CAMBRIDGE MA. – With so many of the nation’s environmental regulations being tested in the courts, technological solutions may be the most promising way to address climate change. That was the opinion offered by environmental lawyer Jeffrey Holmstead in the newest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program,” a podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program. Listen to the interview here.
Hosted by Robert N. Stavins, A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development at Harvard Kennedy School and director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program and the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, Environmental Insights is intended to promote public discourse on important issues at the intersection of economics and environmental policy.
Holmstead, who was the Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the George W. Bush Administration, and now leads the Environmental Strategies Group at Bracewell in Washington, DC., praised the Biden Administration’s early efforts to reduce dangerous emissions in two specific ways.
“They have made very clear that climate change is one of their highest priorities, and they've actually done a couple of very important things,” Holmstead said. “Their first priority was in the transportation sector, and they finalized much more aggressive CO₂ emission standards for vehicles. And then they have proposed, but not yet finalized, a pretty aggressive approach to regulate methane emissions from oil and gas operations.”
The Biden Administration has also promised to revise the social cost of carbon, but Holmstead argued that its fate may rest with the courts, depending on how it is used.
“I think the courts have correctly said that in and of itself, that alone is not the type of action that is reviewable in court, and it won't be reviewable until it's used in a regulation. I think it will depend on the specific contours of the regulation that they're doing,” he said. “All these regulatory programs have different standards that the agencies have to meet. And if it's the kind of standard that allows them to consider benefits and costs, I think it depends on the specific context. And I think there will be some interesting litigation about that.”
Holmstead also remarked that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal requiring public companies to provide certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports is likely to run into significant legal challenges.
“The idea that the Securities and Exchange Commission would essentially be regulating greenhouse gases and they would do it in the form of a disclosure, but at least as proposed, it would be a pretty intrusive form of disclosure. And so, I think that there's a fairly good chance that if the SEC finalizes what it proposed, that it's likely to run into trouble in the courts,” he said.
Yet Holmstead also told Stavins that he believes there is a “good chance” of having comprehensive climate change legislation in the United States fairly soon.
“I think there are many people in the business community that would like to have the certainty of legislation. And so, I'm still optimistic that we could see something like that in the relatively near future,” he remarked. “But… ultimately it seems to me that it's a technology question. And until there is a way to provide people with electricity and to power mobility, that is at least close to being cost competitive with coal and oil, I think it's going to be an uphill battle.
“I think that there are technological breakthroughs that are at least on the horizon that could help us solve the problem. But ultimately for me, climate change is a technology issue and not a regulatory issue,” he stated.
Holmstead’s interview is the eighth episode this year in the Environmental Insights series, with future episodes scheduled to drop each month.
“Environmental Insights is intended to inform and educate listeners about important issues relating to an economic perspective on developments in environmental policy, including the design and implementation of market-based approaches to environmental protection,” said Stavins. “We speak with accomplished Harvard colleagues, other academics, and practitioners who are working on solving some of the most challenging public problems we face.”
Environmental Insights is hosted on SoundCloud and is also available on Amazon Music, iTunes, Pocket Casts, and Spotify.
LINK TO PODCAST: https://soundcloud.com/environmentalinsights/how-best-to-approach-climate-change-policy-a-conversation-with-jeff-holmstead/s-5Ar01FfSCfu OR https://tinyurl.com/2p8c9hbn
