Testimony to the North Carolina Utilities Commission on Duke Energy Carbon Plan
Climate Justice Policy Fellow Sophie Loeb delivered testimony to the North Carolina Utilities Commission on Duke Energy's draft carbon plan in late July 2022. She expressed concerns about how the Duke Energy plan will negatively impact her and her future neighbors. She noted that rising energy costs and environmental harm hurt us all and stressed the importance of paving the way to a cleaner, greener, and more affordable energy future for all.
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Author(s): Sophie Loeb
Comments on EPA's Worst Case Discharge Proposed Rulemaking
In public comments submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Center for Progressive Reform commended the agency for proposing a rule that aims to strengthen toxic spill response measures under the Clean Water Act. However, the Center noted the rule could more rigorously respond to the worsening impacts of the climate crisis and provided evidence and policy suggestions to support that recommendation.
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NC Interfaith Power & Light Joins Legal Fight for 'Energy Justice'
North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light, a program of the North Carolina Council of Churches, has filed a petition to intervene in the fight for energy justice in North Carolina as the state transitions to a carbon-free economy. If granted, the petition would make the faith-based environmental organization a party to legal proceedings to ensure low-wealth North Carolinians have reliable access to affordable electricity as the state moves toward clean, renewable energy.
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Statement on West Virginia v. EPA: Supreme Court Deals Blow to Common-sense Climate Protections
Once again turning its back on bedrock precedent and the will of the American people, the U.S. Supreme Court today sent a wrecking ball through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to protect us all from climate change. More than that, though, even the still-settling dust cannot conceal the extent of the damage this decision does to our system of regulatory safeguards, as it threatens our ability to take common-sense actions to protect public health, safety, financial security, and the environment.
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Comments on the Draft 2022 California Scoping Plan Update
Center for Progressive Reform Policy Analyst Catalina Gonzalez and Member Scholar Alice Kaswan submitted comments on California's 2022 Draft Scoping Plan Update on climate change and net-zero carbon emissions. These comments promote a vision and implementation strategies that embrace the urgent need for action and more explicitly foster improvements in well-being for the state’s frontline communities.
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Author(s): Catalina Gonzalez, Alice Kaswan
Joint Comments on the Council on Environmental Quality's Proposed Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
The Center for Progressive Reform joined with partners at the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform and others to submit comments on the Council on Environmental Quality's climate and economic justice screening tool.
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New Report Offers Tools to Strengthen 'Energy Democracy' at Key Federal Agency
The federal government can and should do more to help the public meaningfully engage in the nation’s energy policy, leveling the playing field for them against corporate special interests with outsized access and influence over energy decisions. These decisions have profound implications for public and environmental health, our ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change, our national security, and more, according to a new report by the Center for Progressive Reform.
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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s New Office of Public Participation: A Promising Experiment in 'Energy Democracy'
It is past time for federal regulatory agencies to better engage the public and incorporate their unique on-the-ground perspectives to inform their work and make better, fairer decisions. To its credit, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is taking steps to do so and has created a new leadership role focused on environmental justice and equity. A major structural change is also underway: after decades of delay, FERC is now creating a new Office of Public Participation (OPP) to empower the public through more inclusive and responsive policymaking processes. This report provides core constituencies — agency policymakers, advocates for energy justice, and members of the public who are concerned about our energy future — with the information they need to ensure the OPP achieves its goal of promoting greater energy democracy at FERC. It begins by describing FERC’s role in energy policy and how its actions impact Americans; it then reviews FERC’s progress thus far in constituting the OPP. Finally, it offers recommendations to ensure the OPP achieves its goals and lessons to enhance regulatory democracy and equity across all federal regulatory agencies.
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Author(s): Shelley Welton, Hannah Wiseman, James Goodwin, Alexandra Klass
Webinar: The False Promise of Carbon Capture in Louisiana
In this March 10 webinar co-hosted with the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, advocates and experts discussed the latest updates on the proposed rollout of carbon capture in Louisiana and how communities and advocates are responding to this threat. The Center for Progressive Reform's policy brief on the topic served as a springboard for the discussion.
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Supreme Court Climate Skeptics Will Help Decide the Fate of the Planet
Last fall, on the same day that the parties to the Paris Agreement gathered in Glasgow for their first day of their annual international climate meeting, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would review an appellate court decision about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases from fossil fuel power plants under the Clean Air Act. Fast forward half a year: On February 28, the day that the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change issued its sobering report on climate adaptation and harms to human and planetary well-being, the court heard oral arguments in the case—West Virginia v. EPA. Once again, it was a split-screen reality.
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Author(s): Karen Sokol