Each week, we review the papers, studies, reports, and briefings posted at the “indispensable” RFF Library Blog, curated by RFF Librarian Chris Clotworthy. Check out this week’s highlights below:
2014 U.S. Climate Action Report
The State Department has sent the United Nations a report that claims pending regulations under President Obama’s climate action plan, including EPA’s first-time climate rules for power plants, could help the United States meet its goal of cutting its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. — via U.S. Department of State
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to amend its Clean Air Act Standards of Performance for Petroleum Refineries for Which Construction, Reconstruction, or Modification Commenced After May 14, 2007. In the same Federal Register notice, EPA also amended the definition of “delayed coking unit” as a direct final rule without a prior proposed rule. If EPA receives no adverse comment... — via Center for Regulatory Effectiveness
A Report on the Economics of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Cost Containment Mechanisms
A recent report prepared by UC Davis researchers for the California Air Resources Board (ARB) found that compliance costs for the Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) may increase rapidly in the future if there are large differences in marginal costs between traditional fossil fuels and alternative, low-carbon-intensity fuels; or if there are capacity or technological constraints to deploying alternative fuels, particularly those with low-carbon intensity. — via University of California, Davis, Institute of Transportation Studies
Border Adjustments for Economywide Policies That Impose a Price on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Human activities around the world are producing increasingly large quantities of greenhouse gases (GHGs), the most abundant of which is carbon dioxide (CO2). In recent years, concerns about the effects those emissions might have on the climate have prompted the Congress, federal regulators, and others to consider policies to reduce them. This CBO report examines the unintended effects on the competitiveness of U.S firms... — via U.S. Congressional Budget Office
CBO: International Trade and Carbon Leakage
Under a broad-based carbon tax or cap-and-trade program, some of the reduction in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions would probably be offset by increases in foreign emissions that would not otherwise have occurred, a phenomenon known as carbon leakage. Industries with substantial total emissions, high trade ratios, and high emission intensities are the most likely to generate substantial leakage. — via U.S. Congressional Budget Office
For more from the RFF Library blog, click here.
