Hello and welcome to the 2020-21 edition of JEEL’s blog. We provide regular updates on significant developments in environmental and energy law and policy on a local, regional, national, and, at times, international level. JEEL’s team of Associate Research Editors (AREs) will cover everything from utilities and energy generation to land conservation to air and water litigation, and much more.

As always, our mission is to provide non-partisan information and analysis on the key environmental and energy law and policy topics of the day. We will remain vigilant in fulfilling that mission; posts expressing a particular viewpoint will be clearly labeled as “opinion.”

Please join me in welcoming this year’s team of AREs, whose diverse backgrounds and experiences will provide the blog with a valuable swath of insights on the environmental and energy topics of the day. They include:

Hannah Bucher
Andrea Jakubas
Fernando Silva
Sydney Weiss
Sylvia Wolak

Sincerely,

Joe Popely
Research Editor

January 2020, Warmest in Recorded History

On February 13, 2020, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the planet experienced its hottest January in recorded history.[1] This is not likely to be the last record of its kind.[2] January 2020 marks the 44th consecutive January and the 421st consecutive month with temperatures above the twentieth century average.[3]

The average January temperature across land and ocean surfaces increased by 2.05 degrees Fahrenheit from the twentieth century average of 53.6 degrees Fahrenheit.[4] Previously, record-high temperatures occurred when El Niño was present in the Pacific Ocean.[5] El Niño temporarily heats the earth naturally.[6] However, with no El Niño present this year, we achieved these record-high temperatures all on our own.[7] Scientists attribute these record-high temperatures as “greenhouse gas-induced warming” producing global temperature rises.[8]

These rising global temperatures are here to stay.[9] According to statistical analysis by the NOAA, 2020 is already on track to be one of the five warmest years on record.[10]

*Featured Image: NOAA

[1] John Bateman, January 2020 was Earth’s hottest January on record, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (February 13, 2020), https://www.noaa.gov/news/january-2020-was-earth-s-hottest-january-on-record (last visited February 15, 2020).

[2] See id.

[3] Id.

[4] Denise Chow, Earth just had its hottest January in recorded history, NBC (February 13, 2020), https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/earth-just-had-its-hottest-january-recorded-history-n1136426 (last visited February 15, 2020).

[5] Hannah Levy and Brandon Miller, In 141 years of record-keeping, there has never been a warmer January, CNN (February 13, 2020), https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/13/weather/warmest-january-noaa-climate-trnd/index.html (last visited February 16, 2020).

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

U.S. Withdraws from Paris Agreement

President Donald Trump recently announced that the United States began the process to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.[1] The administration confirmed the withdrawal will be final on November 4, 2020.[2]

The Paris Agreement considered the voluntary national commitments of participating nations in the global reduction of greenhouse gases, to set achievable national goals to combat global climate change and establish a metric for measuring progress in meeting the global goals.[3] Almost 200 countries signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 and pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[4] The United States was a powerful party in the original agreement.[5] They created language to hold countries accountable for their promises.[6] However, the United States is now the only country to pull out of the global agreement.[7]

According to Andrew Light, a former climate official in the U.S. State Department, “[t]he United States is not cooperating with the rest of the world on dealing with climate change.”[8] Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists says “[t]he reality is, to really deliver on our climate goals, we do need strong federal action.”[9]

Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State, stated in his press statement despite the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, “[The United States] will continue to work with our global partners to enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change and prepare for and respond to natural disasters . . . the United States will continue to research, innovate, and grow our economy while reducing emissions and extending a helping hand to our friends and partners around the globe.”[10]

[1] David Roberts, The Paris climate agreement is at risk of falling apart in the 2020s, Vox (November 5, 2019), https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/11/5/20947289/paris-climate-agreement-2020s-breakdown-trump (last visited November 7, 2019).

[2] Id.

[3] David Roberts, The Conceptual breakthrough behind the Paris climate treaty, Vox (December 15, 2015), https://www.vox.com/2015/12/15/10172238/paris-climate-treaty-conceptual-breakthrough (last visited November 8, 2019).

[4] Rebecca Hersher, U.S. Formally Begins to Leave the Paris Climate Agreement, NPR (November 4, 2019), https://www.npr.org/2019/11/04/773474657/u-s-formally-begins-to-leave-the-paris-climate-agreement (last visited November 8, 2019).

[5] See Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Michael R. Pompeo, On the U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, U.S. Department of State (November 4, 2019), https://www.state.gov/on-the-u-s-withdrawal-from-the-paris-agreement/ (last visited November 7, 2019).