Climate Change

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ASTM International (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials) recently published a proposed voluntary standard entitled “Financial Disclosures Attributed to Climate Change,” intended to provide guidance on when public company disclosure of climate change matters is required.  While the standard itself isn’t available via the Internet, a summary is available from the Brattle Group, which …

In case there was any doubt after the recent watershed election, the times they are a-changin’. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board’s (“EAB”) recent ruling, In Re Deseret Power Electric Cooperative, could pave the way for EPA-imposed CO2 emissions limits on power plants and other significant sources of CO2 emissions. In response to a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club over the EPA’s issuance of a permit authorizing the construction of a new coal generating unit near Bonanza, Utah, the EAB has ruled that the EPA must consider CO2 emissions when determining whether to issue permits for new power plants. Continue Reading A Change in Direction: EPA Must Consider CO2 Emissions When Issuing Permits for New Power Plants

In a move that could have a significant impact on the energy sector (and create a buzz among political science departments) nationwide, Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) has dethroned Representative John Dingell (D-MI) in his nearly 28-year post as chairman of the influential Committee on Energy and Commerce. The 137-122 secret vote has shaken up the…

In a decision of great importance to the wind energy industry, the Washington State Supreme Court this morning upheld the approval of Horizon Wind Energy’s Kittitas Valley Wind Power Project.  See Residents Opposed to Kittitas Turbines  v State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC).   The wind project will be located to the east and…

California has not been afraid to jump off the deep end when it comes to tackling some of the biggest environmental concerns of our era. With the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, otherwise known as AB 32, California was the first state to institute mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reductions. And Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar has been right there with the Legislature. While AB 32 mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, in 2005 the Governor called for even further reductions: 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. 

California is going full steam ahead with AB 32, and also SB 375, which implements a variety of land use and planning requirements and incentives to encourage urban development, decrease vehicle miles traveled, and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Meanwhile, Governor Schwarzeneggar is also planning for the worst case scenario. Executive Order S-13-08, released on October 14, 2008, addresses planning for the probable effects of climate change. The Executive Order makes the case that “the longer that California delays planning and adapting to sea level rise the more expensive and difficult adaptation will be.” This may sound like commonsense, but it’s also demonstrated by the numbers. As the Order points out, “billions of dollars in state funding for infrastructure and resource management projects are currently being encumbered in areas that are potentially vulnerable to future sea level rise.”

The Order tasks a conglomeration of state agencies with coordinating the preparation of a Sea Level Rise Assessment Report by December 2010. In the interim, all state agencies planning construction projects in vulnerable areas have to consider “a range of sea level rise scenarios for 2050 to 2100.” The vulnerability of a project must be assessed, and the agency must reduce risks and increase resiliency to sea level rise to the extent feasible. An agency is off the hook for this additional analysis if it has already issued a Notice of Preparation for an environmental impact report under the California Environmental Quality Act, or a project is programmed for construction funding in the next five years. 

The requirements of the Order do not bleed over into private development, but one has to wonder . . . will this additional level of analysis next be shifted to the private developer who proposes a project in a vulnerable coastal area? This would mean another layer of data to incorporate into a project’s environmental review, including information on local uplift and subsidence, coastal erosion rates, predicted higher high water levels, and storm surge and storm wave data. What would it take to reduce the risks associated with sea level rise for a project your company would like to undertake on the coast? How would you increase the project’s “resiliency” to sea level rise? We can’t put everything in the coastal zone on stilts, but what could be required of an individual project?

 

I know I’ll be looking for notice of the public workshop on the Sea Level Rise Assessment Report that has to take place before the end of next March.Continue Reading California’s Green Governor To the Rescue?

Earlier this week, I attended Climate Solutions’ Business Briefing on the Governor’s Proposed Climate Change Policy. Hosted by Gerding Edlen, the briefing offered a snapshot of the Governor’s legislative agenda for 2009 and beyond, and gave the sustainable business community the opportunity to offer feedback on what needs to happen to move the plans forward.

The Governor’s Climate Change Agenda (the “Agenda”) covers four major areas: greenhouse gas (“GHG”) reductions, renewable energy, sustainable transportation, and energy efficiency. Some highlights follow.Continue Reading Governor Kulongoski’s Climate Change Agenda Unveiled

In an email alert that we just sent out, my colleagues in the Stoel Rives Tax Section report:

Today the House passed, and President Bush signed into law, H.R. 1424, which includes the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 (the Act). The Act contains the much-anticipated extension of the production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax …

The August 16-22, 2008 issue of NewScientist features a very interesting article called "A tank of the green stuff" (pages 34-37).  Airlines are facing volatile and rising fuel costs, plus the risk of fuel shortages.   Unlike land transport, which it least in theory can be converted to run entirely on electricity, air travel depends on…

On April 16, 2008, Northern States Power filed a petition with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for a determination that "Xcel Energy has all legal rights necssary to possess, use and dispose of any renewable energy credits (‘RECs’) arising from the production of renewable energy that Xcel purchases under its renewable energy power purchase agreements …