Please invest in Our Daily Planet today, by making a one time or monthly contribution.
We do not charge our readers a subscription fee for our content. We want to continue to grow our readership, particularly among millennials and public servants. Voluntary contributions from readers will help us employ interns and freelance journalists, expand our content, and reach a larger audience.
If you make a contribution of $150 or more, you will become an official “Friend of the Planet” and receive a Friend of the Planet T-shirt or water bottle.
Our Daily Planet is a daily morning email (M-F) to keep you informed of the stories shaping our environment. If these issues matter to you, we’d like to be the best ten minutes of your morning.
The Chevron refinery in Richmond, CA Photo: Michael Macor, The San Francisco Chronicle
A federal judge on Friday dismissed a challenge brought by the Trump administration against a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program that creates a market for emissions credits between the state of California and the Canadian province of Quebec. The administration challenged the program because it argued California had no authority to deal directly with the government of another nation — that its program usurps the federal government’s primacy in foreign affairs. The Judge said the Trump Administration had provided no “concrete evidence that the President’s power to speak and bargain effectively with other countries has actually been diminished.”
Why This Matters: The California cap and trade emissions program is one of the key components for bringing the state into compliance with its own climate goals — it was created in 2006 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and expanded to allow sales between Californian and Canadian companies in 2014. There is a question surrounding the equity of cap and trade programs — these programs allow companies to purchase credits to pollute in areas where the emissions can disproportionately hurt minorities. And the state is taking a look at the effectiveness of the program, which is not selling as many credits as are available because pollution is down thanks to COVID-19.
Another Setback for Trump Administration
The judge, a George H.W. Bush appointee, dismissed the case entirely — he had already thrown out back in March the Trump administration’s claim that the agreement between Canada and California was tantamount to a treaty. The administration believed that “California’s Governors have defied this clear constitutional structure,” arguing to the court that “They have positioned the State in open opposition to the foreign policy of the United States on greenhouse gas emissions.” The administration believes the California-Canada emissions trading deal undermines its decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. The Trump Justice Department is now “considering [its] next steps.”
California Looking At Its Options
The Sacramento Bee reported that California’s Secretary of Environment “Jared Blumenfeld has told lawmakers he would work with the Air Resources Board to consider ‘the extent to which the state’s climate strategy should rely on the cap-and-trade program reductions relative to other approaches.’” According to The Bee, barely one-third of the 57 million carbon credits were sold in the State’s most recent auction due to the drastic reduction in demand for gasoline since the coronavirus pandemic significantly reduced economic activity. Each credit gives its owner the right to emit a ton of carbon pollution, which they can keep for themselves or sell to other businesses that need to emit greenhouse gasses.
Delegates attending the COP26 conference in Glasgow will get to see a very cool display during their stay. So cool, in fact, that it’s been frozen since 1765. Artist Wayne Binitie and scientists of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have retrieved an Antarctic time capsule containing the world’s purest air. The pocket of atmosphere was […]
By Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer The European Environment Agency (EEA) found that a majority of EU countries broke at least one air pollution limit last year — despite COVID-19 lockdowns. In addition, 17 EU countries failed to stay below ozone pollution targets, which directly influence global warming; and eight EU countries failed to stay […]
By Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer An Indonesian district court ruled yesterday that Indonesian President Joko Widodo has neglected Jakarta’s residents right to clean air. In a unanimous ruling in favor of the 32 residents who brought the case, the Central Jakarta District Court ordered Widodo, and six other top officials deemed negligent, to improve […]
Subscribe to the email that top lawmakers, renowned scientists, and thousands of concerned citizens turn to each morning for the latest environmental news and analysis.
Want the lastest climate news summarized for you each morning?
Our Daily Planet is your daily dose of the stories shaping our world and the ways that you can take action. From the climate crisis to the protection of biodiversity, if these issues matter to you then please subscribe & stay informed!
Your privacy is Important! We promise never to use your email address to send you spam or advertisements.