Monthly Policy Update |

May 2022  

Academics Working Group Launch Meeting

Second Nature is excited to announce a new initiative aimed at engaging academics from higher education institutions from across the nation: the Academics for Climate Advocacy (ACA) Working Group.

This Working Group is for academics interested in utilizing their institutional position and expertise to help advance climate policy at the municipal, state, and federal levels in a low-lift way. Academics will:

1) Convene on a quarterly basis for Working Group meetings. Our launch meeting is on June 7th at 11am ET - register here. 
2) Be contacted when there are meaningful opportunities to engage in climate advocacy.
3) Receive regular updates on relevant policy developments in their jurisdiction. 

We recognize that academics often have limited capacity for this type of work, so our priority is to make meaningful climate advocacy as straightforward and low-commitment as possible. We hope to recruit a diverse range of academics from a variety of disciplines and institutions to advance climate legislation across the nation.

Need to Know

2022 Earth Day Brings Grim News on Climate Policy: What is the Way Forward?
Publication Date: April 22, 2022 | Source: Forbes

• Why This Matters: The Paris commitments are not holding up, the share of US electricity from coal is decreasing, natural gas is experiencing a revival, and democratic governors are seeking to suspend state-level gas taxes. In the wake of the Ukraine crisis and inflation, President Biden is backtracking on some climate policies. What this means is that universities, businesses, and other nongovernmental entities must take matters into their own hands and push for effective climate legislation. 

How states can respond to the latest IPCC report on reducing emissions
Publication Date: April 22, 2022 | Source: Climate XChange

• Why This Matters: States have a variety of policy tools they can use to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Massachusetts and Maryland, for example, have established emission-reduction targets, while Washington State and New York have made big investments in supporting low-emissions technology. Hawaii and Nebraska, on the other hand, have begun investigating carbon sequestration as a potential policy solution. 

10 recent climate policies that could make a difference
Publication Date: April 21, 2022 | Source: The Washington Post

• Why This Matters: While it's been a tough year for climate action, it's important to recognize and build upon some of the policy wins the climate movement has had.  The Biden administration announced plans to spent $3.2 billion to retrofit homes, the US Army released its first-ever climate plan, the city of Ithaca, NY is decarbonizing all its buildings, and federal agencies have finalized tailpipe pollution standards, among other exciting developments.   

College and university educators participate in critical conversations around global policy
Publication Date: May 3, 2022 | Source: Council on Foreign Relations 

• Why This Matters: Last week, experts convened by the Council on Foreign Relations to discuss the role higher education has in global climate policymaking, highlighting the importance of more closely linking climate science and policy.

Policy Updates

FEDERAL
Supreme Court abortion ruling could have climate fallout
Publication Date: May 3, 2022 | Source: E&E Daily

• Why This Matters:  The bombshell draft opinion signaling that the Supreme Court is about to overturn Roe v. Wade has implications that reach far beyond abortion access and could affect environmental law and climate policy for years to come. Experts believe this decision could signal that the 2007 decision affirming the federal government's authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act could be in jeopardy. 

Senate Democrats call for boosting clean energy in response to war in Ukraine
Publication Date: May 2, 2022 | Source: Washington Post 

• Why This Matters: Six Senate Democrats introduced a resolution last week, urging a swift transition to clean energy as a national security imperative, and to condemn oil and gas companies for profiting off Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This action indicates that some lawmakers are importantly viewing Ukraine as an opportunity to shift toward renewables. 

Time is running out for Biden's EPA to act on climate
Publication Date: April 28, 2022 | Source: Vox

• Why This Matters: Given that every U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule change must go through a mandatory multistep process that can take up to two years, the Biden EPA must act quickly to avoid rules being reversed by a potential Republican president in 2024 (which is what happened to President Obama). To date, Biden's climate policy has gotten off to a slow start, so EPA action is critical. 

INDIVIDUAL STATES
MULTIPLE STATES
Pew Launches Blue Carbon Network to Help States Address Climate Change
Publication Date: April 29, 2022 | Source: Pew Trust

• Why This Matters: Given that states largely set the policies governing their coastlines, Pew has launched a network to provide experts and state officials with opportunities to discuss blue carbon science and share information and best practice related to blue carbon policy and management. Higher education institutions and individuals can join the Blue Carbon Network here. 

CALIFORNIA
California opens investigation into 'decades-long plastics deception campaign'
Publication Date: May 2, 2022 | Source: Grist

• Why This Matters: California's Attorney General Rob Bonta has launched an investigation into Exxon Mobil and the American Chemistry Council, accusing them of disingenuously promoting recycling even though they knew it would never be able to keep up with growing plastic production. The probe, described by experts as 'long overdue' is important for the higher education to monitor, especially in light of the fact schools are on the frontlines of sustainability efforts.  

California on the Edge: How Climate Change and Climate Policy are Transforming Building Design in the Golden State
Publication Date: May 2, 2022 | Source: Yahoo News

• Why This Matters: Consultants are helping adapt buildings to the physical effects of climate change, like wildfires and rising temperatures, and to proactively prepare for forthcoming electrification standards. It's expected the state's energy code will require building electrification as it continues to evolve, and it's worth for higher education institutions to consider their own building design given climate impacts. 

CONNECTICUT
A political shift in Connecticut and 'a banner week for climate policy'
Publication Date: April 30, 2022 | Source: Hartford Courant

• Why This Matters: In Connecticut, several climate bills passed this session, including a solar incentive program, funding for climate resilience programs,  a 2030 goal for the decarbonization of school buses, and more. The success was attributed to the climate coalition's efforts to reorganize and reframe climate policy after the failure of the Transportation and Climate Initiative last session. 

MICHIGAN
Michigan AG, Consumers Energy reach 'historic' deal to end coal use in 3 years
Publication Date: April 21, 2022 | Source: Energy News

• Why This Matters: A proposed settlement would result in the state's largest energy provider ending its use of coal 15 years earlier than originally planned. The agreement also includes a commitment by Consumers Energy to provide financial assistance to low-income utility customers. The settlement is an important reminder that state attorneys general can play a critical role in the fight against climate change. 

WASHINGTON STATE
Ending the sale of gas cars by 2030 was a radical idea. What changed?
Publication Date: May 2, 2022 | Source: Grist

• Why This Matters: In March, Governor Inslee signed the 'Move Ahead Washington' transportation package into law, setting a 2030 deadline for all new cars registered in the state to be electric. California is on its way to finalizing a mandate to ban the sales of gas cars by 2035, and other states are likely to follow suit. A growing electric vehicle market, lower costs, global trends, increased regulation, and more choices and visibility are just some of the reasons why this once far-fetched goal is becoming reality. 

Opportunities to Participate 

NOTE: The following opportunities are for colleges and universities for sign-on; not opportunities for individuals at colleges and universities.  Are you an individual at a higher education institution who believes your college/university may be interested in signing onto the below opportunities?  We encourage you to reach-out to the leadership at your institution and let them know. 

ALL STATES
Advanced Clean Truck Rule 
States across the country are considering adopting the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) Rule. With no federal policy in place, the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule (ACT) is groundbreaking climate and clean air policy that brings clean trucks to the market, putting transportation decarbonization in the hands of states. Oregon, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts have adopted the ACT,  and having additional states adopt this rule will be critical to establishing economies of scale that will expedite market transformation and more rapidly unlock the cost, climate, and clean air benefits of decarbonizing Medium Heavy Duty Vehicles (MHDVs). Transportation remains the leading source of climate and harmful air pollutant emissions in the US. Medium and heavy-duty vehicles, despite being only 5% of vehicles on the road, account for 25% of these emissions. 

How to support this effort: Ceres, a Second Nature partner, is coordinating sign-on letters to encourage ambitious ACT rules and support adoption in other states. If your institution is interested in signing on to support this, please email Ceres's Jennifer Helfrich (helfrich@ceres.org) or sign on below. 

The states and updates included in each Monthly Policy Update are based on what we are recommending for reading for that month, due to what we view as being directly relevant to higher education.  From month to month, the states focused on are due to change.  

Do you have feedback on our Monthly Policy Updates (what you like, what you would like to see improved, etc)?  Please email us: policyteam@secondnature.org.  

Note: Our monthly policy updates, information, and opportunities to participate, are developed with support from Ceres, which is an organizational partner of Second Nature.  Ceres has identified the following states plus Washington, D.C. for primary focus - Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. - because of the beneficial legislative climates and real opportunities for policy advancements in these states.  Our Policy Updates may, or may not, include these states (and Washington, D.C.).