The Climate Policy, Renewable Energy, & Sustainability Blog
Here is a Q&A I did with William Brent, the head of Weber Shandwick’s cleantech practice and blogger at www.mrcleantech.com:
WB: I asked my friend Graham Noyes of law firm Stoel Rives who focuses his practice on bioenergy projects, federal energy incentives and carbon monetization for his thoughts on the Kerry Lieberman bill.
Q…
The U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) have established new federal rules for greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions standards for all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the US. The rules improve fuel efficiency, could save the average buyer up to $3,000 over the life of a 2016…
As described in a previous alert, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") voted on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 to adopt an interpretive release to provide guidance on existing public company disclosure requirements as they apply to business or legal developments relating to climate change. The SEC has now distributed the interpretive release itself, which can…
Earlier today, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) posted its climate change interpretive release, which can be found at http://www.sec.gov/rules/interp/2010/33-9106.pdf. Our prior Blog on the subject is here, and our alert on the topic can be found here. Stoel Rives corporate securities partners Ron McFall and CJ Voss will be posting a follow up alert …
My partner Tom Wood circulated this preliminary alert this afternoon:
"Earlier today the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) approved interpretive guidance intended to inform public companies how climate change must be taken into account when applying existing disclosure requirements. Specifically, the SEC’s interpretative guidance highlights the following areas as examples of where climate change …
The goal of the award-winning Evergreen production team is to document, promote and present the clean technology story to audiences of decision makers, regulators, citizens and students in Washington State, the Pacific Northwest and international markets.
In December 2009, the Evergreen team traveled to Copenhagen to document the efforts of the Washington delegation at the…
Stoel Rives partner Tom Wood reports:
Minutes ago EPA announced its long awaited “endangerment” and “cause or contribute” findings in relation to six key greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. While technically this announcement is of limited significance (applying only to motor vehicle emissions), the policy import of…
At the Western Governors’ Association Annual Meeting on June 15, 2009, the Western Governors heard a sobering and candid report from Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, which, at its core, indicated that climate change is real and happening faster than scientists previously warned. According to Secretary Chu, "the news is getting scary . . . but the most scary thing in my mind is the [scientific] observations. People can be entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts." A few of the observations cited by Secretary Chu included the following:
Secretary Chu was particularly concerned with the continued melting of the permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere, which he predicted could have "runaway effects" due to the massive release of CO2 and methane from the biomass that has accumulated over time.
President of the World Bank, Robert B. Zoellick, also participated in the discussion on climate change, indicating that the rule making that will be necessary for implementing climate change policies will stay with us for decades and will be some of the "toughest negotiations" he has ever seen. Mr. Zoellick stressed the importance of having the Governors plugged into the rule making process since this will be the framework that the states will have to live with. There was also an acknowledgment among the group that the farmers and ranchers are skeptical about climate change, but that this is a key stakeholder group that needs to be part of the equation. Governor Bill Richardson commented that the key will be the creation of a carbon offset market that will work. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, concurred indicating that a carbon offset market will be critical to the survival of rural communities. Continue Reading Western Governors Consider Regional and National Polices Regarding Global Climate Change
The Western Governors’ Association ("WGA") will hold its annual meeting in Park City, Utah on June 14-16, 2009. Based on a review of the Agenda posted to the WGA’s website, the focus of the meeting will be on developing regional and global strategies for addressing important issues related to energy resources, climate change and water. I will be attending the annual meeting this year and reporting on the outcome of discussions on the following topics:
On June 14, 2009, there will be a panel discussion on policies and technologies to address water use in an era of declining water supplies due to climate change. Panelists include: Dr. Peter H. Gleick, co-founder and president of the Pacific Institute; Professor Eilon Adar, Zuckerberg Institute for Water Resources, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Doug Miell, Principal, Miell Consulting; Cameron J. Brooks, Ph.D., Director of Solutions and Business Development for IBM Corporation’s Big Green Innovations initiative.
On June 15, 2009, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff will provide their perspectives on developing large amounts of clean energy in the West and the transmission lines needed to bring it to market. Following their remarks, they and the Governors will have the opportunity to discuss what cooperation is needed between states and the federal government to accelerate progress. An outline of discussion points that might be expected from the Governors during this session could include topics addressed in the letter dated May 1, 2009 from the WGA to the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee.Continue Reading Annual Meeting of the Western Governors’ Association: June 14-16, 2009, Park City, Utah
On February 13, the Utah Public Utilities and Technology Committee voted to favorably recommend a House Resolution urging Governor Huntsman to withdraw Utah from the Western Climate Initiative. The resolution, 1st Sub. H.R. 3, contains recitals referring to “Utah’s abundant and clean burning coal,” the lack of balance in the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Council…
