This post was originally published on Legal Planet. Reprinted with permission.
States have played a critical role in U.S. climate policy. The federal government is now supporting that role with federal funding for states. In the meantime, a number of states have moved a step further in plans to phase out gas and diesel vehicles. Two key states have ramped up their plans for carbon neutrality, while offshore wind made a big step forward in the Midwest, of all places.
The first of these developments is federal support for states. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $5 billion in funding for states to help develop a national EV charging network. Last month, the Department of Energy solicited applications from states to develop clean energy projects. Funding is available by state: California can apply for $30 million; Texas is eligible for up to $33 million; and New York could see about $17 million.
The Inflation Reduction Act provides another important source of state funding. A key provision (IRA § 60114) appropriates $250 million to support emission reduction planning by state governments. This is especially important for smaller states that want to decarbonize but may not have the resources for the kind of scoping plan that a state like California can afford. The possibility of snagging some of this funding may also help nudge some lagging states to think seriously about cutting carbon emissions.
Another development with multi-state implications involves electric vehicles. Under the Clean Air Act, California has the unique ability to set its own standards for tailpipe emissions from new vehicles, including greenhouse gases. Other states can then piggyback on California's efforts. California has now adopted a rule phasing out gas and diesel vehicles by 2035. There are some aggressive milestone requirements: 35 percent of new vehicles must be electric by 2026 and 68 percent in 2030. Washington State, Massachusetts, and Virginia are all legally committed to follow the California standard. Oregon seems likely to do so soon. New York has a similar goal but apparently no specific mandate yet in place.
There've been some other major developments in California. Last week, the legislature passed a major package of laws pushed by Governor Gavin Newsome, including measures that will require the state to become carbon-neutral by 2045, produce 90 percent of its electricity from clean sources by 2035, create safety zones around oil wells near homes, and draft rules for carbon capture technology. Part of the package was a measure to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open longer before phasing it out.
In the meantime, a California agency has set goals of generating five gigawatts from offshore wind by 2030 and twenty-five gigawatts by 2045. Halfway across the country, offshore wind got another boost from an Ohio Supreme Court decision that upheld a permit for what could be North America's first freshwater wind farm on one of the Great Lakes.
On the East Coast, Massachusetts's GOP governor, Charlie Baker, approved sweeping climate legislation that will help the state meet its net zero by 2050 target. The legislation directs investment toward renewables, the power grid, and stationary storage. Notably, the legislation will allow ten municipalities to ban natural gas use in new buildings. The law also includes funding for offshore wind energy and electricity grid improvements, as well as incentives for electric vehicles and appliances.
I predict that we'll see a wave of legislation and agency regulation at the state level, sparked by federal legislation. It's not just the direct funding for state governments that makes me think this. It's also the fact that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the IRA will lower the cost of cutting carbon emissions for firms and consumers. That's going to make it feasible for state regulators to be a lot more aggressive.
Showing 2,834 results
Daniel Farber | September 9, 2022
States have played a critical role in U.S. climate policy. The federal government is now supporting that role with federal funding for states. In the meantime, a number of states have moved a step further in plans to phase out gas and diesel vehicles. Two key states have ramped up their plans for carbon neutrality, while offshore wind made a big step forward in the Midwest.
Sophie Loeb | September 8, 2022
The Center for Progressive Reform recently launched the Campaign for Energy Justice to ensure that North Carolina’s transition to a clean energy economy serves all North Carolinians regardless of wealth or background. The campaign puts equity at the center of the state’s transition to clean sources of energy like wind and solar power. Unfortunately, a plan submitted to the North Carolina Utility Commission (NCUC) by Duke Energy to reduce carbon emissions fails to take equity into account.
Sophie Loeb | September 8, 2022
In the spring of 2022, Duke Energy submitted a Carbon Plan to help North Carolina achieve goals laid out in recently enacted laws to curb climate change. The plan ostensibly aims to achieve the state's climate goals to curb carbon emissions. Under this plan, however, low-wealth North Carolinians, who are disproportionately people of color, risk losing access to reliable, affordable electricity.
Clare Henry | September 7, 2022
From family farmers to biofuel investors, over 900 people and advocacy groups submitted comments on California’s draft plan for achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. In their comments, environmental advocates and justice groups expressed three major concerns with the state’s draft “scoping” plan. First, the plan fails to recognize the urgency of transitioning to a clean energy economy. Second, it relies too heavily on unproven technology. And third, it fails to specify concrete implementation measures.
David Hunter, Shade Streeter, William Snape, III | September 1, 2022
Our hemisphere’s shared natural heritage is threatened. The Convention on Nature Protection and Wild Life Preservation is a low-risk, high-reward pathway for the Biden administration to strengthen our strategic relationships in the hemisphere.
Grace DuBois | August 31, 2022
Climate change poses a serious threat to occupational health and safety. Workers — especially low-income workers and those who work outdoors — are particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures and increasingly frequent extreme weather and other climate-related disasters.
Daniel Farber | August 19, 2022
Production and combustion of fossil fuels impose enormous costs on society, which the industry doesn't pay for. I want to talk about some options for using the tax system to change that.
Alexandra Rogan, James Goodwin | August 18, 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will subsidize our nation's clean energy revolution and have a positive impact on climate-driven economics, as noted in Part I of this series. That said, the IRA isn't flawless. Notably, it includes several subsidies for fossil fuels, which will be counterproductive as our nation works toward its climate goals. Worse still, not all "carrots" for clean energy technologies are good, and the IRA includes a potentially bad one. Specifically, the IRA risks subsidizing the clean energy transition through perpetuating environmental injustice in how we obtain and use energy to fuel our economy.
Alexandra Rogan, James Goodwin | August 18, 2022
With the signature of President Joe Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) now marks the most significant climate policy action the United States has ever taken. The defining feature of this law is that it seeks to wring carbon dioxide emissions out of the U.S. economy by relying heavily on policy "carrots," like subsidies, instead of policy "sticks," such as regulating the fossil fuel industry or attempting to capture the external costs of greenhouse gas emissions through carbon pricing.