CleanLaw

In this episode Joe Goffman, our Executive Director, talks with Kathy Fallon Lambert, Senior Advisor with The Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Co-founder of the Science Policy Exchange. Kathy was part of a team of researchers who evaluated the Regulatory Impact Analysis for EPA’s Affordable Clean Energy rule, to determine whether it incorporates the best available information and whether its predictions are fully supportable. She and her colleagues also performed their own analysis using EPA data. Using more realistic assumptions than EPA used they found that EPA overstated the likely benefits of ACE and that ACE could lead to increased pollution in several states. Kathy and Joe discuss EPA’s assumptions in the RIA, the impact of EPA’s current and expected changes to New Source Review that EPA failed to account for, and EPA’s inconsistency in calculating the benefits of reducing fine particle concentrations. Read the study here https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/carbon-standards-re-examined/ Transcript available here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CleanLaw-27-Joe-Kathy-ACE-MATS.pdf

In this episode our executive director Joe Goffman speaks again with Clean Air Task Force senior counsel Jonathan Lewis about biofuels. They discuss the 5 lessons policy-makers seeking to promote innovation can learn from the failure of the renewable fuel standard as a policy, why aviation is a critical transportation market to target for emissions reductions, and the low carbon fuel standards of California and British Columbia. Jonathan joined us in August for the first of this two part series. See CATF bioenergy work here www.catf.us/work/bioenergy/. Transcript available here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CleanLaw-26-Joe-Jon-Lewis-biofuels-2.pdf

In this episode Joe Goffman, our Executive Director, talks with our Climate, Clean Air and Energy Fellow Caitlin McCoy about part one of the clean car rule rollback. They discuss EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s final rule, issued on September 19th, that preempts California’s greenhouse gas standards and withdraws California’s Clean Air Act waiver. Transcript available here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CleanLaw-25-Joe-Caitlin-Cali-Waiver.pdf

In this episode of CleanLaw Joe Goffman speaks with Clean Air Task Force senior counsel Jonathan Lewis about bioenergy. They discuss the history of biofuel mandates, the challenges of lifecycle analysis, the problems associated with land-use, the difficulty in meeting annual mandates, and talk about what US biofuel policy should really be focused on. At around the 30-minute mark the conversation moves from the transportation sector to power generation. In September we'll publish Part II of this conversation: a deeper discussion on the Renewable Fuel Standard program, and lessons we've learned from this policy. See CATF bioenergy work here https://www.catf.us/work/bioenergy/ Transcript available here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Joe-and-Jon-Biofuels-1-transcript.pdf

Robin and Hana talk about the legal landscape of offshore drilling, and the proposed rule changes and executive orders that may affect where and how oil companies operate. Transcript available here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CleanLaw-23-Robin-Hana-Offshore-Drilling.pdf

Ari Peskoe talks to Matt Christiansen, legal advisor to FERC Commissioner Richard Glick, about the Federal Power Act and Matt’s recent article co-authored with Commissioner Glick about FERC and climate change. Ari and Matt discuss recent federal court decisions about Zero Emission Credits (ZECs) and what they mean for the future of state electricity policies. Then, Matt outlines his article and explains how FERC’s authority over interstate power markets and natural gas infrastructure siting relates to greenhouse gas reduction efforts. “FERC and Climate Change” is available on the Energy Law Journal’s website https://www.eba-net.org/assets/1/6/%5bGlick_and_Christiansen%5d%5bFinal%5d.pdf Transcript available here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CleanLaw-22-Ari-Christiansen-FERC.pdf

Joe Goffman speaks with Bill Becker, former Executive Director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. Bill and Mary Becker have just published a report on the Trump proposal to weaken vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards. They describe the effects this proposal will have on public health, state compliance with the Clean Air Act, and industry operations. In addition to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, other harmful emissions will rise, such as smog-forming pollutants, fine particles, and cancer-causing air toxins. The report is on our website https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Becker-FINALGHGREPORT.pdf Transcript available here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CleanLaw-21-Joe-Bill-Becker-Clean-Cars.pdf

In this episode, our Climate, Clean Air & Energy Fellow Caitlin McCoy speaks with Harvard Law student Michelle Melton about the proposed changes to the fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles. They discuss the lead up to and details of the proposed rules, and talk about ongoing and future litigation around these rules. We recorded this in early February, so there are references to recent events that are not so recent anymore, but the legal analysis remains the same as we continue to wait for the final rules. Transcript available here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CleanLaw-20-Caitlin-Michelle-Vehicle-Standards.pdf

Ari Peskoe talks to Jacob Mays about capacity markets. Jacob explains why regional power markets adopted capacity markets and outlines his research on the connection between risk and power plant operating and capital costs. Jacob and his colleagues published a paper on this topic entitled Asymmetric Risk and Fuel Neutrality in Capacity Markets - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3330932 Transcript available here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CleanLaw-19-Ari-Jacob-Capacity-Markets.pdf

Ari Peskoe talks with Bill Hogan, Professor of Global Energy Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. After laying out fundamental principles of wholesale market design, Bill discusses the recent proposal filed by PJM about reforming price formation in its reserve market. Bill explains why the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should find that prices in the market are currently unjust and unreasonable and how the proposed market redesign will result in a more efficient market. Bill and his colleague Susan Pope wrote a paper in support of PJM’s proposal https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/fs/whogan/Hogan_Pope_PJM_Report_032119.pdf. Transcript available here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CleanLaw-18-Ari-Hogan-PJM.pdf