March 4, 2014
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Comments submitted on social cost of carbon
On February 26, Policy Integrity submitted comments to the Office of Management and Budget in support of the Administration’s continued use of the social cost of carbon estimate. The SCC is a thorough, if conservative, estimate of the economic costs of climate-altering carbon pollution. The comments were submitted jointly with Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
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Supreme Court oral argument on EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gases
On February 24, Richard Revesz, Jason Schwartz, and Denise Grab attended the Supreme Court oral arguments in the case challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources. In our amicus brief, filed in January, we put into play the argument that EPA’s decisionmaking is consistent with Clean Air Act interpretations made by every presidential administration in the past 30 years.
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Collaboration with E.U. Regulatory Policy Clinic in Paris
Policy Integrity runs a Regulatory Policy Clinic each semester for select NYU law students. We started a similar clinic in Paris early this year and met with program director Alberto Alemanno on February 28 to review progress and discuss project collaborations. We’re looking closely at the issue of international harmonization and will coordinate with the Paris Clinic on European approaches to environmental regulations and standards.
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On the Docket: Comments on new source standards
In March, we will submit comments on EPA’s proposal to regulation greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants. EPA’s proposal is a solid start. With the forthcoming proposal for existing power plants, it will reduce our country’s carbon pollution and deliver many billions of dollars in economic benefits to the American public. Our comments will support the EPA’s progress, but also raise some specific questions. One example: the omission of from the regulation “upstream” emissions like methane leaks.
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In the News: Richard Revesz on E&E TV
Policy Integrity Director, Richard Revesz, spoke to E&E TV’s Monica Trauzzi about the Supreme Court oral arguments in the EPA greenhouse gas case. Revesz outlined the scope of the case as well as the remarks from both sides. Regarding the government’s argument, Revesz said, “I thought the government did a very good job pointing out that the interpretation that EPA had taken in this case was a consistent interpretation taken over 30 years by administrations of both political parties, interpreting the term ‘any air pollutant’ under this provision of the Clean Air Act to not exclude certain categories of pollutants.”
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Spotlight on Alumni: Martha Roberts
Roberts joined Policy Integrity’s administrative law clinic as a New York University law student. After graduation, she clerked for the Hon. Carlos F. Lucero of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Roberts joined the Environmental Protection Agency in September 2013 as Policy Advisor to the Deputy Administrator. “The Policy Integrity clinic helped me translate my legal education into tangible skills that make me more effective every day. The clinic fills a particularly valuable niche for the many NYU Law students interested in serving in government,” she said.