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Easing Off the Gas: Efficient and Equitable Policy for Passenger Vehicle Emissions Reduction

October 26th 2020

There are various public policy approaches to addressing passenger vehicle carbon emissions. In this article I review three possible approaches: raising emissions standards; alternative fuel vehicle subsidies; and congestion charging zones. I propose a set of criteria for evaluating these different policies, and apply those criteria to the three policies. ...

Smart Grids Need Smart Privacy Laws: Reconciling the California Consumer Privacy Act with Decentralized Electricity Models

August 18th 2020

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants strong privacy rights, including allowing a consumer to opt out of the sale of her information to third parties, and to request that a business delete her information from its records. At the same time, the electricity industry is transitioning towards a decentralized ...

Carbon Tax and Low-Income Grant Proposal to Encourage Low-Income Investment in Solar Technologies

ELQ Journal

August 20th 2018

Climate change is internationally recognized as the biggest threat facing the world today. This threat transcends politics, economics, and social views. In 2017 we saw historic flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, and now record snowfall in the southeastern United States.

State Clean Energy Polices at Risk: Courts Should Not Preempt Zero Emission Credits for Nuclear Plants

ELQ Journal

April 27th 2018

In 2016, the Illinois Legislature and New York Public Service Commission (PSC) enacted nearly identical policies to induce economically struggling nuclear power plants to continue operating. Competing power generation companies filed suits in federal district courts, arguing that the states’ policies are preempted

The New(Clear?) Electricity Federalism: Federal Preemption of States’ “Zero Emissions Credit” Programs

ELQ Journal

April 27th 2018

Joel B. Eisen* Two pending federal appellate cases involving Illinois and New York laws, Old Mill Creek v. Star and Coalition For Competitive Electricity v. Zibelman respectively,[1] involve the conflict between federal authority over the electric grid and state laws supporting nuclear power plants. The issues are nearly identical in ...

The Electric Grid Confronts the Dormant Commerce Clause

ELQ Journal

April 17th 2018

by Sam Kalen & Steven Weissman Many modern energy dialogues gravitate toward a conversation about the present status of the jurisdictional divide between state and federal authority over the regulation of wholesale sales of energy. A March 3, 2017 Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) article began by observing how the ...

Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Transportation Sector: A Cap-and-Invest Approach

ELQ Journal

March 7th 2018

James D. Flynn* This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS). I. Introduction In recent years, states in New England and the mid-Atlantic region have made significant progress in reducing climate change-inducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electricity generation sector.[1] This has largely been the result of ...

The Case for Cap-and-Trade: California’s Battle for Market-Based Environmentalism

ELQ Journal

November 8th 2017

Theodore McDowell* This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).  The California Cap-and-Trade program has been a beacon of success for market-based environmentalism. The program masterfully incorporated the lessons learned from previous cap-and-trade initiatives by more precisely allocating emission allowances and by setting higher price floors for auctions. ...

The SB 32 Scoping Plan Update, Waivers, and ZEVs

ELQ Journal

May 14th 2017

Garrett Lenahan This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).  I. Scoping Plan Background Two prominent pieces of Californian legislation that seek to address climate change are Assembly Bill 32 ("AB 32") and Senate Bill 32 ("SB 32"). AB 32 required California to reduce its greenhouse gas ("GHG") ...

An Autopsy of the Clean Power Plan

ELQ Journal

April 12th 2017

John Copeland Nagle* [ download PDF ] The Clean Power Plan (CPP) was supposed to be great. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrated its regulation as “a historic and important step,” “fair, flexible and designed to strengthen the fast-growing trend toward cleaner and lower-polluting American energy,” providing “national consistency, accountability ...

Our Money is Safe, but the Planet Is Not: How the Carbon Bubble Will Cause Havoc for the Environment, but Not the Stock Market

ELQ Journal

December 13th 2016

Breanna Hayes Breanna Hayes is the Managing Editor of the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).                  I.              Introduction Human use of fossil fuels dates back to prehistoric times.[1]  Before the Industrial Revolution, ...

With Energy Law Federalism Under Construction, State Policymaking May Be Delayed

ELQ Journal

November 13th 2016

John Bullock* John Bullock is a J.D. Candidate at Harvard Law School. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).   Introduction As the public has become more aware of the intense connection between the practices of electric utilities and greenhouse gas emissions, interested groups have shone ...

Plugging the Regulatory Holes: How to Prevent the Next Aliso Canyon Catastrophe

ELQ Journal

March 8th 2016

Myles Osborne Myles Osborne is a 1L and General Member of the Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate.          In late October 2015, the Southern California Gas Company’s Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility began spewing natural gas into ...

What the Supreme Court’s Stay of the Clean Power Plan Means for the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Regulation Moving Forward

ELQ Journal

February 18th 2016

Benjamin Harris Benjamin Harris is a 3L at UCLA School of Law and serves as Executive Editor of the UCLA Journal of Environmental Law & Policy. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. The Clean Power Plan (“CPP”), announced and promulgated in late 2015 by the Environmental ...

Clean Power Planning: Unlike with Obamacare, States are Preparing for Clean Power Plan Compliance Even as they Fight it in the Courts

ELQ Journal

February 11th 2016

Jennifer Golinsky Jennifer Golinsky is on the Georgetown Environmental Law Review. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. When the EPA released its draft of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) in June 2014,[1] commentators were quick to draw comparisons[2] to Obamacare (i.e., the Patient Protection and Affordable ...

EPA Unveils Final Clean Power Plan: So What’s All the Fuss About?

ELQ Journal

December 3rd 2015

Eric DeBellis Eric DeBellis is a 3L at Berkeley Law, where he is Senior Executive Editor of the Ecology Law Quarterly. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. On August 3, 2015, the EPA released its highly anticipated Clean Power Plan, establishing the nation’s first greenhouse gas ...

A Perfect Storm for Michigan’s Renewable Portfolio Standard?

ELQ Journal

November 4th 2015

Sarah Stellberg Sarah Stellberg is a 3L at the University of Michigan Law School, where she is Editor-in-Chief of the Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. Click here to see the original post and leave a comment. In his ...

Applying Stakeholder Theory to Utility Regulation

ELQ Journal

January 26th 2015

Inara Scott* [ Click Here to Comment ][  Download PDF ] Many in the energy sector have called for a transformation of the traditional utility model to accommodate developments in distributed generation, address declining utility financial returns, and facilitate a transition to a low-carbon future.[1] These proponents envision this transformation ...

The Berkeley Exchange: Celebrating Berkeley’s Contribution to Environmental Law Scholarship

ELQ Journal

January 27th 2014

The Berkeley Exchange: Celebrating Berkeley’s Contribution to Environmental Law Scholarship Friday, February 7, 2014Symposium 8am-5:30pmAll-Alumni Reception 6pm-8pm [Download the Berkeley Exchange event flyer] On Friday, February 7th, Berkeley Law’s Ecology Law Quarterly and Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment are proud to host their symposium, The Berkeley Exchange: Celebrating ...

California’s Precarious Path to Climate Change Mitigation

ELQ Journal

December 6th 2013

By Penni Takade* [ Click Here to Comment ][ download PDF ] California’s ambitious cap and trade program for greenhouse gases (GHG) began operations in 2013. The program is one of the centerpieces of the state’s climate mitigation plans. As with any major initiative, there are obstacles and weaknesses that can ...

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