Law Commons^™

The Clean Power Plan Puzzle: The Future Of Efforts To Control Climate Pollution In The Northeast, David Gahl, Pearl Gray, Nick Martin

Environmental Law Program Publications @ Haub Law

In October 2015 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the first national plan to cut climate pollution from power plants. Called the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the effort requires a 32% nation-wide reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the power sector. The CPP also gives states multiple pathways to comply. Now states are on the clock: they must submit their individual compliance plans or signal their intent to submit multi-state plans by September 2016.

The nine states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the first market-based trading platform established to cut climate pollution from power plants …

An Analysis Of Senator Mcconnell's Letter Urging States Not To Comply With Epa's Clean Power Plan, Daniel Selmi

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

On numerous occasions Senator Mitchell McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, has attacked the upcoming Clean Power Plan regulations that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to issue in June of this year. Most notably, on March 19, 2015, he sent a letter to the National Governors Association urging the governors of all fifty states not to prepare state plans in response to those regulations. In that letter he laid out what he termed his “serious legal and policy concerns” regarding the EPA proposal. The letter received wide publicity.

Daniel Selmi has written an essay analyzing legal statements made by …

The Clean Power Plan: Issues To Watch, Robert L. Glicksman, Emily Hammond, Alice Kaswan, William Buzbzee, Kirsten H. Engel, David M. Driesen, Victor Byers Flatt, Alexandra B. Klass, Thomas Owen Mcgarity, Melissa Powers, Joseph P. Tomain

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Although the Clean Air Act is an imperfect tool for addressing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is the only available federal mechanism for directly addressing power plant carbon emissions. The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan, published in final form in August 2015, tackles the challenge. This paper from the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) compiles 13 separately authored essays from 11 CPR Member Scholars, each addressing a different topic related to the Clean Power Plan, and each representing the expertise and views of its individual author(s). Published in July 2015, just before the release of the final rule, the …

The Regulatory Contract In The Marketplace, Emily Hammond, David Spence

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

For decades, energy policy has struggled to reconcile two distinct visions for the future: the first seeks ever-more-competitive, efficient, and dynamic electricity markets; while the second seeks an ever-greener mix of electricity generation sources. Caught within this push-and-pull dynamic is the regulatory contract — a nineteenth-century concept that stands more for ordered regulation than competitive markets. This Article examines how piecemeal pursuit of two energy visions has produced mismatches between rapidly evolving markets and governance institutions that cannot change as quickly. To better evaluate these mismatches, the Article develops a framework that accounts not just for market operation and environmental …