We regularly produce original research and analysis that highlight attorney general work on clean energy and the environment and provide commentary on important and timely topics in these areas of work.
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Blog
Buckle Your Seat Belts For A Battle Royale Around Cars & Coal
An important reckoning is near. Two of the Trump administration’s most significant anti-environment initiatives are on deck. In the coming weeks, EPA will put a new Clean Air Act rule in place for the coal industry and, later this summer, it will do the same for the automobile industry.
June 13, 2019
David J. Hayes -
Blog
The U.S. Is Taking on the Climate Crisis – No Thanks to the Trump Administration
The architecture for solving major challenges in the U.S. typically stands on four pillars: the federal government; state governments; the private business sector; and public support. When it comes to the climate crisis, three of these four pillars are in place, rooted in a solid foundation of facts and science. Only the federal government is missing.
May 23, 2019
David J. Hayes -
Blog
How the Conflict Between States and the Federal Government is Hurting the Emerging Clean Energy Economy
From the outset, the Trump administration has painted federal environmental regulations as constraints that “unduly burden” the promotion of domestic fossil fuels, and its manic (and mostly unsuccessful) efforts to remove key environmental protections has since reinforced it.
May 14, 2019
David J. Hayes -
Op-Eds
The looming threat to state renewable goals in wholesale electricity markets
“While I certainly agree with Michael Hogan’s affirmation of states’ rights to address environmental externalities through energy policy in his recent Utility Dive opinion piece, ‘States’ rights, states’ wrongs,’ his argument omits the important discussion of wrongs by Regional Transmission Operators (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs).”
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Blog
What a Recent Court Decision Means for Future Environmental Deregulation
The Trump administration has an abysmal track record in defending its deregulatory actions in the courts. The administration’s poor performance has been due, in large part, to its repeated attempts to unlawfully delay or otherwise avoid enforcing legal requirements that are on the books. Courts have not been patient with such antics
April 26, 2019
David J. Hayes -
Blog
Learning from the Past to Help Resolve Future Health & Environmental Challenges
Major health and environmental controversies burst on the national scene with some regularity, often raising challenging legal and policy issues around liability, restoration and restitution. These issues are often tough for single courts, or for our legal system generally, to handle
April 2, 2019
David J. Hayes -
Blog
FERC Inaction Translates to Inequity in ISO-New England
States exercise authority over electric generation resources, and FERC oversees wholesale electricity markets. But this is not the end of the story. As states set more ambitious clean energy goals that influence what types of generation resources are built, integrating these resources into wholesale markets has become a source of contention
April 1, 2019
Jessica Bell -
Blog
The Rollback of Six Critical Environmental Regulations Will Increase U.S. Climate Pollution by More Than 200 Million Metric Tons Each Year
It is challenging to keep track of the Trump administration’s many rollbacks of environmental and health protections. Dozens of rollbacks are in process, and new ones are surfacing all the time
March 16, 2019
David J. Hayes -
Reports
Climate & Health Showdown in the Courts
State attorneys general have bee vigorously fighting against the Trump administration’s attempts to replace existing rules that require greenhouse gas emissions reductions with new rules that unlawfully and harmfully negate those reductions.
March 1, 2019
State Impact Center -
Blog
Everyone is a Fan of Saving Energy… Except the Trump Administration
Since 1975, Congress has directed DOE to develop national energy efficiency standards that are technically feasible and cost-effective for consumers and manufacturers alike. Despite the maturity and success of Energy Department’s energy efficiency standards program, the Trump administration clearly would prefer not to implement it
February 21, 2019
David J. Hayes -
Blog
What the Legal Battle over Zero Emission Credits Means for State Clean Energy Policies
Although energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide rose for the first time in several years in 2018, proponents of clean energy can be excited about long-term clean energy trends, particularly at the state level
February 19, 2019
Jessica Bell -
Blog
Why the Controversy Around PFAS Chemicals, and What the EPA Can (and Should) Do About It
The EPA has yet to use any of its authorities to take decisive action regarding the alarming levels of toxic PFAS (per- and Poly Fluoro Alkyl Substances) confirmed to be present in hundreds of drinking water sources throughout the nation.
February 8, 2019
David J. Hayes