Economics and the Environment
Today marks the beginning of Climate Week NYC 2014, which will feature more than 100 events around New York City in support of the UN Climate Summit. Summit representatives are expected to discuss the economic benefits of carbon pricing and national climate commitments, as well as the ability of cities to offer policymakers “some of the lowest-hanging fruit” for preventing damages from climate change.
During Climate Week, join RFF for an RFF Policy Leadership Forum on Economics and the Environment, with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. Tune in on September 25 to view the live webcast at www.rff.org/live. Questions can be submitted via Twitter using #AskRFF and will be answered as time permits.
EPA Clean Power Plan Comment Period Extended
The deadline to submit comments on the EPA’s Clean Power Plan has been extended to December 1, though the agency is “still working towards a June deadline” for its finalized regulation. The 45-day extension was granted by the Obama administration to give the public a greater opportunity to offer additional input that will ultimately result in a “practical, flexible, and achievable” plan.
In a new installment of RFF’s Expert Forum on the Clean Power Plan, experts from RFF, Alstom Power, and NRG Energy comment on the practicality of the plan’s assumption that existing natural gas power plants can meet an average utilization of 70 percent. Readers are encouraged to share their thoughts on this question and more by commenting on Common Resources.
