QUICK NEWS, August 22: Study Shows CA Climate Plan Works; New Jersey’s Big Ocean Wind Opportunity; Big Oil’s Valero Secret Fight To Stop Biofuels
Study Shows CA Climate Plan Works A controversial California effort to fight climate change just got some good news
Chelsea Harvey, August 21, 2017 (Washington Post)
“…[A] controversial California climate program is successfully reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and providing other environmental benefits on the side…[According to a study from Stanford University, the] California “carbon offset” program, which allows companies to pay to preserve carbon-storing forests instead of reducing their own emissions…is protecting imperiled forests and preventing the carbon they store from being released into the atmosphere…The program is built into California’s existing cap-and-trade system…[and] establishes a market for the buying and selling emissions permits, creating a financial incentive for companies to reduce their own emissions and sell the extra savings…[C]ompanies may also buy offsets from forest managers all over the country, guaranteeing that they’ll preserve their trees…By buying these offsets, companies can adhere to California’s emissions-cutting policies without reducing their own carbon output directly…Overall, about 25.5 million tons of carbon have been credited as part of the forest offset program [conserving forests, wild plants, and animals] that might otherwise have been destroyed…” click here for more
Processed for posting by Jessica Wunder
New Jersey’s Big Ocean Wind Opportunity NJ still has hope on wind energy
August 21. 2017 (Daily Record/USA Today)
"Offshore wind remains one of New Jersey’s great untapped resources…But advocates and energy companies continue to lay the groundwork for an industry that essentially doesn’t yet exist here…Gov. Chris Christie [signed a bill in 2010] that was specifically designed to enhance the state’s offshore wind prospects, setting a goal of 1,100 megawatts…[but] increasingly embraced his conservative side, scuttling any chances for meaningful pro-environment policies. As a result, offshore wind has languished…Studies have shown New Jersey’s coast to be particularly conducive to offshore wind because of prevailing gusty conditions, the state’s prime location on the energy grid, and the relatively shallow waters off our coast, which lowers the expense of building offshore turbines. But…New Jersey has to act fast to maximize its potential advantages because offshore wind offers an entire industry to develop, creating jobs and improving the state economy…” click here for more
Processed for posting by Jessica Wunder
Big Oil’s Valero Secret Fight To Stop Biofuels Refiner Valero's secret campaign against U.S. biofuels mandates
Chris Prentice Reuters w/Erwin Seba, August 21, 2017 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
“U.S. biofuels regulations, which mandate mixing corn-based ethanol into gasoline, have lately drawn together a diverse cast of political opponents…Even the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), a leading biofuels industry group, recently dropped its opposition to policy changes sought by this ad hoc coalition…[T]hey share one key connection — close ties to Valero Energy Corp., America's largest oil refiner…As part of an extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign, Valero played a key role in bringing these people and groups together around a policy proposal that could save the refiner hundreds of millions of dollars each year in regulatory costs…Valero is a big loser under current regulations, which require refiners to either blend biofuels into their gasoline and diesel or buy government-issued credits from firms that do such mixing…Valero was forced to spend $750 million last year alone buying the credits…The policy overhaul favored by Valero would free refiners from the obligation to blend biofuels or buy credits, shifting that burden to firms further down the supply chain toward retailers…Such a change would amount to a multi-billion-dollar transfer of wealth to Valero…” click here for more
Processed for posting by Jessica Wunder
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