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Trump, Congress overturn California’s gas-car ban
President Trump today signed three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval to overturn Biden administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waivers greenlighting California’s plans…
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Senate pulls plug on California’s gas car ban
The US Senate on Thursday voted 51-46 for H.J. Res.88, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to repeal the Environmental Protection…
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CEI sends letter to Senate regarding California waiver CRA resolutions
The US Senate has a unique opportunity to overturn what may well be the most egregious case of unlawful bureaucratic overreach of the past 50…
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We’re out of the Paris Agreement—again! How Trump can make it stick
On Inauguration Day (January 20, 2025), President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, the global climate treaty negotiated by the…
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Cracks in the regulatory freezeout
On the first afternoon of his second term, President Donald Trump signed 46 executive orders. They included welcome tools for restraining the administrative state. Among…
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EPA’s new powerplant rule is the Clean Power Plan on steroids
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday announced its final rule establishing carbon dioxide (CO2) emission performance standards for existing coal powerplants and new…
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R.J. Smith – In Memoriam
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has lost a treasured friend and mentor, Robert J. Smith. All my thoughts about R.J. run to superlatives. He was a…
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Questions about EPA’s electric vehicle rule—some answered, some not
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week posted the pre-Federal Register version of its de facto electric vehicle (EV) sales mandate rule. The rule…
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EPA’s latest unlawful assault on vehicle affordability and choice
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced final emission standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032…
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Fueling discontent: Minnesota’s costly push for a low carbon fuel standard
Lawmakers in Minnesota are considering a Clean Transportation Standard (CTS) that would impose increasingly stringent carbon-intensity reduction targets on all motor fuels used in the…
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40th Anniversary Commemorative: How CEI killed credit for early action
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) turned 40 this month. I’m proud to have been a CEI scholar for more than a quarter century. Our friends,…
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Will EPA empower California to ban gasoline-powered cars?
Did Congress authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to outlaw the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles? Did it authorize the EPA to…
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Proof of the PROVE IT Act’s carbon tax agenda
A recent post explains how S. 1863, the PROVE IT Act, could empower narrow partisan majorities to enact carbon tariffs and taxes in…
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Vote on Capito amendment unmasks PROVE IT as carbon tax enabler
Last week, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved the PROVE IT Act (S. 1863) by a vote of 14 to 5.
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Experts weigh in: Sen. Cassidy’s carbon tariff bill would mean more taxes
A carbon tax is both bad policy and dumb politics. Yet Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has just introduced legislation, the Foreign Pollution Fee…
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Cease and desist, CEI urges National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
I submitted comments on behalf of CEI to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Monday on its proposed model year (MY) 2027-2032…
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What I told Congress about the unlawful plan to ‘align’ NEPA with Biden Climate Targets
I testified today at the House Natural Resources Oversight Subcommittee hearing on “Examining Systemic Government Overreach at CEQ.” My testimony developed three main points…
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What I told the EPA about its illegal de facto electric vehicle mandates
Yesterday I submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for model years (MYs) 2027-2032…
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Another sustainable energy company is failing to sustain itself
CNBC’s “Sustainable Future” page reports today that “Siemens Energy shares plunge more than 37% as wind turbine worries deepen.” A “sustainable energy” company failing…
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Elephant in the elevator: How government manipulates the social cost of carbon to justify regulations
Four CEI colleagues and I each submitted comments this month on the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed update of Circular A-4—OMB’s…
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EPA’s new coal rule: Still unlawful after all these years
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week posted the pre-publication draft of its proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) emission performance standards for fossil-fuel power plants…
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EPA’s almost bare-naked electric car mandate
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week proposed new greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for model years (MYs) 2027-2032 passenger cars, light trucks,…
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Texas v. EPA could save the day for cars that go vroom
The Competitive Enterprise Institute this week filed its reply brief for private petitioners in State of Texas et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency.
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Skepticism about EPA’s PM2.5 Rule Is Healthy
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed to tighten the annual national ambient air quality standard for fine particulate matter. My colleague Daren Bakst…
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Too Clever by Half – EPA’s De-Facto Electric Vehicle Mandate
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced new, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles. The standards would increase in…
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CEI Advises CEQ to Withdraw Its NEPA Guidance on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change
Last week I submitted comments advising the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to withdraw its proposed guidance on consideration of greenhouse gas (GHG)…
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Less is More – EPA’s Methane Rule and the Social Cost Paradox
CEI this week submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed rule to establish new and more stringent methane emission standards for…
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DOE’s Press Release on Federal Building Energy Standards Is Inaccurate, Misleading, and Unserious
The Department of Energy (DOE) last week released the pre-publication version of a proposed rule to “establish energy performance standards for the construction of…
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Some Climate-Related Items that Recently Caught My Eye
Manhattan Contrarian Francis “Buddy” Menton hit two homers this week. In “Don’t Be So Sure the Climate Extremists Have Won,” Menton offers hopeful words…
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Climategate 2.0: EPA’s New Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases Report
When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week proposed to adopt more aggressive methane emission standards for the oil and gas sector, it also…
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Are Nord Stream Methane Leaks “Catastrophic for Climate”?
Despite acknowledging that the Nord Stream pipelines were likely bombed by saboteurs, the Associated Press yesterday focused on the ruptures as a climate threat…
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Inflation Reduction Act and West Virginia v. EPA: Legislative History Refutes Sen. Carper’s Spin
“And whatever interpretive force one attaches to legislative history, the Court normally gives little weight to statements, such as those of the individual legislators, made after the…
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The Inflation Reduction Act’s Implications for West Virginia v. EPA: A Response to Professor Dan Farber
An environmental reporter last week asked for CEI’s thoughts on University of California, Berkley law professor Dan Farber’s article on the Inflation Reduction…
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Dispelling Misleading Claims about the Inflation Reduction Act and West Virginia v. EPA
In adversarial proceedings, it is seldom prudent to rely on your opponents’ assessment of the outcome. Alas, some conservatives seem inclined to believe Democrats’ self-serving…
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Does the Schumer-Manchin Bill Undercut West Virginia v. EPA? No, But Not For Lack of Trying
This Wednesday on Fox Business with Larry Kudlow and later on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) warned that buried…
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Celebrating Pat Michaels: Colleague, Mentor, and Friend
Dr. Patrick Michaels, a leading light of the climate realist movement and cheerful warrior for scientific integrity and individual liberty, died unexpectedly last week. CEI…
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DOT’s Doublespeak Carbon Reduction Program
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposing to require its state and metropolitan counterparts to reduce on-road carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from portions of…
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The Many Arbitrary and Capricious Aspects of SEC’s Climate Risk Disclosure Rule
Yesterday (June 16), CEI submitted two comment letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its proposed rule: “The Enhancement and Standardization of…
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CEI Comments Explain Why FERC’s Greenhouse Gas Regulatory Policy Cannot Pass a Cost-Benefit Test
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed comments on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) proposal to consider climate change impacts in reviews…
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SEC Ignores the Easiest Way to Reduce Climate Policy Risks – Oppose the NetZero Agenda
The Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) rationale for its proposed climate risk-disclosure rule does not pass the laugh test. The SEC claims it seeks…
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Time for a Sensible Sense of Congress Resolution on the Paris Agreement
National Journal yesterday confirmed what has become increasingly obvious since October 2021: “Biden’s Climate Goals Are in Peril.” The Democrat-controlled Congress has failed…
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Climate Police Occupy Wall Street
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, March 21, released its proposed rule to require every “registrant” (i.e., publicly-traded company) to provide more…
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Further Thoughts on the Supreme Court’s Clean Power Plan Case
I heartily recommend the reply briefs by petitioners West Virginia and Westmoreland Mining Holdings, LLC in the Supreme Court’s Clean Power Plan case,…
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Social Cost of Carbon Litigation – Who Will Have the Last Laugh?
The 10-State litigation led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to block the Biden administration’s use of social cost of greenhouse gases (SC-GHG) estimates in…
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Climate Risk, Climate Policy, and the Ukraine Crisis
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) sea-level rise report made a media splash when the agency released it in February. Headlines in the…
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Clean Power Plan Litigation: The Supreme Court Should Rein in the EPA
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency. Depending on how the Court decides it, the case…
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FERC Ignores CEI’s Advice to Steer Clear of Climate Policy
The Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) is a deeply flawed attempt to assign a dollar value to the cumulative climate-related damages caused by…
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Social Cost of Carbon – Pretzel Logic Cannot Save NetZero Agenda
A new paper by economists Nicolas Stern, Joseph Stiglitz, Kristina Karlson, and Charlotte Taylor calls upon the Biden administration to set a “social cost of carbon…
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The Fed Is Not a Climate Regulator
On Tuesday, January 11, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the re-nomination of Jerome Powell to be Federal Reserve chairman. If Powell…
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CEI’s Advice to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: Steer Clear of Climate Policy
On Friday, January 6, CEI submitted comments on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s November 2021 Technical Conference on Greenhouse Gas Mitigation under Sections…
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CEI’s New Anti-Carbon Tax Study
CEI has a new study out this week titled, “Why Carbon Taxes Are Anti-Growth, Anti-Consumer, and Politically Dangerous for Conservatives.” It develops the following…
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Deregulate to Stimulate: 15 Republican Governors Launch ‘Operation Open Roads’ to Unclog Supply Chains
Some cheery holiday news reported in the Epoch Times: Fifteen Republican governors, led by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, have launched “Operation…
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NEPA Is Not a Climate Policy Framework. CEI Submits Comments on Biden Proposal
CEI submitted comments yesterday opposing the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) proposal to repeal regulations adopted by the Trump CEQ in July…
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New Car Prices Are Soaring Biden’s Policies Would Make Things Worse
New car prices are soaring, according to a report released last week by Kelley Blue Book. From Kelley’s press release: New-vehicle…
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1.5C Is Not a Tipping Point
A report released on Tuesday by Climate Action Tracker (CAT) made waves at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow. CAT finds that with…
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Illusory Climate Benefits: CEI Files Comments on NHTSA’s Proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards
CEI submitted comments yesterday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for model year (MY)…
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Manchin Zaps De-Facto “Clean” Energy Mandate, Carbon Tax
The Hill reported yesterday that Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and John Tester (D-MT) “poured cold water” on Democratic colleagues’ attempt to include a carbon…
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EIA Releases International Energy Outlook 2021–What Is the Big Picture?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) yesterday released International Energy Outlook 2021, this year’s iteration of the agency’s annual report projecting world energy market…
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Illusory Climate Benefits: CEI Comments on EPA’s Motor Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards
CEI submitted comments yesterday on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for motor vehicles during model years 2023…
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Non-Binding, Non-Enforceable Paris Agreement Poised to Destroy U.S. Fossil Fuel Industry—as We Warned
For years, the Competitive Enterprise Institute has been making the case that the Paris Agreement is a signed but non-ratified treaty that must win…
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EPA’s Proposed Auto Rule: What We Said at the Agency’s Zoom Meeting Today
Today and tomorrow, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a public Zoom meeting on the agency’s proposed motor vehicle greenhouse gas emission…
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Senate Republicans Revive Kyoto Lite
Bad policy ideas never die; they just get recycled. A prime case in point is the Senate’s recent passage of the Growing Climate Solutions…
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Climate Risk Disclosure: SEC’s Next Modest Proposal
An article in the Wall Street Journal this week reports as breaking news something that has been obvious for months: The Securities and Exchange…
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Do We Need a Clean Electricity Standard and CO2 Border Tax to Avert Catastrophe?
Climate ambition is busting out all over in the nation’s capital. The $3.5 trillion budget blueprint approved by Democratic leaders this week includes a…
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CEI Files Comments on EPA’s Reconsideration of Trump Auto Rule
On Tuesday, July 6, CEI submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) reconsideration of Part One of the Trump administration’s Safer Affordable…
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CEI Files Comments on Biden Administration Social Cost of Carbon Estimates
CEI today is filing comments on the Biden administration Interagency Working Group’s (IWG) Interim Technical Support Document on the social cost of greenhouse gases.
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CEI Submits Comments to the SEC on Climate Risk Disclosure, Part 2
On Friday, June 11, CEI, joined by nine other free market organizations, submitted two comment letters in response to Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commissioner Allison…
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CEI Submits Comments on Biden Administration Proposal to Repeal Trump Auto Rule Enforcing Preemption of California Motor Vehicle CO2 Regulations
On Friday, June 11, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), joined by eight other free market organizations, submitted comments on the National Highway Traffic Safety…
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NHTSA Proposes to Repeal Preemption of California’s GHG Vehicle Regulations
The comment period opens today for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to repeal portions of the Trump…
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CEI Submits Comments on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Consideration of Greenhouse Gases in Natural Gas Facility Permitting
CEI submitted comments yesterday addressing seven questions posed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on how the Commission should consider environmental impacts…
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EPA Inspector General Releases Report on Trump Auto Rule Process Concerns
The Washington Post today reviews a report released yesterday by the Inspector General (IG) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding claims that…
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Let Private Markets Assess the Financial Risks of Climate Change
In her opening remarks this week to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen identified climate change as the “big” “emerging…
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Will EPA Establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Greenhouse Gases?
Will the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) propose to establish national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs)? The…
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Senate Votes Today on Rep. Debra Haaland’s Nomination to Be Interior Secretary
The Senate at 5:30 p.m. today will vote on Interior Secretary nominee Rep. Debra Haaland (D-NM). In a statement posted March 11 on the…
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Twelve States Challenge Legality and Constitutionality of Biden Administration’s Use of Social Cost of Carbon
In a lawsuit filed this week, 12 state attorneys general (AGs) are asking a federal district court in Missouri to place an “immediate and…
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Roger Pielke, Jr. Debunks Biden Administration Social Cost of Carbon Estimates
Last Friday, the White House blog announced a “return to science.” How so? Federal agencies will henceforth be guided by “evidence-based estimates of the…
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Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Considers the Nomination of Rep. Debra Haaland to Be Secretary of Interior
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week held a two–part hearing to consider the nomination of Rep. Debra Haaland…
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EPA’s Transparency Rule: Post Mortem
Montana District Court Judge Brian Morris on February 1 vacated the Trump administration’s Science Transparency Rule. The judge’s decision was a victory for…
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Feeding the Hand that Smites: Union Leaders Protesting Biden’s Cancellation of Keystone XL Pipeline Endorsed Him Despite Campaign Pledge to Kill the Project
One of President Biden’s first official acts on Inauguration Day was to rescind the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline (KXL). Although canceling the…
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D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Vacates Trump EPA’s Replacement for Clean Power Plan
A panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 on January 19 to vacate the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule,…
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Trump EPA’s January Surprise: Timely New Check on Regulatory Excess
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on January 13 published its long-awaited final rule on New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions…
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EPA Rule Will Strengthen Transparency and Accountability in Agency Science
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week finalized its science transparency rule. The rule requires the EPA to clearly identify the “pivotal” scientific studies…
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Washington Post Trashes EPA Benefit Cost Analysis Rule
The Washington Post last week published an inaccurate and misleading analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently finalized benefit-cost analysis (BCA) rule…
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New York Times Trashes EPA’s Particulate Matter Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday, December 7, finalized its national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) rule for particulate matter (PM). Controversy swirls…
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Carbon Pricing Would Make Electricity Markets Less Efficient
On Monday (November 16, 2020), I submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on its proposed policy statement encouraging regional trading…
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What Climate Policy Actions a Biden-Harris Administration Might Undertake its First 100 Days
What climate policy actions would a Biden-Harris administration undertake during its first 100 days? Climate Project 21, an organization co-chaired by…
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U.S. Withdraws from Paris Agreement: Six Questions for a Potential Future Biden Administration
The United States officially exited the Paris Climate Treaty on Wednesday, November 4, the first day on which a party may withdraw from the pact…
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As Election Nears, NYT Makes Another Push for Groupthink
The New York Times on October 27 ran an article titled “As Election Nears, Trump Makes Final Push Against Climate Science.” The article spotlights President Trump’s recent appointments…
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NHTSA’s Consistent Understanding that California’s Tailpipe GHG Standards Are Unlawful
October 27 is the deadline for submitting final legal briefs to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Union of Concerned Scientists v. National Highway…
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Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Calls for Carbon Pricing
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on October 15 proposed a policy statement to (1) “clarify its jurisdiction” over Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) and…
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EPA Encourages Innovation, Levels Playing Field for Sources Reducing Hazardous Air Emissions
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on October 1 finalized a rule to implement the clear language of Section 112 of the…
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House Oversight Subcommittee Holds Climate Policy Hearing
On September 24, 2020, the House Oversight Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing titled “Climate Change Part IV: Moving Towards a…
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Fuel Economy: DOJ Defends One National Program Rule
The Department of Justice (DOJ) last week filed its initial reply brief in Union of Concerned Scientists v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a case…
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Appointment of Climate Realist David Legates at NOAA Sparks Protest by Representatives Grijalva and Huffman
Two Democratic leaders of the House Natural Resources Committee are demanding that the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) explain why it hired a “climate…
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Conservative Carbon Tax: Bad Politics, Bad Policy
A recent article in National Review suggests conservative politicians would be smart to advocate a carbon tax, enabling them to show they care about the…
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CEI Submits Comment Letter in Support of EPA’s Benefit-Cost Analysis Rule
The comment period closed this week on the Environmental Protection Agency’s benefit-cost analysis (BCA) rulemaking. Under the proposal, all economically significant Clean Air Act regulations…
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EPA Proposes First Ever CO2 Standards for Commercial Aircraft
The EPA today proposed first-ever greenhouse gas emission standards for certain new commercial airplanes, including all large passenger jets. The proposed standards, which phase in…
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NEPA Rule: Implications for Climate Policy
The White House Council on Environmental Quality this week published its final rule updating the procedures federal agencies must follow when conducting environmental reviews under…
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Axios Spins IEA CO2 Report
Axios Generate on June 26 concludes its first article with a “bonus chart” from the International Energy Agency’s recent report, Global CO2 emissions in 2019.
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Criteria Pollutant Emissions and Precursors Decline 7 Percent Under Trump
The EPA today released its annual report on air quality, tracking the nation’s progress through 2019. The EPA reports that under President Trump (2017-2019), combined…