New York State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, a Democrat, introduced legislation on Jan. 2 that would impose a carbon tax of no less than $35 per ton on the distribution or sale of carbon-based fuels, increasing annually by $15 to a maximum of $185. Under the bill, 60 percent of the proceeds from the tax would be…...
Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy on Dec. 18 released a report detailing strategies from the Governor’s Council on Climate Change to help the state achieve its long-term vision for decarbonizing the economy. The recommendations center on three fundamental objectives of the vision – zero-carbon electricity, clean transportation, and building efficiency. Legislation enacted last year set a…
The Washington Department of Ecology adopted rules requiring new vehicles licensed in the state to continue meeting California’s standards, steadily reducing the release of greenhouse gases through 2025, according to a Jan. 2 news release. Democratic Governor Jay Inslee underscored the need for “collective actions of states” even as the Trump administration tries to relax…
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection proposed to set an initial carbon dioxide cap at 18 million tons in 2020 for the electricity generation sector when the state officially becomes a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation’s first mandatory cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Dec. 17…...
The United Nations twenty-fourth annual climate conference concluded on Dec. 15, following a week of intense discussions culminating in the adoption of rules for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which aims to prevent the worst impacts of climate change by keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. The deal establishes uniform standards that will be used by…
The New York Independent System Operator Inc. on Dec. 7 released a plan outlining a design to internalize the social cost of carbon dioxide emissions in the wholesale electricity markets. The plan would use a carbon price in dollars per ton of emissions, proposing a net cost of $40.74 per ton in 2020. The proposal would require suppliers to include the charges in their energy offers, allowing the price to…
Under current and planned policies, global energy demand is expected to grow by over 25 percent to 2040, requiring an annual investment of more than $2 trillion in new energy supply, according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook published on Nov. 13. The agency said that over 70 percent of global energy investments…
U.S. electric power sector emissions totaled 1,744 million metric tons in 2017, the lowest since 1987, according to an Oct. 29 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Energy-related emissions in the power sector fell by 28 percent since 2005 compared to 5 percent in all other energy sectors. The agency attributed the drop in…
The Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board on Oct. 30 approved recommendations to revise to regulations governing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric power plants in the state. The Department of Environmental Quality proposed a more stringent base budget of 28 million tons in 2020 resulting in additional emissions reductions of 5 million tons…
The Montana Public Service Commission voiced support for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Affordable Clean Energy Rule,” a proposal to replace an Obama-era measure to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, according to an Oct. 26 press release. The commission said it “takes a keen interest” in the proposed rule in view of the state’s…
The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut ruled on Oct. 25 that Connecticut’s transfer of ratepayer funds collected for energy conservation programs to the general fund is not illegal. The court said that state law has not promised ratepayers that their money would not be transferred to the general fund for other purposes,…
