Transcript Slide 1

Energy Reform and the
Sustainability Principle
Dean Irma S. Russell
University of Montana School of Law
April 25, 2013
Law Reform and Energy Policy
University College Cork
College of Business and Law
Outline
• Part I: The Sustainability Principle
• Part II: The Current Energy Picture
• Part III: Governmental Policy:
• Comparative Incentives
• Conversation Stoppers
PART I
THE SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLE
Development of Sustainability Concept
• 1987 UN Brundtland Report "our Common
Future“
• 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 1993 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• Necessity of Good governance
• Constitution – Examples of U.S. State
constitutions (Montana)
MONTANA CONSTITUTION Preamble
• We the people of Montana grateful to God
for the quiet beauty of our state, the
grandeur of our mountains, the vastness of
our rolling plains, and desiring to improve the
quality of life, equality of opportunity and to
secure the blessings of liberty for this and
future generations do ordain and establish
this constitution.
Montana Constitution
• Article II – Declaration of Rights
• Section 3. Inalienable rights. All persons are
born free and have certain inalienable rights.
They include the right to a clean and healthful
environment...
Sustainable Development Defined
“Meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.”
Point of no return?
• Hawken: we have already passed the point at
which the planet can support the current
population.
– Economic program thus must “restore.”
• Peak oil: the point of declining energy supply
– Does this make changes to energy supply and demand
moot?
• Schellnhuber: Carbon Dioxide Insolvency
• Changes in world-wide energy consumption
– Developing countries, China, etc.
Sustainability & Global Climate Change
• Debate on global climate change is shifting to
what to do about it
• Adaptation
• Mitigation
PART II: THE CURRENT ENERGY
PICTURE
Scope of GHG Emission
• Average US citizen use of resources 5.5 times
GHG average
• Increased carbon dioxide concentration in
itself can cause impacts on human health
Sustainable Energy
• At the center of any discussion of sustainable
development:
o Energy is crucial to every aspect of the economy
o Energy production and use are implicated in
climate change
Global Climate Change
• Need for government
Energy initiatives and incentives
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Proven Technologies
Solar
Wind
Wave
Potential Government GHG Response
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Cap and trade
Auctioned rights for GHG emissions
Direct taxation of carbon emissions
Technological controls
Government Role
• Governmental incentives, which have helped
build the current energy industry, are needed
to respond to global climate change while
sustaining the global economy.
PART III:
GOVERNMENTAL POLICY:
COMPARATIVE INCENTIVES
Current policy approaches to
comprehensive climate legislation
have failed
• Cap and trade limitations - complexity and
enforcement difficulties for governments to
implement and monitor
• Market-based approach - risky, difficult to
foresee risks and outcomes
Structure of energy incentive
programs
• Incentivizing renewables
• Changes in subsidies in competing energy
sectors
• Risks inherent in renewable energy
• Patchwork of regulation
• International Efforts (such as Kyoto Protocol
and Rio)
U.S. Experience: Federal Progress
Regulating GHG
• Massachusetts v. EPA
• National Environmental Policy Act
• State and local efforts
National Environmental Policy Act
• Created to recognize the role of government
agencies in affecting the environment.
• Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
• Incorporates environmental considerations
into major federal actions
• Often thought of as the National
Environmental Protection Act.
NEPA drawbacks
• Delays in major energy projects
• Nothing to encourage development of clean
energy alternatives
• Shale, tar sands, and other unconventional
fuels are categorically exempted from EIS
process
Environmental Impact Statements
• Describe environmental impacts of proposed
federal projects
• Set forth alternatives
• Note relationship between short-term and
long-term benefits
• Note irreversible commitments of resources.
Sub-federal Efforts
• States
– RGGI - efforts of 7 northeastern US states
– California's 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act
• Cities and local government
– Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement
– Individual city efforts
State Efforts*
• Many states issued interim or final studies
• Include CO2 emission reduction through:
– Energy efficiency in buildings
– Regional cooperation
– Changes in land use
– Green technology development
– Climate change adaptation
* Patricia Salkin, Can You Hear Me Up There? Giving Voice to Local
Communities Imperative for Achieving Sustainability.
Mayors’ Climate Protection Goals
• Reductions below the Kyoto targets
• Urge state and federal government to follow
suit
• Advocate for greenhouse gas reduction
legislation
• 1060 Mayors*
* As of 4/19/2013,
http://www.usmayors.org/climateprotection/climatechange.asp
Local Climate Change Plans
Los Angeles Example
• Emits 0.2% of GHG gases - 1/2 from
transportation
• Goal: 35% below 1990 levels by 2030
• Leverage changes in land use regulation,
building guidelines, and invest in transit
• Sustained leadership will be necessary
Effective Governmental Incentives
• Brazil: biomass fuel; autos: 85% ethanol
• Turkey: Reduction in use of wood for heating
• Japan: 75% drop in price of photovoltaics
Renewable Benefits
• Geographically
mobile
• Widely distributed
• Not limited to the
point of extraction
Renewable Subsidies
• 2011 renewable
energy subsidy $24
billion out of $16
billion in energy
subsidies
• 2005: $3.2 billion
renewable energy
subsidy out of $14.5
Why Energy Reform is Inevitable
• Precept of sustainability fundamental to
human connectedness, flourishing, and
survival
• Human rights depend on a safe, clean and
healthful environment
• The environment and energy policy are
inextricable intertwined
What is Next?
• Conversation stoppers
• Alternative conversations