Climate Change and Clean Technology Blog : Climate Change Lawyer & Attorney : Sheppard Mullin Law Firm : Clean Technology, Greenhouse Gas

By Robyn Christo and Scott Vignos

As climate change litigation proceeds throughout the country, three cases, Comer v. Murphy Oil, Connecticut v. American Electric Power and Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil, provide indications of the Supreme Court's potential role in shaping the legal landscape of climate change. The Fifth Circuit's May 28, 2010 order dismissing the en banc appeal in Comer has provided renewed interest in this issue. 
 

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By Daniel Yannuzzi

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has expanded its Green Technology Pilot Program to allow more categories of technology to be eligible for expedited examination.   Under the Green Technology Pilot Program, applications pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy, or greenhouse gas emission reduction, will be considered without meeting all of the usual requirements of the accelerated examination program (e.g., examination support document). Applications accorded special status will be placed on the examiner’s special docket and advanced out of turn prior to the first Office action, and will have special status in any appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences and also in the patent publication process.  Applications having special status under this program, however, will be placed on the examiner’s amended docket, after the first Office action.
 

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by Adrienne Lee

In March 2010, the California Jobs Initiative Committee began collecting signatures to place their initiative on the November 2010 ballot that would require California to abandon implementation of AB 32, also known as the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, until California's unemployment rate drops to 5.5 percent or less for at least a year.
 

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By Olivier Theard

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) recently released its Updated Economic Analysis of California's Climate Change Scoping Plan. The detailed report examines the economic impact to California of implementing the strategies set forth in the Climate Change Scoping Plan (released in December 2008). The Scoping Plan sets forth California's blueprint for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, as mandated by California's landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). The Scoping Plan identified several strategies for reducing emissions, including promoting energy efficiency in virtually all economic sectors, cap and trade of emissions, and transportation-related measures aimed at reducing emissions from vehicles (including development of low-carbon fuels and land use development strategies). The Economic Analysis was designed to measure the effect on California's economy from implementing the Scoping Plan.
 

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By Adrienne Lee

Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its decision that stationary sources will not be required to get federal permits under the Clean Air Act for greenhouse gases (GHGs) before January 2011. According to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, “This is a common sense plan for phasing in the protections of the Clean Air Act. It gives large facilities the time they need to innovate, governments the time to prepare to cut greenhouse gases.”  Jackson also announced that during the latter half of 2011 and 2013, the threshold for permitting will be raised “substantially higher” than the originally proposed 25,000-ton limit, with the smallest sources exempted from Clean Air Act permitting requirements until at least 2016.
 

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By Jeralin Cardoso

On February 2, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") issued an interpretive release (the "Release"), previously approved by a 3-2 vote on January 27, 2010, to provide guidance to public companies as to how the SEC's existing disclosure requirements apply to climate change matters. The Release was issued after requests were made over several years by a variety of environmental, investor and business groups. A copy of the Release can be found at http://www.sec.gov/rules/interp/2010/33-9106.pdf.
 

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by Kyndra Joy Casper

Due to the current economic challenges facing businesses and local governments in Southern California, the AQMD adopted Rule 310, Amnesty for Unpermitted Equipment on March 5, 2010. The new rule provides a temporary opportunity to obtain permits for equipment that should have permits without incurring late fees or violations penalties when certain conditions are met. The penalty holiday will last for six months, from February 5, 2010-August 4, 2010.
 

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By Adrienne Lee

On February 23, 2010, Senators Feingold (D-WI) and Ensign (R-NV) introduced legislation that could create new green jobs, promote businesses that produce renewable energy technologies, and reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels. Known as the "Support Renewable Energy Act of 2010," Senate Bill 3021 would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to ensure that more forms of renewable energy would meet a new federal standard, called the Renewable Energy Standard (RES). Current proposals in Congress would require utilities companies to produce a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources, but limit the types of renewable energy that would qualify. Senate Bill 3021 would authorize the Secretary of the Department of Energy to promulgate regulations permitting utilities to use a broader range of sources to comply with these renewable energy requirements.
 

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By Kyndra Joy Casper

In September of 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") revealed a new proposal to regulate greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions from power plants, factories and refineries, which are considered large GHG emitters. In a response to questions from Senate Democrats, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson issued a letter on February 22, standing by the agency's plans to develop the first-time Clean Air Act ("CAA") regulations for GHGs and attacking pending efforts in Congress to overturn the EPA's finding that GHGs endanger public health and welfare. 
 

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