Climate Change Practice

Issue Alerts

Weekly Climate Change Update- May 12, 2008

Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Kevin Gallagher, Alex Lazur
May 12, 2008

The Lieberman-Warner bill continues to take center stage in Climate Change news, as it appears that Democratic Senators from manufacturing states may not vote for it. Provisions allowing the use of Clean Development Mechanism credits and credits from activities to reduce deforestation in developing countries might possibly be added to the Manager's Amendment. In addition, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change released a report reviewing the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and how it might be helpful in designing a U.S. program.

Weekly Climate Change Update - May 5, 2008

Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Andrea Campbell, Kevin Gallagher
May 5, 2008

Over the last week, the biggest emerging question is what will be in the Manager's Amendment, an overhaul of the Lieberman-Warner bill designed to attract more votes. Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration released its analysis of the Lieberman-Warner bill, showing allowance prices doubling from $30/ton to $60/ton between 2020 and 2030. Also, some Senate Republicans may endorse an alternative approach proposed by Senator Voinovich that focuses on tax incentives and other subsidies for clean energy technologies.

Weekly Climate Change Policy Update - April 28, 2008

Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Andrea Campbell, Kevin Gallagher
April 28, 2008

Noteworthy in Climate Change news this week was the "Manager's Amendment" drawn up by the staff for Senators Boxer, Lieberman, and Warner. In addition, Senator Voinovich (R-OH) is working on a bill focusing on technology incentives. Also, some Senators are considering ways to expand the Lieberman-Warner bill to target deforestation.

Weekly Climate Change Policy Update - April 21, 2008

Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Andrea Campbell, Kevin Gallagher
April 21, 2008

President Bush's Rose Garden speech on climate change policy was the topic of conversation in this week's climate change news, although it brought about less of an impact than anticipated. In addition, the Governors of 18 states signed a declaration requesting a federal-state partnership to address climate change. Also in the news were the two front-page articles in the Wall Street Journal on problems with the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism.

Weekly Climate Change Policy Upate - April 14, 2008

Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Andrea Campbell, Kevin Gallagher
April 14, 2008

It is expected that the Lieberman-Warner bill will be brought to the Senate floor on June 2nd, which will likely include a manager's amendment to the bill. Also in the news is the "cost containment" compromise that could be in the works with the help of the National Commission on Energy Policy, the Nicholas Institute, and the US Climate Action Partnership.

View All

Articles

U.S. Climate Change Policy Will Drive Significant Investment Opportunities in Traditional and Alternative Energy

Ben McMakin and Janet Anderson
Managed Funds Association Reporter
April 2008

A new President and the likelihood of more Democrats in the House and Senate may tip the balance of power in energy debates from traditional oil and gas interests to proponents of new energy sources and cleantech goods and services. While we watch the election unfold, and as the rhetorical battles over energy policy continue in Washington, D.C., climate change legislation looms largest of all the energy debates.

Energy's Next Step

Curt Rich
Los Angeles Daily Journal
December 7, 2007

Once heralded as the lynchpin to America’s energy independence, ethanol is increasingly under attack as a flawed energy resource. The livestock and food industries criticize ethanol for the impact it has on the price of corn. Environmentalists point out that corn ethanol takes almost as much energy to make as it produces. Communities in more arid regions of the country worry about corn ethanol’s high demand for water.

New Wine Into Old Bottles: The Feasibility of Greenhouse Gas Regulation Under the Clean Air Act

Robert Nordhaus
New York University: Environmental Law Journal
March 15, 2007

On November 29, 2006, Massachusetts v. EPA was argued before the United States Supreme Court. This essay, written before the decision was issued, presumes that the Court has decided that EPA was authorized or required to regulate CO2 under the CAA and explores the issues of 1) whether EPA could construct a domestic program to regulate CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the statute in its present form and 2) would such a program be a comprehensive and cost-effective means of controlling such emissions?

An Overview of the International Regime Addressing Climate Change

Sustainable Development Law and Policy Vol. VII, Issue 2
Kyle Danish
American University Washington College of Law
2007

The current international climate change regime comprises a network of agreements and mechanisms. A high water mark in the evolution of this regime was the entry into force in February 2005 of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, the Kyoto Protocol will not be the final word on the issue. Its emission limits cover only a fraction of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and those limits expire in 2012. Kyle Danish contributed a chapter in the American University Washington College of Law, Sustainable Development Law and Policy Journal (Kelly Rain, Maria Vanko, eds.)

Climate Change: The Heat Is On

Douglas W. Smith, Kyle W. Danish
Public Utilities Fortnightly
January 1, 2004

On the issue of global climate change, most utilities have devoted their attention to tracking developments in Washington, D.C., following the rising and falling fortunes of legislation that could result in federal greenhouse gas reporting or regulatory requirements. More and more, utilities are finding their inside-the-Beltway focus shaken by an array of outside-the-Beltway activities, ranging from state climate legislation to shareholder proxy actions and the threat of climate change tort suits.