The CEQ’s new regulations seek to make NEPA more efficient for agencies. Could transforming NEPA into a regulatory commission solve its efficiency problems while protecting, and building upon, its effectiveness?
"Normal was a crisis." When we say we want to "go back to normal," do we really mean the world exactly as we left it? Or, could we use COVID as a means of building something better than what we had, perhaps greener?
On September 23, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newson issued an executive order[1] that is expected to reduce the impact of climate change by drastically transforming the State's transportation industry. California experiences many unique climate change-related problems. For instance, as a result of climate change, the duration of California's wildfire season has more than doubled since 1980.[2] Indeed, this year, California is experiencing a record-breaking burn,[3] with wildfires scorching millions of acres of land.[4] The executive order, in an attempt to attenuate some of these climate change-related impacts on the State, requires all new passenger vehicles sold in California to be zero-emission by 2035, effectively banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in just fifteen years.[5]
The European Green New Deal is an environmental plan aimed at making Europe carbon-neutral by 2050.[1] In order to achieve this ambitious goal, the European Union (“EU”) initiated the revision of a number of international agreements. Among one of those agreements is the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). In July and September, 2020, the European Commission and EU Member States had two rounds of negotiations at the Energy Charter Conference dedicated to the modernization of the ECT.[2] The call for the ECT’s reform was, among other things, prompted by the ECT’s purported “serious threat to Europe’s climate neutrality target and more broadly to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.”[3]
The ECT’s modernization is important because this is the first targeted attempt to reshape the unique, legally-binding, energy-related multilateral treaty and marks a step towards compliance with the Paris Climate Accord. Additionally, modernization of the ECT provisions is relevant to U.S. companies investing in both the renewable and fossil fuel energy sectors of the ECT Member States. At this point, it is unclear how the two rounds of negotiations went and whether the actual changes are coming in the nearest future. The third round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in December 2020. This post will take a closer look at the ECT’s history, goals, and environmental standards. Furthermore, this post will address novel critiques as to its incompatibility with the Paris Climate Accord.
By Edith Brown Weiss, Francis Cabell Brown Professor of International Law
The coronavirus pandemic provides a unique opportunity to address global climate change.
By Robert Patton, Managing Editor
Bike sharing is considered an environmental-friendly way of commuting.[1] It reduces people’s needs for driving and hence reduces carbon emission.[2] It also provides a solution to the “last mile” issue in urban commuting and promotes the development…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released the final SAFE Vehicles Rule. The rule sets forth requirements for emissions and efficiency in vehicles for model years 2021-2026 and revokes the Clean Air Act waiver to California.
Community solar is a widespread solution for those who cannot invest in rooftop solar but want renewable energy. How does this innovative energy system fit into the existing legal frameworks?
As the Gulf Coast faces the prospect of increasingly intense hurricane seasons, a recently published paper may provide a ray of hope to local communities that already feel the effects of climate change.
By Samuel Harris, Managing Editor
