POSC 265 Final

California Air Resources Board (CARB)

"clean air agency" in the government of California. Its goals include attaining and maintaining healthy air quality, protecting the public from exposure to toxic air contaminants, and provide innovative approaches for complying with air pollution rules and regulations. Significance: California is only state to have such an agency due to its initiation prior to the implementation of the federal Clean Air Act; has been instrumental in driving innovation throughout the global automotive industry

Massachusetts v. EPA

- 2007 US Supreme Court case in which 12 states and several cities brought suit against the EPA to force the federal agency to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) as pollutants - EPA had previously lacked authority under the CAA to regulate CO2 and other GHG's for climate change purposes - On remand, EPA found that six greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may reasonably be anticipated both to endanger public health and to endanger public welfare

S.B. 375 (Sustainable Communities & Climate Protection Act)

- CA law targeting GHG emissions from passenger vehicles, instituted under Gov. Schwarzenegger - instructs the California Air Resources Board to set regional emissions reduction targets for passenger vehicles Significance: made in order to meet the environmental standards set out by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006

Green Climate Fund

- Fund within the framework of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - founded as a mechanism to assist developing countries shift to low-emission and climate-resilient development, taking into account the needs of nations that are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts - Financed by donations from other countries

Emissions Trading

- Government-mandated, market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants - Central authority sets a cap on the amount of a pollutant that can be emitted, and then sold in the form of permits, then can be traded on secondary markets - First established in US under Acid Rain Program, a part of the 1990 Clean Air Act, to reduce SO2 emissions and the detrimental effects of acid rain on the environment

Jerry Brown

- Governor of California (preceded by Schwarzenegger) - Recently signed a bill to combat climate change by increasing CA's renewable electricity use to 50% and doubling energy efficiency in existing buildings by 2030 Significance: continues the legacy of California's front-running climate mitigation efforts

Fracking

- Hydraulic Fracturing: injecting of high-pressure fluid (water w/ sand and chemicals) to create cracks in the deep rock formations in earth to access natural gas and petroleum - Provides promise for securing abundant energy within US - Highly controversial: risks of ground and surface water contamination, air pollution with the possibility of methane escaping, noise pollution, and the potential triggering of earthquakes; continues reliance on fossil fuels instead of switching to renewable alternatives

Joe Manchin

- US Senator from WV (democrat) - took over Robert Byrd's seat - Sits on Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee - Supports a coal-heavy energy approach - In 2011, was the only Democratic Senator to support the proposed Energy Tax Prevention Act, which sought to prohibit the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas. - Supports building the Keystone XL Pipeline

Free Rider

- a market failure that occurs when people take advantage of being able to use a common resource, or collective good, without paying for it, as is the case when citizens of a country utilize public goods without paying their fair share in taxes ● Other problem: experienced when the production of goods does not consider the external costs such as the use of ecosystem services ● Significance: think about the tragedy of the commons; no accountability for who is using what; if I don't use/take it, someone else will

Moral Extension

- enlargement of our sphere of ethical obligations; from family to friends to local community to nation to environment - need to develop a sense of moral obligation so that something can be done about climate change Significance: huge for policymakers

Emissions Coefficient

A unique value for scaling emissions to activity data in terms of a standard rate of emissions per unit of activity (i.e. lbs. of CO2 emitted per Btu of fossil fuel consumed); The emission coefficient of a gas varies with the wavelength of the light. Significance: allows one to determine the amount of emissions of CO2 produced per consumption of a certain type fossil, thus providing an estimate of the environmental impact

Allowance Allocation

Allowances for programs such as cap and trade & how they are dispersed among a variety of groups; important implications for both the efficiency and the distributional impacts of climate policy Two major approaches to allocation: giving allowances away freely, or auctioning them Mostly involved in cap and trade programs

American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454)

Also known as Waxman-Markey bill; passed House in 2009 but died in the Senate; the bill proposed a cap and trade system, under which the government would set a limit (cap) on the total amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted nationally. Creates a market for companies to buy and sell permits to emit these gases, primarily carbon dioxide CO2. Other aspects: requires electric utilities to meet 20% of their electricity demand through renewable energy sources and energy efficiency by 2020. Significance: accounted for the negative externality of air pollution by assigning a dollar value to it, including it in the cost of production; incentivizes companies to invest in clean energy technology and efficiency; Tea Party- American conservative political movement within the Republican Party. A NY times poll taken during an election revealed only a small amount of tea party supporters believe Global warming is an issue

Precautionary Principle

Alternative to cost-benefit analysis. First mentioned at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, the __________ argues taking precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent, or minimize the causes of climate change and mitigate it's adverse effects. Significance: Abiding by this principle may be more costly in the present, but it guarantees the security of environmental quality in the future; better to be safe than sorry

Energy Consumers Relief Act (H.R. 1582)

Bill that would require the EPA to submit reports to both congress and the US Department of Energy whenever it tried to implement a new regulation that would have significant compliance costs; The Department of Energy and Congress would then have the option of stopping or altering what the EPA proposed to do Significance: provides for restriction over EPA; makes projects to help the environment more difficult to execute, especially in a currently conservative administration

A.B. 32 (Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006)

CA state law that was passed in 2006; established a comprehensive program to reduce GHG emissions from all sources throughout the state; requirement that the California Air Resources Board develop regulations and mechanisms to reduce CA's GHG emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020 (approx. 30% reduction statewide); Put in place under Gov. Schwarzenegger Significance: CA is a model state for climate change mitigation

CAFE Standards

Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards Regulations in the USA; first enacted by the US Congress in 1975 following the Arab Oil Embargo to improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks produced for sale in the US; Requires the maximum feasible levels of fuel economy to be implemented in a given year - calculated by a complex formula

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Former GOV. of CA, Body Builder turned movie star, turned environmentalist; Signed A.B. 32 into law that aimed to reduce California's Greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020; He has a son at USC as well as an institute named after him concerned with environment Significance: a popular public figure has the capacity to motivate others to support climate change mitigation efforts

Endangerment Finding

In Massachusetts v. EPA (2007), this scientific review fulfilled the Supreme Court's mandate that greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Furthermore, greenhouse gas emissions endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations. Significance: revealed to the public that humans generate climate pollution. It provided a clearer framework for 6 major GHGs that must be more specifically addressed in the Clean Air Act

Discount Rate

Mark-downs in prices/projections over years that are consistent with the decreasing value/impacts of present day goods/endeavors; Models involving discount rate have led policymakers to underestimate the effects of climate change in their projections, lacking the ability to solve the problems when they arise Valuing things in the present much more than in the future - the rate at which the value decreases is called the discount rate

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Non-toxic, non-flammable chemicals have been widely used in the manufacturing process of aerosol sprays, refrigerants, and packing materials Significance: cause depletion of ozone layer of atmosphere, contributing to the "ozone hole"; Montreal protocol deemed these unsafe and has been working to phase out the use of these chemicals

Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change

Report released by Nicholas Stern, former IMF economist, for the British Gov't discussing the effect of global warming on the world economy; Main conclusion: benefits of strong, early action on climate change could far outweigh the costs of not acting; Mixed reactions from economists

Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 761)

Shaheen-Portman bill; promotes energy savings in residential and commercial buildings and industry (Died in a previous session of congress); the overall purpose of the bill was to reduce energy waste by increasing energy efficiency in the United States by requiring measures to improve building codes, assist manufacturers in becoming energy efficient, and increase conservation efforts at federal agencies Significance: was a strong effort towards climate change mitigation, but shows that US government does still not prioritize this issue

Montreal Protocol

Signed in 1987, international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of substances that are responsible for its depletion. CFCs, chlorofluourocarbons, are the primary substance responsible for ozone layer depletion. Significance: One of the most successful and effective environmental, international treaties ever negotiated and implemented. As a result of the treaty, the hole in the ozone layer near Antarctica is slowly recovering.

Cost-benefit analysis

Systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and cost of a project, decision, or government policy by assigning monetary value to them; usually, for a project to be implemented, the benefits must be greater than or equal to the cost Significance: in terms of the environment, politicians and economists make cost-benefit analyses to determine if a project, such as installing an expensive solar farm, will have benefits, zero future payments and reducing x dollars of greenhouse gas emissions, that will balance or even outweigh the cost

Durban Platform

Unestablished agreement in the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference that proposed a legally binding treaty for participating countries to address global warming. Notable due to the first of developing countries such as India and China

Ozone hole

a large springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone around Earth's polar regions; the result of this is an increase in harmful ultraviolet light at ground level which may lead to skin cancer. CFCs contribute to its increase in size Significance: Montreal Protocol is addressing this; if it doesn't, large human health effects

Carbon Leakage

a situation that may occur if, for reasons of cost related to climate policies, businesses were to transfer production to other countries which have more "laid back" constraints on GHG emissions Significance: while this may reduce emissions in one country, the cumulative effect is no change in emissions. If this carbon leakage strategy continues, GHG emissions will continue to accumulate and contribute to global warming

Carbon Offsets

are a form of trade to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases that is made in order to compensate to offset an emission made elsewhere. When you buy an _______, you fund projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions (such as forest restoration, updating power plants and factories, or increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and transportation). _________ can be voluntary or used in order to comply with caps. People and businesses buy them to reduce their carbon footprints or build up their green image Significance: provide an easy outlet for environmentally-concerned individuals/firms to reduce their carbon footprint

Carbon Tax

form of pollution tax; it levies a fee on the production, distribution or use of fossil fuels based on how much carbon their combustion emits. The government sets a price per ton on carbon, then translates it into a tax on electricity, natural gas or oil. Because the tax makes using nonrenewable fuels more expensive, it encourages utilities, businesses and individuals to reduce nonrenewable consumption and switch to alternative energy resource; makes alternative energy more cost-competitive with cheaper, polluting fuels like coal, natural gas and oil

Clean Development Mechanism

one of the Flexible Mechanisms defined in the Kyoto protocol that provides for emissions reduction projects which generate Certified Emission Reduction units which may be traded in emissions trading schemes

Paris Agreement

● 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference ● Goal: to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, from all the nations of the world, to be signed in 2015; the expected key result was limiting global warming to below 2 °C compared to pre-industrial levels; calls for zero net anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to be reached during the second half of the 21st century ● CURRENT NEWS UPDATES: In the adopted version of the Paris Agreement, the parties will also "pursue efforts to" limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C ○ "Paris climate deal 'extremely close' but talks set to overrun" (10 DEC) - US pulled out

Stabilization Wedge

● A communication and informative tool produced by Princeton researchers looking at climate change mitigation scenarios. - The goal is to demonstrate that global warming is a problem which can be attacked using today's commercially available technologies to reduce CO2 emissions. - The objective is to stabilize CO2 concentrations under 500ppm for the next fifty years ● These wedges represent individual sectors of global emissions producers, which fit into a 'stabilization triangle' which completely outlines the overall global need for a reduction in emissions

H.R. 367 (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act)

● Act that states that there should be an increase in accountability and transparency in the federal regulatory process; every major rule proposed by Executive Branch that has an annual economic impact of $300M or more, must be approved by Congress ● Helps provide oversight in process so that the Executive has more difficulty slipping in unfavorable legislation

Annex I and Non-Annex I Countries

● Annex I: classified as industrialized (developed) countries involved in the UNFCCC that committed themselves specifically to the aim of returning individually or jointly to their 1990 levels of GHG emissions by the year 2000 ● Non-Annex I: mostly low-income developing countries that may volunteer to become Annex I countries when they are sufficiently developed

Carbon Sinks

● Any area that absorbs more carbon than it releases, such as forests, soils, oceans, and the atmosphere ● Significance: the terrestrial carbon sinks remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the process of carbon sequestration. Public awareness of this has significantly increased since the passage of the Kyoto Protocol, which promotes the use of these sinks as a form of carbon offset - REDD is a program that works to protect the forests' function as a carbon sink

OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)

● Formation represented a collective act of sovereignty by petroleum-exporting nations, and marked a turning point in state control over natural resources ● Mission: to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets, in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers ● 1980's oil glut: switch to decrease dependence on oil due to high '70's oil prices (Including oil embargo due to US Support of Israel in Yom Kippur War - 1973)

Flexibility Mechanisms

● Mechanisms defined under the Kyoto Protocol intended to lower the overall costs of achieving its emissions targets - involves mechanisms such as emissions trading and joint implementation ● Cost of limiting emissions varies considerably from region to region, but overall impact is the same

Copenhagen Accord

● Political agreement struck at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen calling on participating countries to pledge specific actions they will undertake to mitigate GHG emissions ● Countries representing 80% of global emissions have engaged with the Copenhagen accords, each with different commitments to their reductions - endorsed continuation of Kyoto Protocol

Intended Nationally Determined Contribution

● Public declarations from individual countries within the UNFCCC stating what actions they intend to take under a new global agreement, detailing specific reductions by a certain date; most recent was Paris Agreement: gave reductions by 2030

REDD

● Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation ● Climate change mitigation solution being developed by the UNFCCC that incentivizes developing countries to keep their forests standing by offering results-based payments for action to reduce or remove forest carbon emissions Significance: Deforestation and forest degradation account for approximately 17 per cent of carbon emissions, more than the entire global transportation sector and second only to the energy sector, so reducing this sector's emissions is critical

"Loss and Damage"

● Refers to adverse effects of climate variability and climate change that occur despite global mitigation and local adaptation efforts (such as natural disasters, anomalies) ● Adverse effects can occur in human systems as well as natural systems, but the term refers mostly to that which is associated with humans

Byrd-Hagel Resolution

● Stated that the Senate did not believe the United States should be a legally binded to the Kyoto Protocol or any other UNFCCC (unanimous opinion of the Senate) in certain situations: ○ if the treaty were to mandate new commitments or limit/reduce GHG emissions for Annex I parties ○ Or, if something were to result in serious harm to the US Economy Significance: US prioritizes its economy and other national concerns over the environment still

Sovereignty

● The full right and power of a governing body to govern itself without any interference from outside sources or bodies ● Potential significance: what sort of sovereignty do organizations like the UN possess, what rights does the United States (and other countries) have in the global climate debate as a result of such sovereignty

Kyoto Flexibility Mechanisms

● Three main mechanisms: ○ Emissions Trading ○ Clean Development Mechanism ○ Joint Implementation

Bali Roadmap

● Two year process to finalizing a binding agreement in the 2009 Copenhagen conference agreed upon after the 2007 UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia ● Represented the work that needs to be done under various negotiating 'tracks' that is essential to reaching a secure climate future ○ Addressed 5 main pillars: shared vision for cutting emissions, Mitigation, Adaptation, Technology, Finance

Policy Feedback

● denotes the potential for policies to transform politics and therefore influence future courses of policy development

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

● international environmental treaty with the goal of stabilizing GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system ● Set no binding limits on GHG emissions for individual countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms, but outlines how specific int'l treaties (protocols) may be negotiated to set binding limits on GHG emissions Significance: unifies countries' accountability and motivation to mitigate climate change