The Environmental Protection Agency's delay in finalizing greenhouse gas rules for new coal-fired power plants is not yet angering the environmental groups and states that sought the regulations.
Three environmental groups on Monday filed a 60-day notice with EPA that they will sue in federal court if the agency does not forward on a proposed rule for new plants and then propose a rule for existing plants. But representatives say there is no reason to think EPA will not follow through on its commitment to finalize the regulations.
A top energy adviser to Mitt Romney said Wednesday the GOP presidential contender believes humans have some effect on climate change but that the United States doesn't need to regulate greenhouse gases because emissions already are down.
“What would be the point of it? Why should we impose burdens on our economy for no meaningful effect on global greenhouse gas emissions?” said attorney Linda Gillespie Stuntz, a former deputy Energy secretary under President George H.W. Bush.
She cited the Energy Information Agency outlook showing the U.S. emissions have declined, with the recession and changes like fuel efficiency, and will stay below 2005 levels through 2035.
California's cap-and-trade scheme that underpins the nation's first greenhouse-gas mandate against global warming won a victory in a state appeals court on Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The ruling upheld the state's plan over the objections of some environmental groups who contended that it was too weak and could end up making some types of pollution worse.
A top official of the UN sustainable energy program is arguing that only by employing shale natural gas will the world be able to ensure universal access to energy and reduce deforestation, Reuters reports.
A pioneering nine-state greenhouse gas program, which created a cap-and-trade system for East Coast power plants, has spurred an average 23 percent drop in carbon emissions from the plants during its first three years, The New York Times reports.
A top official with the World Trade Organization tells Reuters it's unlikely that countries opposing the EU rules mandating that airlines pay for their carbon emissions will be able to bring their case before the WTO.
Analysis by the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit utility consortium, finds that the government's new rules aimed at curbing pollution from coal-fired plants will cost the U.S. economy as much as $275 billion by 2035, although the pricetag could drop significantly depending on implementation, The New York Times reports.
SHANGHAI (AP) — Ensuring that forest dwellers have rights over their land is vital for slowing the deforestation that may be causing up to a fifth of the world's emissions of greenhouse gases, according to a report released Wednesday.
The report by the Washington-based NGO Rights and Resources Initiative is aimed at encouraging next month's U.N. summit in Rio de Janeiro to tackle the politically contentious issue of land reforms.
The Environmental Protection Agency said it would not finish its study of hydraulic fracturing's impact on drinking water until 2016, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is pressing Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to reject the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg's compromise chemical safety bill because she doesn't think the legislation is strong enough, Roll Call reports.
A draft Environmental Protection Agency report faults Washington state for failures in oversight at the contaminated Hanford Nuclear Reservation, The Associated Press reports.
A group of 21 states urged the Environmental Protection Agency not to allow lawsuit threats to force its hand on regulations for carbon emissions from new power plants, The Hill reports.
The link between natural gas prices and oil prices is increasingly eroding as new supplies of gas are discovered and competition increases, The New York Times reports.
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Republican Gabriel Gomez were increasingly aggressive in the final Massachusetts Senate debate last night, Politico reports.
Duke Energy's selection of Lynn Good for CEO makes her the company's first female CEO and makes Duke the largest energy company led by a woman, Bloomberg reports.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it discovered dangerous levels of radioactivity in the groundwater surrounding the crippled Fukushima plant, Bloomberg reports.
