Under SB 226, qualifying infill projects can avoid environmental review of impacts that were addressed in prior, program-level analysis or where local development standards already mitigate them. Project proponents can also analyze environmental impacts specific to the project through a more streamlined CEQA process.
California’s landmark cap-and-trade program for controlling greenhouse gases (GHGs) gets underway this year, with the state’s first public auction slated for November 2012. The state faces crucial questions about how to spend proceeds from its cap-and-trade auctions. Although the auctions are not primarily aimed at generating revenue, the amounts of money at stake are significant, with projections on the order of a billion dollars in the program’s first year and more as the program expands.
Approximately 27 trillion pounds of chemicals are produced or imported into the United States every year, more than one trillion of them in California alone. In the face of relative inaction at the federal level, state governments have moved to address hazardous chemical use. Our third Pritzker Brief evaluates California's green chemistry legislation (AB 1879).
California will need to steer the development of large-scale renewable energy facilities on agricultural land toward lands that do not deplete the state's prime agricultural and biological resources. Key policy recommendations contained in the report include the development of criteria for the most suitable agricultural lands for renewable energy deployment, expedited environmental review and endangered species permitting for projects on these lands, and coordinated state and local land use planning and transmission investments to encourage development on these sites.
Pritzker Brief No. 2 | October 2011
In this paper, we assess the adequacy of the measures that have been proposed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to limit risks of market manipulation and rules violations in its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading program. We focus in particular on the extent to which CARB has created conditions to ensure transparency in the market and sufficient liquidity to reduce the risk of market domination by a single or small number of participants. We also address CARB’s ability to detect foul play, take necessary enforcement actions, and impose adequate penalties.
A well-funded and comprehensive public transit system in California could help the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the driving and save residents and businesses time and money.
Key policy recommendations: State policies that lower the threshold for voter approval of transit tax measures, authorization of tax increment financing for transit improvements, better land use surrounding transit stations, and more efficient use of existing transit resources and infrastructure development.
Pritzker Brief No. 1 | July 2011
39 Harvard Environmental Law Review 23 (2015)
Water use means energy use. The state pumps and treats water and consumers use water in energy-intensive ways, such as through water heating and pressurizing. Consequently, the consumption of water in California requires approximately 20 percent of the state’s electricity, 30 percent of its non-power plant natural gas, and 88 million gallons of diesel fuel annually.