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An A to Z of Fossil Fuel Industry Deception

Union of Concerned Scientists

This year has brought new evidence of what major fossil fuel companies knew and when about the role their products play in climate change, as well as what they did in spite of what they knew. But these technologies are no substitute for sharp cuts in fossil fuels if we keep the goals of the Paris climate agreement within reach.

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Fossil Fuels vs. Renewables: A Price on Reliability?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Utility companies, as well as state and federal government regulatory agencies, made a series of questionable decisions that together created the situation we find ourselves in today. Three decades of deregulation allowed private companies, as opposed to public regulators, to make critical decisions about reliability.

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Good News—and Bad—about Fossil Fuel Power Plants in 2023 

Union of Concerned Scientists

And fossil fuel power plants may not stick to their retirement schedules for a variety of reasons. The bottom line: There’s still a long way to go, and the clean energy transition must move quicker than it has been—despite the fossil fuel industry’s self-serving claims to the contrary. A bit more on those reasons later.

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$18 billion to fossil fuels: Breaking Down the Numbers

Enviromental Defense

Last spring, we released a report – Paying Polluters: Federal Financial Support to Oil and Gas in 2020 – that revealed the federal government announced a minimum of nearly $18 billion to the oil and gas sector in 2020. Nine of the largest oil and gas companies reported receiving a combined $870 million.

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California Restaurant Association v. Berkeley and Local Natural Gas Restrictions

Law Columbia

The decision essentially – and subject to possible appeals – answered in the negative the question of whether Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation prohibition on natural gas hookups to newly-constructed buildings (often termed a “natural gas ban”; herein referred to as the “Berkeley Ordinance”) was preempted by the U.S.

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Something Stinks: California Must End Manure Biomethane Accounting Gimmicks in its Low Carbon Fuel Standard

Union of Concerned Scientists

California’s transportation fuel policy is knee deep in cow poop, and it’s not a good look. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is considering amendments to its Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) regulation, but indicated they have no plans to address the problems caused by counter-productive subsidies for manure biomethane.

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Three Questions about the Ninth Circuit Panel’s CRA v. Berkeley Decision

Legal Planet

City of Berkeley , addressing whether the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) invalidates a Berkeley municipal ordinance specifying when natural-gas infrastructure can be extended into new buildings. EPCA “preempts” certain state and local regulations, meaning that it prevents those regulations from being effective.