Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 30, 2024

Installations of commercial solarsystems on businesses, schools, and government buildings, for examplewere potentially 13% higher in 2024, per Wood Mackenzie. In this vein, 2024 included advances like Massachusettss new clean energy law , which will streamline equitable siting for clean energy projects.

Clean Energy 267

Clean Energy 2024 Wind Power Renewable Energy 267

Legal Planet

MAY 19, 2023

Monterey County Oil Field (credit: Monterey County Weekly) For the first two decades of this century, and under the able leadership of former Chief Justices Ronald George and Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the California Supreme Court was quite active in interpreting and shaping California environmental law. Well, break’s over.

Law 264

Law Fossil Fuels Climate Change Regulations 264

Legal Planet

DECEMBER 16, 2021

Energy law used to be an obscure niche subject. Energy law is a hot topic. Law students are thronging to the field, seeing an opportunity to combine social relevance with good-paying jobs. Top law schools are responding by competing for faculty. The post The Renaissance of Energy Law appeared first on Legal Planet.

Law 246

Law Fossil Fuels Regulations Electricity 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 24, 2023

When diplomacy needs backup, countries turn to resolve their disputes at the ICJ, the United Nations’ principal judicial organ, to set the tone for international law. As an advisory body, the court provides legal opinions on international law questions. What is an advisory opinion?

Climate Change 293

Climate Change Law Paris Agreement Ocean 293

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 22, 2023

For years, fossil fuel companies have socialized the costs of their pollution while privatizing the benefits. Since local and state governments are on the frontlines of paying for worsening wildfires, they should also be on the leading edge of holding fossil fuel companies accountable.

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Fossil Fuels Climate Change Paris Agreement 2012 235

Law Columbia

MARCH 27, 2025

City of New York , plumbing and building trade groups challenged New York Citys Local Law 154 of 2021 , a piece of legislation that prohibits fossil fuel combustion in most new buildings. This blog post discusses Local Law 154, unpacks Judge Abrams decision, and ends with a refresher on California Restaurant Association v.

Law 59

Law Natural Gas Fossil Fuels Regulations 59

Legal Planet

AUGUST 15, 2023

State of Montana, a Montana trial court ruled that the state Constitution’s guarantee of a healthy and clean environment prevails over Montana’s longstanding fossil-fuel-based state energy system. Critically, the Juliana case relied on federal law. The August 14th Held v. The August 14th Held v.

Climate Change 189

Climate Change Government Fossil Fuels Energy Policy Act 189

Legal Planet

JUNE 16, 2022

Even so, it compares favorably with the national governments in places like the U.S. According to the Energy Information Agency , South Korea’s power sector is heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Actual generation is tilted a bit more toward fossil fuels and nuclear. What is South Korea doing to cut its emissions?

Climate Change 246

Climate Change Fossil Fuels Paris Agreement 2030 246

Legal Planet

MAY 9, 2022

As a compromise, California law (AB 398) has limited offsets to 4% of compliance obligations for the 2021-2025 period and capped the offsets without in-state benefits that can be utilized for compliance. . The post Governing Emissions Trading in California and China appeared first on Legal Planet. Implications for China. Stay tuned.

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Government Politics Climate Change Paris Agreement 241

Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

Fossil fuel companies are well established as founts of disinformation , agents of obstruction, and drivers of climate change. Taken together, the need for governments to meaningfully regulate these super polluters has never been clearer. What role does science play in climate advisory opinions?

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Climate Change Fossil Fuels Law Government 255

Law and Environment

MAY 27, 2022

On April 28, 2022, the California Attorney General launched an investigation into the “fossil fuel and petrochemical industries for their role in causing and exacerbating the global plastics pollution crisis.” See our previous coverage on the NY and MA AG’s investigations.

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Fossil Fuels Recycling Climate Change 2022 130

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 26, 2022

In the year since, there have been even more important advances in climate litigation seeking to hold companies and governments accountable for climate harms. Instead of warning the world and transitioning away from fossil fuels, the industry spent the last 50-plus years spreading disinformation and obstructing government action.

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Fossil Fuels Climate Change Paris Agreement Carbon Emissions 254

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 19, 2025

Because the whole of the Earth’s climate system is subject to the laws of thermodynamics: energy in = energy out. In the 1960s, it started to become clear, with the help of climate models and theory, that fossil fuel use would warm the planet. government was warned about global warming as early as 1965 ).

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Atmosphere Ocean Radiation Climate Scientist 156

Environmental Law Centre

MAY 25, 2023

The Next Government needs to address Alberta’s Fossil Fuel Liabilities Part 2: Oil Sands Fluid Tailings Management Part 1 of this blog (see here) looked at the end of. The post The Next Government needs to address Alberta’s Fossil Fuel Liabilities Part 2 appeared first on Environmental Law Centre.

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Fossil Fuels Government Law Climate Change 79

Environmental Law Centre

MAY 24, 2023

The Next Government needs to address Alberta’s Fossil Fuel Liabilities Part 1: Management of Liabilities, Orphans and Post-closure Sites The management of oil and gas liability in Alberta is. The post The Next Government needs to address Alberta’s Fossil Fuel Liabilities Part 1 appeared first on Environmental Law Centre.

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Fossil Fuels Government Law Climate Change 79

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 26, 2023

That would be the straw man erected by defenders of the fossil fuel industry who claim that facing climate change is a doctrinaire liberal policy. This year, many on the far-right are attempting to rebrand Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing as “woke capitalism.”

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Fossil Fuels Climate Change Government 2021 304

Enviromental Defense

MARCH 11, 2024

Will the City of Ottawa ban fossil fuel promotion in City facilities? Fossil fuel advertisements indeed contradict the City’s policies on climate. City Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and committed to a full phase-out of fossil fuels by 2050. It’s possible. And who knows?

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Fossil Fuels Climate Change 2019 2022 106

Legal Planet

AUGUST 9, 2021

The effort to build new transmission has been stymied, however, by resistance from utilities and state governments. Unfortunately, federal courts ruled that the existing law doesn’t apply when state utility commissions simply sit on the applications without acting rather than rejecting them outright. Download as PDF.

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Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Government Natural Gas 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 12, 2024

Questioning fossil fuel companies is part of our mission, but each year the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) gets a chance to aim some choice words directly at corporate leaders during their annual shareholders’ meetings. million last year to pump out disinformation about California’s energy policies.

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Fossil Fuels 2023 2015 Climate Change 261

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 26, 2024

Soon after, García put her experience and her education into action, joining a consultant group that helped the Colombian government evaluate what policies could support the large-scale deployment of renewables for the country. Back home in Colombia, García’s family is witnessing the consequences of a fossil fuel-centered energy system.

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Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Electricity 297

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 17, 2025

As fossil-fueled fires get worse, tap water contamination concern grows. For residents of LA County, the UCLA LA County Water System Governance Map , shows the service areas for more than 200 systems in the county, and is available in Spanish or English.

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Fossil Fuels 2017 Electricity Regulations 216

Legal Planet

JUNE 4, 2021

Some events last week sent a strong signal that the tide is turning against fossil fuels. To paraphrase Churchill, this may not be beginning of the end for fossil fuels, but at least it is the end of the beginning of the campaign against them. Each of the events standing alone would have been noteworthy.

Fossil Fuels 246

Fossil Fuels Paris Agreement Climate Change Carbon Emissions 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

In 2015, the Dutch environmental organization Urgenda Foundation with nearly 900 co-plaintiffs took the Dutch government to court. They argued that the government was failing to take sufficient action to combat climate change, which was, in their view, a violation of its duty to protect its citizens’ well-being. In the Leghari v.

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Paris Agreement Climate Change Fossil Fuels Government 273

Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 22, 2024

Back then, those contracts were canceled by the Puerto Rican government for failing to improve service and meet minimum performance standards. And their specialization in methane gas means that they have an obvious incentive to promote fossil fuels and not renewables. It is truly crazy.

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Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Electricity 2019 303

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 14, 2023

Their main arguments include two disturbing tactics that come straight out of the disinformation playbook : casting doubt on the science, and pressing the EPA to violate a law passed by Congress. pollution, half of the deaths are attributable to the burning of fossil fuels. EPA’s PM 2.5 EPA’s PM 2.5

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Clean Air Act Fossil Fuels Air Pollution 2001 233

Real Climate

APRIL 6, 2023

The term “fossil fuels”, however, is mentioned 16 times. It’s indeed true that emissions must go down, but we also must explicitly acknowledge that we need to reduce our dependence on coal, oil and gas (“fossil fuels”). Coal, on the other hand, is only mentioned once in connection with methane emissions.

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Climate Change Fossil Fuels Greenhouse 2012 299

Enviromental Defense

MAY 31, 2024

Statement by Emilia Belliveau, Energy Transition Program Manager Montréal/Tiohtià:ke | Traditional, unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka/Mohawk Nation, a gathering place for many First Nations, including the Anishinaabeg – We are disappointed that the Government of Alberta is attacking the federal government’s attempts to clamp down on greenwashing.

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Government Fossil Fuels Climate Change Regulations 141

Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Municipal zoning laws, meanwhile, allowed companies to build power plants and other industrial facilities in those same neighborhoods. And, perhaps most important, adding more clean energy sources will dramatically reduce the impacts from developing, transporting, and burning fossil fuels. VY: They do.

Clean Energy 333

Clean Energy Nitrogen Oxides Fossil Fuels Electricity 333

Law and Environment

OCTOBER 26, 2023

Yesterday, Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer issued a report detailing how “to implement the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s whole-of-government approach to addressing the climate crisis.” The post New Report Details Massachusetts Whole-of-Government Approach to Climate Crisis first appeared on Law and the Environment.

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Government Fossil Fuels Clean Energy 2024 130

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 17, 2023

However, great opportunities for more new clean energy supplies to replace fossil fuel energy need supporting grid investments. Transmission policy is vital to supplying grid modernization, and some state governments see their role in planning ahead for the grid we need. Where do we go for that modern infrastructure?

Clean Energy 237

Clean Energy Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Regulations 237

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 19, 2022

Minnesotans are already experiencing the climate crisis, as well as health impacts, from burning fossil fuels. The Minnesota House has shown strong leadership in addressing the climate crisis and funding the clean energy transition at the scale necessary to swiftly curb heat-trapping emissions from fossil fuels.

Clean Energy 245

Clean Energy Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Electricity 245

Legal Planet

FEBRUARY 16, 2023

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about geoengineering – the various scientific theories and governance ideas that could eventually lead to technological interventions to help cool the planet. How will governments deal with private startups if they continue to perform unscientific, unregulated experiments? A weather balloon.

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Fossil Fuels Climate Change Paris Agreement Technology 287

Law Columbia

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

Starting in 2017, cities, counties, and states across the United States have filed claims (see here and here ) in state courts against fossil fuel companies seeking redress for the climate harms their products have caused. Many of these cases asserted nuisance and other tort law claims. Chevron Corp.

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Fossil Fuels Climate Change Clean Air Act Law 85

Legal Planet

AUGUST 15, 2023

“The state failed to show that the MEPA limitation serves a compelling government interest,” the decision reads. ” Prioritizing fossil fuels over renewable energy in 2023 for insubstantial reasons does not pass strict scrutiny. That’s not unique to Montana , even though this case focused on state laws.

Climate Change 246

Climate Change Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Carbon Dioxide 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 16, 2024

How we do this, and how well it happens, depends on planning and collaboration across local, state and federal government. Smaller, decentralized growth in electric heat pumps for buildings, and electric transportation replacing fossil fuels also require more access to electricity and a modern grid.

Electricity 265

Electricity Renewable Energy Clean Energy Law 265

Law Columbia

MARCH 12, 2025

Part 1 focused on discussions on applicable law, and the no-harm rule. Vanuatu and the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) asserted that these legal consequences are governed by the general law of State responsibility. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS) published its advisory opinion in May 2024.

Climate Change 64

Climate Change Paris Agreement 2024 Fossil Fuels 64

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 3, 2023

Unless the government adopts a similarly holistic perspective when implementing the tax credit, though, the incentive could wind up doing more harm than good. The framing is consequential. In reality, though, when we factor in impacts across the energy system as a whole, that “clean” hydrogen could be increasing emissions overall.

Clean Energy 249

Clean Energy Fossil Fuels Electricity Renewable Energy 249