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Suspend or Not to Suspend? - Review of the Projected Economic Impacts of AB 32
Posted by Jacob Freitas on July 30, 2010 at 11:56am
Deemed landmark environmental legislation by some and a government power grab by others, AB 32 has been a point of contention since its adoption back in 2006. Opponents of the law have been able to qualify Prop 23 for the November elections here in CA which would effectively suspend most actions implementing AB 32 until unemployment reaches 5.5% four over a year. Do you know the facts?
Cap & Trade is Already Here – Part I
Posted by Walt Vernon on July 12, 2010 at 7:19pm
As the U.S. Senate continues to grapple with ways to conclude some kind of meaningful energy and emissions reduction scheme that will satisfy enough political interests to allow it to pass, other regulations and systems are already filling that void.
SEC Climate Change Disclosure Requirements
Posted by Walt Vernon on April 21, 2010 at 5:26pm
The SEC released the final Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change, Final Rule in the Federal Register on February 8, 2010. (75 Fed. Reg. 6290 – 6297 (February 8, 2010) (to be codified as 17 C.F.R. Parts 211, 231, and 241)).
The Difference between Energy & Emissions Reduction
Posted by Arash Guity on March 08, 2010 at 3:23pm
With the growing attention to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy efficiency, I have found myself more frequently explaining the nuances and differences in calculating reductions. Many people don’t understand that a 20% reduction in energy consumption for a building doesn’t necessarily translate into a 20% reduction in GHG emissions.
Mandatory Energy Disclosure
Posted by Walt Vernon on February 11, 2010 at 7:49pm
More and more jurisdictions around the country are requiring building owners to publicly disclose the energy consumption of their buildings.
Greenhouse gas emissions thresholds: What will the magic number be?
Posted by Arash Guity on January 09, 2010 at 11:39am
With climate change regulation and mandatory reporting becoming closer to reality, many organizations and facility owners are trying to understand whether and how they may be affected.
Designing Cap and Trade to Protect Public Health
Posted by Walt Vernon on January 08, 2010 at 9:45pm
As many of you know, the State of California passed the “Global Warming Solutions Act” in 2006. Otherwise known as Assembly Bill (AB) 32, this law requires the state to develop regulations, including “market-based mechanisms” (i.e. cap and trade system) that will lead to reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. And, for people NOT living in California, this is important because California’s regulations often foretell similar regulations that eventually make their way to the rest of the country. What is new in the California planning is an effort to tailor the cap and trade system to better protect public health.
What’s an “RPS” and why should I care?
Posted by Walt Vernon on December 31, 2009 at 11:25am
RPS stands for Renewable Portfolio Standard. It is a tactic being used more and more by regulators to try to increase the degree to which our energy supply comes from renewable energy.
Pharmaceuticals in Water Stream
Posted by Walt Vernon on December 23, 2009 at 12:48pm
The EPA and FDA are starting to take a closer look at the issue of pharmaceuticals in the water system.
Laws to Make Climate Change Mitigation Cheaper
Posted by Walt Vernon on December 22, 2009 at 11:42am
On December 16, the Obama administration unveiled a proposal to expand a Clean Energy Tax Credit by $5B. This is one example of laws aimed at combating climate change by offering incentives rather than by creating penalties. This, I think, is the absolute best way to create improvements.
Green Building Codes
Posted by Walt Vernon on December 15, 2009 at 3:10pm
One of the things that is so clear to me is that the bulk of climate change law flies under the radar, and is ignored in conversations over cap and trade and global warming. One of the best examples of this is in the creation of green building codes.
Early Action; what is it and why should I care?
Posted by Walt Vernon on December 11, 2009 at 12:07am
Early action is a concept by which regulators encourage people to take action before the regulations are formulated or take effect. Climate change laws usually reward early action, meaning there is an incentive now to create your emissions baseline and to start to bring it down.
EPA Endangerment Finding
Posted by Walt Vernon on December 07, 2009 at 7:48pm
On December 7, 2009, 60 days and 380,000 public comments after issuing its draft Endangerment finding, the EPA announced that the six Greenhouse Gasses named in the Kyoto Protocol “threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.”
This is a big deal.
Climate Change: Fact or Fiction
Posted by Walt Vernon on November 12, 2009 at 11:10pm
I know that lots of people do not believe that climate change is happening. Or that, if it is, it isn’t manmade. Or if it is real and it is manmade, it won’t be a problem. Or, that if it is real, and manmade, and a problem, it isn’t worth the cost of doing something about it. In fact, a recent poll found a decline in the number of people in the U.S. who think it is an important issue.
Welcome
Posted by Arash Guity on November 12, 2009 at 11:06pm
In our continued effort to share our growing knowledge base of climate change and sustainability issues, we bring you the BLUE blog – a weekly blog focused on the impact and response of the built environment to climate change and sustainability issues. This will be an outlet for Mazzetti Nash Lipsey Burch and our Climate Change Consulting division, BLUE, to discuss topics related to legal/policy/regulatory issues, emerging technologies, sustainable design best practices, lessons learned from projects, and really anything we feel is worth sharing related to climate change and sustainability.
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