Climate Politics
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Do enviros need to reassess their big-picture climate strategy?
Yesterday, I asked seven of Grist’s favorite journos and wonks what policies reformers should focus on this year now that chances for a cap-and-trade bill appear dim. Read their answers. Today, they grapple with a broader question. Our panel: Michael Levi, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations Amanda Little, Grist alumnus and author […]
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With cap-and-trade on the ropes, what’s the next move for greens?
The final fate of the climate/energy bill is uncertain. There are signs Senate Democrats may yet try to advance a price on carbon, perhaps a limited system that only covers utilities, but it remains a heavy political lift. It’s a safe wager cap-and-trade won’t make it over the finish line. So let’s look ahead: What […]
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Fannie and Freddie are clueless in smacking down PACE
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued guidance yesterday that drew a line in the sand against municipal energy financing, a.k.a. Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs. These innovative initiatives provide energy-efficiency retrofits for homeowners that are repaid through a property tax assessment. Since homeowners falling behind on payments must repay their PACE assessment before […]
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Fannie and Freddie to clean-energy program: Drop dead
Grist has been covering Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s attack on Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a promising tool that helps homeowners finance green improvements to their properties. Here’s the latest: On Tuesday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ended their radio silence nine weeks after sending cryptic letters warning lenders against permitting the use of […]
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New Clean Air rule to tame the coal plant monster
Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Today, the Obama administration proposed a sweeping plan to reduce power plant emissions that cross state lines and kill tens of thousands of Americans every year. The proposed Clean Air Transport Rule replaces the Bush administration’s so-called Clean Air Interstate Rule that was shot down by the courts because it […]
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EPA announces proposal to cut power-plant pollution
The EPA announced a proposal today that will cut power-plant pollution in 31 states, replacing a Bush administration cap-and-trade system overturned by the courts. The announcement comes as the chatter on Capitol Hill has turned to a utility-only approach to cap-and-trade. The targets of EPA’s proposed rule are not greenhouse gases, but two unhealthy toxins […]
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Fannie and Freddie won’t let this teacher green her home
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have shut down most of the nation’s programs using Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), an innovative tool that helps Americans finance green improvements to their homes. Here’s a homeowner’s perspective on the story: Thomason and her Boulder County home. Kayla Thomason spent last winter wondering if the furnace would hold […]
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Breaking the Gordian knot on climate legislation
The Senate is tied in knots on climate legislation. In President Obama’s view, putting an economy-wide price on carbon is the most effective way to stimulate clean energy investment and jobs. Most Democrats — though not enough — agree. Roughly half a dozen Republicans, given some political cover, might go along, but the party’s leadership […]
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If Bingaman is the climate bill’s best hope, where does that leave us?
This is Sen. Jeff Bingaman looking excited.Could Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) be the savior for Senate climate legislation? That’s the latest chatter inside the Beltway. Bingaman has been pushing an energy-only bill, passed by his Energy Committee last year, that wouldn’t put a cap or a price on carbon. But he’s also now drafting a […]
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How an energy bill could fuel more global warming
Cross-posted from NRDC Switchboard. As President Obama and senators consider their options on energy and climate legislation, it’s important to be clear about what will move the country forward and what will move it backward. Will our leaders put us on the road towards the carbon pollution cuts desperately needed to take back control of […]
