrong when the agency tries too hard to entice an unwilling industry to engage. For years, EPA has offered voluntary “pollution prevention” programs to encourage companies to achieve environmental goals faster… Keep reading →
While it is likely that the Obama Administration will continue to be a major focus of GOP-led oversight inquiries in 2016, industry stakeholders, particularly those affected by legislation or proposed regulations, should also expect to face additional scrutiny.
In an important step forward in curbing methane emissions from the nation’s oil and gas sector, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today announced a regulatory proposal aimed at wasteful practices that shortchange taxpayers, squander energy resources and threaten the Earth’s climate. The proposal, which will apply to both new and existing oil and gas… Keep reading →
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pledges to start 2016 “hitting the ground running” to build on a “monumental” 2015. In a blog post last week, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy signaled her agency will continue its focus on methane and carbon regulations. Absent from EPA’s plans was any acknowledgement that methane and carbon emissions are already down. Recognizing… Keep reading →
Citing German privacy laws, Volkswagen has refused to provide emails or other communications among its executives to attorneys general in the United States, impeding American investigations into the company’s emissions-cheating scandal. [The NY Times] Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today awarded $46 million in assistance to the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation to support energy efficiency and… Keep reading →
On December 21, 2015, the EPA Administrator signed off on a fairly lengthy package of proposed changes to the GHG Reporting Rule.
On December 4, 2015, the nine member states of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) released the results of their 30th quarterly carbon auction (Auction 30) held on December 2. All allowances were sold at a clearing price of $7.50 each, generating approximately $115.3 million. The clearing price reached a new high, in line with… Keep reading →
