The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group
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Happy Friday!
Jennifer Nunn and Cortney Cortez from our Winter Park, FL office joined Shima Madani of our Sydney, Australia office this week to attend the 3-day 31st Annual NSW Coastal Conference in Batemans Bay, New South Wales. Over 200 delegates, including representatives from government, the private sector, community groups, and the general public, met to organize around the fields of coastal, estuarine and marine management, science and research, and education, planning, policy and law. Jennifer presented on Integrating Flood Resiliency to Stormwater Design with Sea Level Rise. Learn more about the conference here.
This week we focused on several interesting environmental articles on topics ranging from carbon emissions and market linkages, timber and forestry industry concerns and Amazon Rainforest deforestation, indications that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record, and electoral challenges to restrictions of natural gas use in the state of Washington.
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Have a great weekend!
Supreme Court Allows White House to Implement Plan to Curb Carbon Emission from Power Plants
The Supreme Court rejected emergency requests brought by several states and various industry groups seeking to block regulations on U.S. coal- and gas-fired power plants that would enforce the government's latest attempt to curb carbon emissions. Under the proposed rule, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would require power plants to use a technique called “carbon capture” to remove carbon dioxide from a power plant’s emissions and transport them by pipeline to be stored underground. While challengers tried to compare this rule to previous ones blocked by the Supreme Court, the Court stated that the EPA has complied with previous rulings in regard to this regulation. Affected power plants will not have to fully comply with the rule until at least 2030. Read more here.
Timber and Forestry Industries Suffer Alongside Housing Market
With the housing market in a slump in some areas due to high mortgage rates, the supporting timber markets have seen a similar downturn. With the paper and packaging market also experiencing a decline as online retail has slowed to pre-pandemic levels, timber again has seen a negative impact on demand. However, with recent federal interest rate cuts, mortgage rates are expected to follow suit, the lumber and wood industry is expected to see a resurgence in coming months. Read more here.
Amazon Rainforest Deforestation Falls to Lowest in 9 Years
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has reached its lowest level since 2015. According to government data, a 30.6% drop in tree loss was recorded between August 2023 and July 2024. The reduction follows a shift in environmental policy in the country, which has made combating deforestation a top priority. The decline is attributed to stronger enforcement of environmental laws and increased funding for anti-deforestation initiatives. Even though persistent illegal logging still exists within the rainforest, this marks a crucial step for future conservation and environmental protection. Read more here.
2024 on Course to Be the Hottest Year on Record
According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the average global temperatures from January to October were so high that 2024 is on track to be the World’s hottest year yet. It is projected that the annual temperature for 2024 will be more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial level. The leading cause of climate change is from burning coal, oil, and gas, resulting in carbon dioxide emissions. In order to prevent deadly weather conditions, an agreement was reached by Countries in the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to prevent global warming above 1.5C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Read more here.
Washingtonians Seem Split on Natural Gas
This week, Washington voters got the chance to help decide the fate of natural gas services in the state. Initiative I-2066 opposes the current administration’s efforts to phase out the use of natural gas by making it unlawful for cities and counties to penalize or discourage use of natural gas. Voters were effectively split down the middle at this writing with 79% of votes counted: 51.4% of the vote has gone to “Yes” – the option to repeal the parts of the Washington Decarbonization Act that limit use of natural gas, while 48.6% have voted “No” – which would keep these parts and not impose penalties. Opponents of the bill are prepared to bring the matter to court if the initiative passes, citing the state constitution’s rule for single-subject initiatives, while proponents have claimed the initiative was designed with these judicial challenges in mind. Read more here and here.
Data Visualization of the Week
Washington State, California, and Québec on Carbon Market Linkage
California and Québec have successfully operated a linked carbon market for over a decade. Now, Washington state is aligning Cap-and-Invest regulations with the two as potential partners. A ballot measure effort to repeal the system (I-2117), recently was rejected by voters in Washington, paving the way for a linkage agreement to be finalized between the three entities by late 2025. The agreement aims to ensure achievement of greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and advance carbon neutrality goals. The International Carbon Action Partnership has published a map of emissions trading scheme (ETS) around the globe, indicating where systems are in force, under development, or still under consideration. Read more here and here.
Click the visual below for more information.
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