• Energy Resources

Energy Sector Law and Policy

This tab includes laws and policies for avoiding or reducing climate change impacts in the energy sector, including best practices and legal and policy analysis.

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State of California Executive Order N-19-19

September 20, 2019

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-19-19 on September 20, 2019 to require the redoubling of the state’s “efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change while building a sustainable, inclusive economy.” The Executive Order (EO) includes four main directives:

Author or Affiliated User: abong tuktuk

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Wisconsin Executive Order No. 38: Creation of the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy

August 16, 2019

On August 16, 2019, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed Executive Order (EO) No. 38 to create the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy at the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA), whose main task is developing a Clean Energy Plan to assist the state in adapting to and mitigating the harm from climate change by using clean energy resources and technology.  

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Killer Heat in the United States

July 2019

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has evaluated how climate change will contribute to increasing incidence of dangerous high heat days across the U. S. This includes an analysis of the growing number of high heat days across various regions of the country, described under three climate change scenarios. The report also details the public health consequences of extreme heat and the populations that are particularly vulnerable to these threats. Policy recommendations are offered with adaptation measures that can be implemented at all levels of government to address rising temperatures.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Kristina Dahl, Erika Spanger-Siegfried, Rachel Licker, Astrid Caldas, John Abatzoglou, Nicholas Mailloux, Rachel Cleetus, Shana Udvardy, Juan Declet-Barreto, Pamela Worth

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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NAACP - Our Communities, Our Power: Advancing Resistance and Resilience in Climate Change Adaptation - Action Toolkit

April 29, 2019

From the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), this comprehensive Toolkit provides a series of modules to help NAACP chapters and other advocates mediate climate adaptation planning processes and ensure that adaptation plans and policies meet local needs, while focusing on frontline communities, environmental and climate justice, and equity. The Toolkit provides guidance to help community groups and advocates develop an Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) Committee to inform adaptation planning and policy through 19 different Modules.

Author or Affiliated User: Jacqui Patterson

Resource Category: Planning

 

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The Value of Resilience for Distributed Energy Resources: An Overview of Current Analytical Practices

April 2019

This analysis from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) evaluates existing practices of calculating the value of resilience in Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) installed within an energy distribution system. The report examines how the value of resilience was calculated and was applied in both regulatory decision-making and non-regulatory cost-benefit analyses, and provides state regulators with guidance for taking resilience into account when evaluating investments in DERs in the face of high-impact, low-probability extreme weather events.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Wilson Rickerson, Marisa Bulkeley, Jonathan Gillis

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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New Mexico SB 489 - Energy Transition Act

March 22, 2019

New Mexico’s 2019 Senate Bill 489 enacts the Energy Transition Act, establishing ambitious statewide renewable energy standards and a pathway the state will use to transition its economy towards one powered by clean energy. The bill includes tens of millions of dollars of economic and workforce support for communities affected by the transition away from coal. By incorporating equity considerations into its framework, this bill not only ensures greater renewable energy production, but also eases the burden of energy transition on frontline and disadvantaged communities.

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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NYSERDA Climate Change Adaptation Research Plan

January 31, 2019

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Environmental Research Program includes a focal Research Area of Climate Change Adaptation. This document focuses on the climate change adaptation component of the program’s comprehensive research plan. NYSERDA’s adaptation research aims to provide “a scientific foundation for formulating effective, equitable, energy-related environmental policies and resource management practices that can guide strategies to prepare for a changing climate.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Denver Green Buildings Ordinance

November 2, 2018

The City of Denver, Colorado established a Green Buildings Ordinance in 2018 requiring all new and existing buildings over 25,000 square feet in size to incorporate a “cool roof” along with other green energy measures. The new ordinance strengthens Denver’s 2017 green roof ordinance to go beyond vegetated roof requirements with additional, cost-effective options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing urban heat island effects across the city.

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Alaska - Climate Change Action Plan Recommendations to the Governor

September 26, 2018

The Climate Action for Alaska Leadership Team was implemented by Alaska Administrative Order 289 in 2017 to create climate change policy recommendations and a climate action plan for Alaska. The Leadership Team was responsible for identifying climate change priorities, goals, and metrics, and to recommend any needed statutory or regulatory changes. Going forward, the team will monitor implementation of the plan and be responsible for updating it as needed, and for reporting annually to the Governor.

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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California's Fourth Climate Change Assessment

August 27, 2018

California’s statewide assessment of climate change impacts utilizes updated climate science to investigate vulnerability at the local scale and inform adaptation and resilience planning. The fourth climate change assessment includes 44 technical reports on projected impacts to specific sectors and potential responses, 30 summary reports, 9 regional reports, and 3 statewide topical reports on oceans and coasts, tribal and indigenous communities, and environmental justice impacts of climate change.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Jennifer Phillips, Sarah Lindbergh

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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