http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_greenhouse_gases_under_the_Clean_Air_Act
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/ab32/ab32.htm
"Keystone XL pipeline. Congressional leaders moved swiftly to approve the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline. The House passed the Keystone XL legislation on their first day in session, and the Senate passed similar legislation after a floor debate. President Obama vetoed the legislation on February 24, 2015 and promised to continue the administrative process to determine the fate of the pipeline. Without an early legislative or administrative resolution, Keystone approval may continue to be the topic of amendments and debate throughout the session."
http://www.c2es.org/federal/congress
http://www.c2es.org/federal/congress/114/climate-change-legislative-proposals
"On June 2, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposed
Carbon Pollution Standards for Existing Power Plants (known as the Clean Power Plan), per its authority under
Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The development of this rule was announced by President Obama during his June 25, 2013,
climate policy speech. The Clean Power Plan would establish different target emission rates (lbs of CO2 per megawatt-hour) for each state due to regional variations in generation mix and electricity consumption, but overall is projected to achieve a 30 percent cut from 2005 emissions by 2030, with an interim target of 25 percent on average between 2020 and 2029."
http://www.c2es.org/federal/executive/epa/q-a-regulation-greenhouse-gases-existing-power
"1.The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a Clean Power Plan in 2014 to significantly reduce carbon emissions from existing power plants, the largest source. The proposal’s flexible framework will encourage states to develop innovative policies and will allow them to use market-based mechanisms to achieve results efficiently and cost-effectively.
2. States continued to be incubators of innovative policies toward a low-carbon future. Quebec and California successfully completed a joint auction of 34 million greenhouse gas allowances in November, demonstrating the viability of linking market-based programs.
3. The U.S. and China jointly announced greenhouse gas reduction targets that will require a significant effort beyond a business-as-usual scenario for both countries. The U.S. set a target of a 26 to 28 percent reduction in emissions by 2025. China, which this year launched a sixth pilot carbon emissions trading program, announced its emissions would peak by no later than 2030 and it would boost its share of zero-carbon energy to 20 percent.
4. Carbon capture and storage, a technology we need to increasingly deploy if we are to use coal and natural gas, achieved a significant milestone in 2014 as Canadian electric utility SaskPower started up the world’s first large-scale, coal-fired power plant that captures 90 percent of the carbon emissions it generates. Other new CCS projects will help reduce costs.
5. Electric vehicle sales continued to grow, reaching more than 275,000 in the U.S. A number of vehicles came to market, with BMW a major new entrant. Tesla broke ground in Nevada for a $5 billion factory to build batteries. Meanwhile, automakers were off to a good start toward meeting new standards for cars’ fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions.
6. New steps were taken to facilitate private sector financing for clean energy projects. New York opened the nation’s largest green bank and funded its first projects. New Jersey launched a $200 million Energy Resilience Bank. And several cities and states started or expanded programs to let building owners finance energy efficiency and clean energy improvements through property tax assessments.
7. Renewables, led by wind and solar, made up more than 40 percent of all newly installed power in the U.S. in the first three-quarters of 2014. The U.S. had four straight quarters of more than 1 GW of installed solar capacity. NRG Energy announced plans to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030, and 90 percent by 2050.
8. Countries meeting in Lima made progress toward a new climate agreement to be reached in 2015, with some of the broad contours, such as broad participation and individual country contributions, already taking shape.
9. Many companies showed climate leadership by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and improving sustainability. More than 1,000 businesses backed a price on carbon. Among them were members of our Business Environmental Leadership Council, including Alstom, Areva, Bayer, BP, Holcim, Johnson Controls, National Grid, PG&E, Rio Tinto and Royal Dutch Shell. At a U.N. Climate Summit, companies also announced efforts to stop tropical deforestation and reduce hydrofluorocarbons and methane emissions.
10. Individuals showed they are paying attention to climate change. In September, hundreds of thousands joined the People’s Climate March to draw attention to the need for action. While many other issues are on voters’ minds, most Americans support limiting power plant carbon emissions."
http://www.c2es.org/blog/perciasepeb/climate-progress-2014-sets-stage-2015-action
