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--></style><title>What is a state's authority to regulate greenhouse
gases?</title></head><body>
<div><font face="Lucida Grande" size="-1"><b>Constitutional Limits to
Greenhouse Gas Regulation: 8th Circuit Relies on the Dormant Commerce
Clause to Reject Minnesota's GHG Limits on Imported
Power</b></font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1">by Alyssa A. Moir, Gabrielle
Thompson, Ankur Tohan | K&L Gates LLP</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva"
size="-1"
>http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/constitutional-limits-to-greenhouse<span
></span>-gas-88606/</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1">7/22/2016</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1"><br></font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1"><b>Two opening
paragraphs</b></font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1"><br></font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1">Many states have enacted their own
laws to regulate greenhouse gas ("GHG") emission
reductions. Although the specific requirements of each state law
differ, many of the laws incentivize the use of renewable energy and
discourage, or even prohibit, the use of non-renewable
energy. </font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1"><br>
As these laws have been passed, several state-imposed renewable energy
standards have been challenged on the ground that they impermissibly
limit interstate commerce. These legal challenges, which raise
complicated issues of federalism, have had mixed results.
Nonetheless, these cases ask a question that is becoming increasingly
pressing: what are the limitations on a state's authority to regulate
GHGs?</font></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1"><b>Two closing
paragraphs</b></font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1"><br></font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1">These cases demonstrate that the
contours of a state's authority to regulate GHG emissions is still
uncertain. The lead opinion in Heydinger indicates that a
dormant Commerce Clause argument may prevail in certain
circumstances. And the concurring opinions in Heydinger signal
that other arguments may prove successful in challenges to state
emissions regulations. However, the decisions in Rocky Mountain
and EELI demonstrate that a Commerce Clause challenge to a state
emissions law will not always be successful. Until the
Supreme Court weighs in, it is uncertain whether, or to what extent,
Commerce Clause challenges to state emissions regulations will be
viable.</font><br>
<font face="Geneva" size="-1"></font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1">Moreover, the issue of state
authority to regulate emissions may be further complicated if the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan ("CPP") rule
is implemented. The CPP, which is currently under judicial
review at the D.C. Circuit, will require states to meet certain
emission standards based on the individual states' emission
profiles.[36] It is unclear at this point whether the CPP would
preempt states' existing renewable energy standards, or whether
Commerce Clause challenges would remain viable if renewable energy
standards are allowed under the CPP.</font></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><font face="Geneva"
size="-1"
>http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/constitutional-limits-to-greenhouse<span
></span>-gas-88606/</font></div>
<div><br></div>
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<div><font face="Helvetica Neue" color="#262626">NASA chief climate
scientist Gavin Schmidt said the first six months of the year were not
just the warmest on record, by far, but 2.3 degrees</font><font
face="Helvetica Neue" color="#0082C6"> warmer</font><font
face="Helvetica Neue" color="#262626"> (1.3 degrees Celsius) than the
last two decades of the 19th century. But more importantly,<b> he said
2016 so far is about 2.7 degrees warmer (1.5 degrees Celsius) than
pre-industrial times.</b></font></div>
<div><font face="Helvetica Neue" color="#262626"><b><br>
That 1.5 degrees Celsius mark is key.</b> A December 2015
international pact to control global warming set a goal of avoiding
1.5 degrees Celsius warming above pre-industrial levels. And the
agreement says if Earth can't limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, at
least it should limit it to 2 degrees (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above
pre-industrial levels.</font></div>
<div><font face="Helvetica Neue" color="#262626"><br>
Because El Nino is a factor - Schmidt figured about 40 percent of
the reason 2016 is hotter than 2015 is due to El Nino -<b> 2017 will
likely be a bit cooler than 2016. When scientists look at long-term
warming since pre-industrial times they don't look at one year, but
it's still a pretty noticeable threshold, Schmidt
said.</b></font></div>
<div><font face="Helvetica Neue" color="#262626"><br>
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7261762e14844abdbc8fc10a2a5d6886/el-ni<span
></span
>no-gone-earths-record-heat-sticking-around?ftcamp=crm/email//nbe/ene<span
></span>rgysource/product</font></div>
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