About
California has adopted a host of policies, including a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), a low-carbon fuel standard, energy efficiency standards, and a cap-and-trade system, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under its landmark California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32). Tim Duane, Stanley Legro Visiting Professor in Environmental Law at the University of San Diego School of Law, will discuss the environmental justice ramifications of such policies on disadvantaged communities. It’s an issue that three state agencies must address to win legislative approval of a new goal: a 40 percent GHG emissions reduction and a 50 percent RPS target by 2030. All three agencies—the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission (CEC), and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)—are considering how to do so. Duane will describe those efforts, highlight conflicts among some of the parties about how to define disadvantaged communities, and explore how progress toward achieving environmental justice goals may be measured and evaluated by the agencies. He will focus on the integrated resource planning proceedings before the CPUC and CEC.
This talk is part of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and the University Program in Environmental Policy seminar series featuring leading experts discussing a variety of pressing environmentally focused topics.