A new Salata Institute-Roosevelt Project study examines the regulatory, political, and social factors that shape long-distance transmission development and offers five core findings.
The Harvard Initiative on Reducing Global Methane Emissions, supported by the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, has released a Research Brief titled “Updating Estimates of Methane Emissions: Rising Emissions in Africa from Rice Agriculture.” The Brief summarizes research by Professor Daniel Jacob and postdoctoral fellow Zichong Chen, atmospheric scientists at Harvard University, with their colleagues. The researchers found that rapidly increasing lowland rice agriculture in Africa could be contributing significantly to the current rise in global methane emissions.
On March 6, 2024, the SEC narrowly voted to release its long-awaited final climate-related risk disclosure rule requiring public companies to report on material climate-related risks that affect the business and, for some large companies, greenhouse gas emissions. Sara Dewey, senior staff attorney with the Harvard Law School Environmental & Energy Law Program, reviews key components of the rule, including its legal authority, changes from the proposal, and the legal challenges already underway.
In late 2023, California passed two laws that will require public and private companies that do business in California to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and their climate-related financial risks. In January 2024, business groups filed a complaint challenging the laws. Sara Dewey and Abby Husselbee, attorneys at the Harvard Law School Environmental & Energy Law Program, explain the First Amendment, federal preemption, and dormant Commerce Clause challenges to these laws.
On March 4, 2024 MethaneSAT – an innovative space-based system for detecting methane emissions and identifying their sources – launched on a SpaceX rocket from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California.
When methane leaks, it is often accompanied by other toxins more hazardous to human health. New remote sensing technologies help stop both at the source.
The Harvard Initiative on Reducing Global Methane Emissions has released a research brief titled “EPA’s Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Methane Emission Rules.” The brief provides an account of the recent evolution of regulation in the United States to address methane emissions from landfills. An earlier version of the brief was prepared in support of a convening on methane emissions from landfills conducted by the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program (EELP) in January 2024. The workshop –and the brief – were supported by the Salata Institute through the Harvard Initiative on Reducing Global Methane Emissions. The brief was written by Carrie Jenks and Hannah Dobie, Executive Director and Staff Attorney, respectively, at EELP.