Fossil fuel power plants can avoid most emissions by capturing carbon dioxide and pumping it underground. But to be a climate solution, that carbon has to stay stored for thousands of years.
In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court held that an Obama administration plan to regulate carbon emissions from power plants exceeded the power that Congress gave to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Chris Sellers, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York); Lindsey Dillon, University of California, Santa Cruz, and Phil Brown, Northeastern University
Government agencies are supposed to listen to the industries they regulate, but what if they tune out everyone else? Scholars call this regulatory capture, and some staffers see it happening at EPA.
A recent survey of electric utility leaders finds that Trump administration efforts to promote coal energy and roll back air pollution regulations have had little impact on their long-range plans.
Rural development experts say the best way to help coal communities by is investing in people, infrastructure and a clean environment. Instead, President Trump’s budget cuts programs in these areas.
If the US stays in the Paris deal but misses its targets, the deal could look like a sham. But if Trump carries out his threat to withdraw, the US veto would be gone, and other nations might step up.
Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, now leading a clean energy research center at Colorado State University, explains why clean energy will keep growing despite President Trump’s focus on fossil fuel.
Donald Trump has signalled the end of US leadership on climate policy, with potentially unpleasant consequences for America’s economy, security and diplomatic standing.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has sued the federal government repeatedly. If he becomes head of EPA and tries to weaken environmental laws, opponents are likely to do the same to him.
The ‘war on coal’ is not really a result of onerous regulations but a combination of market forces over which a Trump administration has limited control.
Hillary Clinton’s energy and climate platform emphasizes renewable energy and the health benefits of the plan – a position that will resonate with many voters.
Despite looming legal challenges, states are devising plans to comply with limits on power plant carbon emissions – a crucial part of Obama’s climate policies.
Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Study of Inequalities, Social Justice, and Policy, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)