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Ga. races could shape U.S. climate policy for a generation
The only debate during Georgia’s Senate runoffs gave Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff a chance to pitch his climate plan. He delivered a short argument for funding clean energy jobs, then returned to the dominant theme of his campaign: attacking his opponent, Republican Sen. David Perdue, as corrupt. [ read more … ]
Solar Energy
Trump Faces Another Legal Battle Over Stiffer Solar Tariffs
A Washington-based solar-lobbying group is challenging an October proclamation by President Donald Trump that stiffened tariffs on imported solar equipment. Late Tuesday, the Solar Energy Industries Association and developers including NextEra Energy Inc. and Invenergy Renewables LLC asked the U.S. Court of International Trade for an injunction prohibiting the enforcement of the proclamation, which removed a tariff exemption on two-sided, or bifacial, panels. The lawsuit contends the Trump administration “failed to follow the required procedures” before acting. [ read more … ]
States
Massachusetts outlines plan for zero emissions by 2050
Massachusetts has released a plan to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, which includes in part a requirement that all new cars sold in the state be electric by 2035 and converting 1 million homes from fossil fuel to electric heat. The plan came in two reports issued Wednesday by the administration of Republican Gov. Charlie Baker — the Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap Report and an interim 2030 Clean Energy and Climate Plan. [ read more … ]
The Transition
Biden set to supercharge clean energy push with $40B stash
Twelve years ago, the Department of Energy was so central to the incomingObama administration’s stimulus plans that DOE staffers were among the first through the doors at the transition headquarters, helping the Secret Service take the plastic wrap off tables and chairs so they could get to work. Now, DOE is poised to again play an essential role as the Biden administration looks to leverage clean energy investments toward its twin goals of pulling the economy out of a deep slump and delivering on the president-elect’s ambitious climate pledges. [ read more … ]
Climate Report
How Trump Tried, but Largely Failed, to Derail America’s Top Climate Report
The National Climate Assessment, America’s premier contribution to climate knowledge, stands out for many reasons: Hundreds of scientists across the federal government and academia join forces to compile the best insights available on climate change. The results, released just twice a decade or so, shape years of government decisions. Now, as the clock runs down on President Trump’s time in office, the climate assessment has gained a new distinction: It is one of the few major U.S. climate initiatives that his administration tried, yet largely failed, to undermine.
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Greens track deniers ahead of Biden climate push
A coalition of environmentalists is tracking online disinformation about climate change in response to a rising tide of conspiratorial thinking among the American electorate. The informal group is led by representatives of Friends of the Earth and the Environmental Defense Fund, and includes members of around a dozen environmental groups. This is the first time the initiative is being reported on. [ read more … ]
Natural Gas
How Calif. is closing the door to gas in new homes
California’s top energy bosses soon will decide when to snuff out natural gas flames in new homes. The seismic move toward omitting some gas appliances comes as the California Energy Commission retools state building codes for energy-efficient homes. It’s an expansion of the state’s first-in-the-nation mandates requiring solar panels on all new homes starting last year. The agency now plans to tighten rules on natural gas for home heating and hot water, a code update that would take effect in 2023. [ read more … ]
Energy Efficiency Rules
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over rule allowing for faster dishwashers
A coalition of environmental groups sued the Energy Department on Tuesday in an effort to block a new federal rule that would allow for faster dishwashers, arguing it could possibly lead to “higher household utility bills and more pollution.” The rule finalized by the department in October would create a product class of dishwashers “with a cycle time for the normal cycle of one hour or less from washing through drying.” [ read more … ]
EVs
Mass. to require all new cars sold to be electric by 2035 as part of climate-change measures
Governor Charlie Baker’s administration on Wednesday released a plan that will require the state to dramatically cut greenhouse-gas emissions in the next decade and beyond through a raft of changes, including by mandating that all new cars sold in the state be electric by 2035. Among the changes the state plans over the next decade: retrofitting 1 million homes to use electricity for heating instead of gas and oil, cutting commuters’ driving miles by 15 percent, and dramatically increasing offshore wind power generation. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.