University of California-Berkeley Law School Professor Dan Farber, who’s one of the country’s leading experts upon environmental law and policy, has just published a list of 20 of the Obama Administration’s most significant environmental accomplishments. The list is worth reading because many of these are real “BFDs” that haven’t gotten much play.
But my point for now is a less celebratory one: many of the most important achievements on this list depend upon continuing support and follow-through from the next administration. As I’ve previously noted in this space in the context of climate policy (where he is especially horrid), Donald Trump has, among his many other distinctions, is the most awful and irresponsible environmental platform of anyone nominated by either of the major parties in the modern era. Using Farber’s descriptions, and own my career puttering around in this field, l’ve selected seven of the major Obama accomplishments that seem most vulnerable to being undone or undermined should we screw up let Trump win on Tuesday:
GHG Standards for Power Plants and Factories. … [In 2010,] EPA issued a rule requiring GHG cuts for major new facilities; most of that rule was upheld by the Supreme Court. More importantly, EPA issued the Clean Power Plan, addressing emissions from existing power plants. The legality of that rule is now before the D.C. Circuit.
Mercury Controls for Power Plants. Using its authority to regulate toxic chemicals, EPA established a rule cutting mercury emissions, which will save thousands of lives, primarily by cutting dangerous particulates. The rule is now in front of the D.C. Circuit on remand from the Supreme Court, but most of the industry has already complied.
Social Cost of Carbon. For the first time, the government tried to measure the harm that CO2 causes, for purposes of future cost-benefit analyses. The current figure is around $35 per ton.
Mountaintop mining. In decisions in 2013 and 2016, the D.C. Circuit upheld the Obama EPA’s effort to curb mountain top mining, an extremely destructive variant on strip mining, even when that means withdrawing or modifying an existing permit.
Fracking. In 2015, the Administration issued new rules regulating fracking on public lands, designed to protect against groundwater pollution. This year, EPA followed up with rules to restrict methane emissions from natural gas operations.
Protecting wetlands. The Administration issued the Water of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which clarified the reach of federal jurisdiction over wetlands. The rule is now mired in litigation.
International climate negotiations. Last but far from least: President Obama succeeded in obtaining the 2009 Copenhagen Accord and more recently the 2015 Paris Agreement, the first international agreement including developing nation commitments to address emissions. Even more recently, the Administration was successful in negotiations to curb super-strong greenhouse gases using the Montreal Protocol and in negotiations for emissions limitations on commercial aviation.
If you know anyone who’s committed to the environment but on the fence about voting, they need to get with it.