scholarly journals The Evolution of NEPA in the Fight Against Climate Change

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Reiley
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Environmental Policy Act ◽  
Outer Continental Shelf ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
National Environmental

The National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) is the first environmental charter of the United States. 1 Signed into law on January 1, 1970, NEPA addresses the need for overarching national environmental guidance in the country. During the course of its forty year history, NEPA has been used to challenge a wide range of federal actions including the issuance of operating permits under the Clean Air Act,2 the approval of forest management plans approved under the National Forest Management Act,3 the construction of highways under the Federal-Aid Highways Act,4 and the issuance of oil leases under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.5 Given the breadth of NEPA’s applicability, it was inevitable that NEPA would become a tool to combat climate change. The use of NEPA to require federal agencies to take a “hard look” at greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions makes perfect sense because many federal actions directly or indirectly contribute to GHG emissions. Since 1990, in City of Los Angeles v. NHTSA,6 plaintiffs have used NEPA, successfully and unsuccessfully, to challenge federal actions that might have an impact on the global climate.

India's Policy Priorities – Bleak Forecast for a Global Climate Regime?

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-341
Author(s):  
Deepa Badrinarayana
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Address Climate Change ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Energy Options

The future of an effective climate regime, post-2012, depends on three nations—China, India, and the United States of America. While a deadlock persists when it comes to the question of accepting binding international legal obligations for targeted reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, all three countries favor action to address climate change. Nationally, each country is exploring a range of policy and legislative options to retard carbon emissions, especially by promoting alternative energy options and energy efficiency.

Are We There Yet?

2019 ◽  
pp. 148-164
Author(s):  
Sara Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New York ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
York City ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Baseline Levels ◽  
Catalytic Effects ◽  
Change Mitigation

This chapter evaluates the progress the three cities—New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto—have made in reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the effects their efforts have had beyond these direct outcomes. As expected, tracking city-scale GHG emissions is difficult and reporting, in many cases, is inconsistent. In all three cases, city figures show that emissions are declining and at a rate that is largely consistent with longer-term goals—between 12 percent and 26 percent below baseline levels. Moreover, as the three cities work to reduce GHG emissions, they are having much broader effects on local political and administrative arrangements, other cities' efforts to govern GHG emissions, and the decisions of state and provincial governments. These catalytic effects underscore the important mobilizing role cities play in global climate change mitigation efforts.

Climate change justice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Idil Boran ◽  
Corey Katz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Political Communities

Climate change justice is a branch of philosophical inquiry concerned with fair terms of cooperation for addressing global climate change. Global climate change refers to the adverse effects of rising average global temperature on meteorological, environmental, and societal systems due to human activities. Independent observations show a rising trend in average global surface temperature since 1880, with most of the relevant global warming occurring since the 1980s. These climatic changes are the outcome of heightened concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) – e.g., carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide – in the atmosphere. These gases are produced by a wide range of human activities, from the burning of fossil fuels for energy at both the industrial and the consumer level to overall land use. The fundamental relation between concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere and global warming is well understood. And yet, achieving effective and fair international coordination to respond to the problem of global climate change has been far more challenging than expected. One of the reasons for this is that any attempt to address global climate change raises complex problems of justice. First, those communities that are most vulnerable to the risks and harms of climate change have contributed the least to the problem. Second, economic capacity to address the problem is not distributed equally around the globe. Third, political communities and generations have clashing interest claims in relation to the burdens of addressing climate change. These circumstances raise pressing questions about how to coordinate global and intergenerational cooperation. The debate over climate change justice has been primarily concerned with what counts as a just allocation of burdens and benefits in the global response to the problem of climate change. To a large extent, philosophical interest in these questions developed against the backdrop of the international effort to reach a global agreement. A prominent discussion within this debate is concerned with the allocation of duties and rights with regard to climate action. Broadly speaking, there are two distinct categories of climate change action. One is mitigation, which refers to efforts to reduce GHG emissions; the other is adaptation and refers to a wide range of actions to help adjust social systems to a changing climate. Much of the philosophical debate has revolved around the allocation of mitigation duties. More recently, questions of justice for adaptation along with alternative perspectives that challenge the allocative framework have been attracting interest.

The Shifting Ambitions and Positions of City Governments

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Sara Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New York ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
The United States ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
State Governments ◽  
City Governments ◽  
Policy Agendas ◽  
National Governments

This introductory chapter discusses the shifting ambitions and positions of city governments. Once considered the purveyors of street repairs and sewer mains, city governments are now being heralded as innovative, entrepreneurial, and dynamic actors ready to take on societal challenges that other levels of government seem unprepared or unwilling to address. Indeed, city governments are viewed, and are viewing themselves, as able to effectively pursue major policy agendas once considered the sole purview of national governments. From labor to immigration to climate change, there has been a shift in both practice and rhetoric to cities. In the United States, city governments from Bangor, Maine, to Los Angeles, California, are raising the minimum wage for their residents, even as many state governments scramble to prevent them from doing so. The chapter explains that the book focuses on local efforts to address global climate change. It explores the means by which city governments—particularly those of New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto—pursue climate change mitigation, or reducing the greenhouse gas emissions produced by urban systems, and to what ends.

Ernst Julius Öpik, Solar Variability and Climate Change

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Sterken
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
The United States ◽  
Solar Variability ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractThis paper covers some aspects of the life and work of the Estonian astronomer Ernst Öpik (1893-1985), who contributed to a very wide range of astronomical disciplines, and whose publications span more than 70 years. He worked in Estonia, the Soviet Union, the United States, Germany and Northern Ireland. His visions on the role of solar variability in global climate change are emphasized, and his opinions on modelling in science are explained, in addition to his views about scientific refereeing and publishing.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Reinvention and Expanding Engagement with Climate Change Policy in American Rust Belt Cities

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1327
Author(s):  
Scott E. Kalafatis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rust Belt ◽  
Policy Ideas ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Survey Responses

Despite an appreciation for the role of cities in addressing global climate change, more studies are needed that explore how climate change policies relate to cities’ everyday governing concerns. Such insights are critical for understanding how climate change policy will expand, play out, and evolve as it moves from experimental efforts in particularly innovative cities to the majority of cities. This study addresses these needs using 32 interviews and over 200 survey responses from smaller cities (populations under 100,000) in the American rust belt. In the interviews comparing cities’ financial concerns, economic development considerations, and how other cities influence them, a distinctive mindset amongst cities highly engaged with climate change emerged. Highly engaged cities were those pursuing socioeconomic reinvention, informed by efforts to identify and apply policy ideas from a wide range of other cities across the United States and internationally. Results of the regression analyses supported the notion that financial concerns, economic development considerations, and the influence of other cities shape decisions about climate change policy in these cities. However, they also highlighted the complexity of these issues and that the role these factors had in shaping climate change policy will likely continue to evolve as these policies continue to diffuse to more places.

On the Ethics of International Religious/Spiritual Gatherings and Academic Conferencing in the Era of Global Warming: A Case Study of the Parliament of The World’s Religions Melbourne 2009 - Part 1

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-195
Author(s):  
Almut Beringer ◽  
Steven Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Peak Oil ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Academic Events ◽  
Special Responsibility

Global climate change and its impacts have ethical dimensions, for instance carbon footprint equity concerns. World issues, including the state of the ecosphere and biodiver­sity, regularly see political leaders, NGOs, business representatives, religious/spiritual orga­nizations, academics, and others engage in international aviation-dependent meetings to address critical challenges facing humanity and the planet. Yet, climate scientists and advocates call for an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 to cap the increase in global temperatures to 2ºC. Aviation emissions resulting from international meetings raise questions that are not silenced by GHG emissions offsetting. The era of climate change and ‘peak oil’ poses ethical challenges for holding international in-person religious and academic events, especially when the events propound an environmentalist concern and when aviation use is assumed. This paper raises ques­tions regarding the ecological impacts of large international events and focuses the ‘inconvenient truths’ associated with international aviation in the era of global warming. The Parliament of the World’s Religions, the largest multifaith gathering in the world, serves as a case study. The paper emphasizes the view that faith-based/faith-inspired organizations have a special responsibility for leadership in policy and praxis on the moral imperatives of sustainability, sustainable development and climate justice.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculation Methodology in Thermal Power Plants: Case Study of Iran and Comparison With Canada

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farshid Zabihian ◽  
Alan S. Fung
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Thermal Power Plants

Nowadays, the global climate change has been a worldwide concern and the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions are considered as the primary cause of that. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) divided countries into two groups: Annex I Parties and Non-Annex I Parties. Since Iran and all other countries in the Middle East are among Non-Annex I Parties, they are not required to submit annual GHG inventory report. However, the global climate change is a worldwide phenomenon so Middle Eastern countries should be involved and it is necessary to prepare such a report at least unofficially. In this paper the terminology and the methods to calculate GHG emissions will first be explained and then GHG emissions estimates for the Iranian power plants will be presented. Finally the results will be compared with GHG emissions from the Canadian electricity generation sector. The results for the Iranian power plants show that in 2005 greenhouse gas intensity for steam power plants, gas turbines and combined cycle power plants were 617, 773, and 462 g CO2eq/kWh, respectively with the overall intensity of 610 g CO2eq/kWh for all thermal power plants. This GHG intensity is directly depend on efficiency of power plants. Whereas, in 2004 GHG intensity for electricity generation sector in Canada for different fuels were as follows: Coal 1010, refined petroleum products 640, and natural gas 523 g CO2eq/kWh, which are comparable with same data for Iran. For average GHG intensity in the whole electricity generation sector the difference is much higher: Canada 222 vs. Iran 610g CO2eq/kWh. The reason is that in Canada a considerable portion of electricity is generated by hydro-electric and nuclear power plants in which they do not emit significant amount of GHG emissions. The average GHG intensity in electricity generation sector in Iran between 1995 and 2005 experienced 13% reduction. While in Canada at the same period of time there was 21% increase. However, the results demonstrate that still there are great potentials for GHG emissions reduction in Iran’s electricity generation sector.

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